The script calls for countless scenes where Officer Roberts puts himself in situations where he is supposed to be noticeably uncomfortable. Crowe's unnatural portrayal of discomfort truly screws the pooch. He couldn't even get the more mundane characteristics of his character down. He was as close to absmizal as humanly possible. It is a low down, sub basement, dirty shame that Crowe rubbed his thespian excrement all over American Gangster's richly written script.

Steven Zaillian's view of the notorious Frank Lucas is scary, fearsome and mesmerizing. There are no original characters in American Gangster. We've seen most of the characters in different stories, they just had different names. The fascinating thing about Zailian's script is the way he crafts the situations to bring out the entire spectrum of each character's flaws and strengths. Frank Lucas is more clever business than violence but his attacks are ruthless and unforgettable. Officer Roberts' personality isn't that different than Lucas. He is shamelessly honest but isn't afraid to break his knuckles to get what he wants; justice. Both men are willing to sacrifice everything for business.

American Gangster is an all around interesting and captivating movie going experience. The bad apples don't spoil the barrel for this bio-drama.