SCREEN IT! PARENTAL REVIEW: AMERICAN GANGSTER

"AMERICAN GANGSTER"
(2007) (Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe) (R)

Alcohol/ Drugs	Blood/Gore	Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude	Frightening/ Tense Scenes	Guns/ Weapons
Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Heavy	Extreme

Imitative Behavior	Jump Scenes	Music (Scary/Tense)	Music (Inappropriate)	Profanity
Moderate	Minor	Moderate	Moderate	Extreme

Sex/ Nudity	Smoking	Tense Family Scenes	Topics To Talk About	Violence
Extreme	Extreme	Heavy	Heavy	Extreme

QUICK TAKE:: Drama: An honest to a fault cop tries to catch a Harlem drug lord who's directly importing and selling heroin, thus becoming a legend in his own right.

PLOT:

It's the late 1960s and Frank Lucas (DENZEL WASHINGTON) is the driver for Harlem folk hero and crime figure Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson (CLARENCE WILLIAMS III). When the latter dies, Frank takes over the business, immediately clashing with rival crime lord Tango (IDRIS ELBA), especially when Frank decides to cut out the middleman and directly import heroin from Vietnam, thus allowing him to undercut the competition with his one-hundred percent pure product.

He becomes wildly successful, mainly by behaving like a professional businessman and employing various family members, such as his brother, Huey (CHIWETEL EJIOFOR), and moves all of them, along with his mother, Mama Lucas (RUBY DEE), from North Carolina to their own mansion. He also ends up marrying Miss Puerto Rico, Eva (LYMARI NADAL), who's drawn to the gangster's charming demeanor.

While having to deal with other criminal types such as Nicky "Mr. Untouchable" Barnes (CUBA GOODING, JR.) and Dominic Cattano (ARMAND ASSANTE), Frank also draws the attention of others who aren't pleased with his business. Among them is Special Investigation Unit cop Det. Trupo (JOSH BROLIN) who, along with other corrupt cops, takes drugs from police evidence and sells them back to local drug dealers, thus controlling and profiting from the business.

Then there's New Jersey cop Richie Roberts (RUSSELL CROWE) who's so honest and earnest that he draws the ire of his fellow cops when he turns in nearly $1 million of recovered money rather than keep it himself. Facing that, his wife Laurie (CARLA GUGINO) wanting to divorce him and move their son to Vegas, and the death of his addict partner to drugs, Richie accepts a position with the feds to form his own narcotics team and track down the source of the new heroin that's become known as Blue Magic.

With Trupo trying to put the heat on both Frank and Richie to stay out of his business, the gangster and the cop strive to do their own thing, with their paths inevitably destined to cross.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?: Older teens might be interested, but it doesn't seem too likely that many younger ones will.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R: For violence, pervasive drug content and language, nudity and sexuality.

CAST AS ROLE MODELS:: DENZEL WASHINGTON plays a charming but also menacing drug dealer who runs his operation like a professional business, but is capable of brutal violence and murder when needed. He uses strong profanity, smokes, and drinks.
RUSSELL CROWE plays a cop who operates by the rules, is divorced and fighting over custody of his son, is trying to become a lawyer, briefly smokes, and uses strong profanity, all while trying to find and stop Frank.
JOSH BROLIN plays a corrupt cop who takes confiscated drugs from police evidence rooms and sells them back to drug dealers, all while trying to intimidate others.
CHIWETEL EJIOFOR plays Frank's brother who's brought in to help run the drug trade, but is shocked by his sibling's ability to kill at the drop of a hat. He smokes some.
LYMARI NADAL plays Frank's wife, a beauty pageant winner who enjoys the lifestyle of being married to Frank, but loses that enthusiasm when things take a turn for the worse.
CARLA GUGINO plays Richie's ex-wife who's fighting for custody of their son. She uses some strong profanity.
CUBA GOODING, JR. plays another crime figure who sells Frank's product, uses drugs, and uses strong profanity.; RUSSELL CROWE plays a cop who operates by the rules, is divorced and fighting over custody of his son, is trying to become a lawyer, briefly smokes, and uses strong profanity, all while trying to find and stop Frank.
JOSH BROLIN plays a corrupt cop who takes confiscated drugs from police evidence rooms and sells them back to drug dealers, all while trying to intimidate others.
CHIWETEL EJIOFOR plays Frank's brother who's brought in to help run the drug trade, but is shocked by his sibling's ability to kill at the drop of a hat. He smokes some.
LYMARI NADAL plays Frank's wife, a beauty pageant winner who enjoys the lifestyle of being married to Frank, but loses that enthusiasm when things take a turn for the worse.
CARLA GUGINO plays Richie's ex-wife who's fighting for custody of their son. She uses some strong profanity.
CUBA GOODING, JR. plays another crime figure who sells Frank's product, uses drugs, and uses strong profanity.; JOSH BROLIN plays a corrupt cop who takes confiscated drugs from police evidence rooms and sells them back to drug dealers, all while trying to intimidate others.
CHIWETEL EJIOFOR plays Frank's brother who's brought in to help run the drug trade, but is shocked by his sibling's ability to kill at the drop of a hat. He smokes some.
LYMARI NADAL plays Frank's wife, a beauty pageant winner who enjoys the lifestyle of being married to Frank, but loses that enthusiasm when things take a turn for the worse.
CARLA GUGINO plays Richie's ex-wife who's fighting for custody of their son. She uses some strong profanity.
CUBA GOODING, JR. plays another crime figure who sells Frank's product, uses drugs, and uses strong profanity.; CHIWETEL EJIOFOR plays Frank's brother who's brought in to help run the drug trade, but is shocked by his sibling's ability to kill at the drop of a hat. He smokes some.
LYMARI NADAL plays Frank's wife, a beauty pageant winner who enjoys the lifestyle of being married to Frank, but loses that enthusiasm when things take a turn for the worse.
CARLA GUGINO plays Richie's ex-wife who's fighting for custody of their son. She uses some strong profanity.
CUBA GOODING, JR. plays another crime figure who sells Frank's product, uses drugs, and uses strong profanity.; LYMARI NADAL plays Frank's wife, a beauty pageant winner who enjoys the lifestyle of being married to Frank, but loses that enthusiasm when things take a turn for the worse.
CARLA GUGINO plays Richie's ex-wife who's fighting for custody of their son. She uses some strong profanity.
CUBA GOODING, JR. plays another crime figure who sells Frank's product, uses drugs, and uses strong profanity.; CARLA GUGINO plays Richie's ex-wife who's fighting for custody of their son. She uses some strong profanity.
CUBA GOODING, JR. plays another crime figure who sells Frank's product, uses drugs, and uses strong profanity.; CUBA GOODING, JR. plays another crime figure who sells Frank's product, uses drugs, and uses strong profanity.

CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE

Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit?
Then read OUR TAKE of this film.

(Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below).

OUR WORD TO PARENTS:

Here's a brief summary of the content found in this R-rated drama. Profanity consists of at least 126 "f" words, while other expletives and colorful phrases are also uttered. Sexually related dialogue is present, as is a sexual encounter (with movement, nudity and sounds), while other sex is implied. Fully nude, partially nude, and scantly clad women are seen working in a drug operation.

Violence includes people murdering others, a suicide, and the striking of others (sometimes brutally). Much of that has very bloody and/or gory results, while those scenes and other moments of potential peril might be unsettling or suspenseful to viewers. Some of that and other behavior might be enticing for imitation, while all sorts of bad attitudes are present.

Characters drink and/or smoke, while all sorts of drug use (heroin, coke, pot) occurs, and much of the film involves drug dealing and related behavior. Tense family material includes a failed marriage and related custody battle, and another marriage that becomes strained.

If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content.

For those concerned with bright flashes of light on the screen, several scenes feature strobe effects in clubs (including some full and very intense ones), while there are flashes of light from cameras taking photos.

For those prone to visually induced motion sickness, there is some bouncy camerawork from time to time in the film.

ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE: Various people have drinks at a wake.
Trupo and other cops take drugs from the evidence room, and then sell them to various drug dealers.
We see a bare-breasted woman serving up heroin to a man at Frank's place
We see heroin being injected into an arm in close-up, with a little blood at the insertion point.
We see archival footage of heroin use in Vietnam, and there's talk of that and other drugs there.
Frank has a drink.
We see brief footage of needles going into skin for heroin use.
Miscellaneous people drink in a club.
We see miscellaneous drug use in a club, where Frank has a beer.
We see miscellaneous drinking.
Frank and his military contact in Vietnam have beer.
Frank wants to buy 100 kilos of heroin in Vietnam, and we see a large drug operation there.
We see drug paraphernalia on a table in a dealer's room.
After his partner has shot a drug dealer, Richie realizes that his partner is a drug addict and rolls up the man's sleeve to confirm that.
Frank has a drink.
We see footage of many drug transactions in Harlem, as well as heroin use.
Miscellaneous people drink.
Frank's family has beer with a meal.
We see miscellaneous drinking in a club.
We see various nude or scantily clad women sorting drugs at Frank's place (we hear they are nude so that they can't steal any of the product).
The heroin that Frank's sells is called Blue Magic, it's 100% pure, and he undersells the competition with it.
Various people have drinks at a party.
Frank has a drink at a club, as does Nicky.
A miscellaneous person drinks on the street.
People drink at a pool party.
We see miscellaneous beer drinking.
Several people snort cocaine at a party.
Frank, Eva, a powerful criminal, and that man's wife or girlfriend, have wine with a meal, and that man wants Frank to go nationwide with his drug operation.
We see miscellaneous beer drinking.
We see footage of heroin being injected into arms and feet.
We see a young child next to a dead or strung out parent (the sound of flies makes it appear to be the former).
Frank has a drink.
We see miscellaneous drinking.
Nicky snorts cocaine and drinks.
When Trupo and his corrupt cops find drugs in the trunk of Frank's car, they act as if they are going to take them. However, Frank reminds Trupo about his blown up car, and indicates next time it might be his house.
Two bottles of champagne are delivered to Trupo and another cop in their car.
Frank and another man have champagne.
Frank has a drink.
The Vietnam War is over and thus Frank's supply of drugs seems to be cut off
Frank has a drink.
Frank has a drink in another scene.
Miscellaneous people drink in a club.
We see that drugs were smuggled in US military coffins.
We see some bare-breasted women as well as others in bikinis working in the drug sorting room.
A person asks another if they want a drink.

BLOOD/GORE: A man who is tied to a chair has a bloody face and shirt.
We see a flashback to a man with a bloody face.
We see heroin being injected into an arm in close-up, with a little blood at the insertion point.
Richie gets a call in the middle of the night from his cop partner, who has shot a drug dealer dead. We don't see the impact, but do see the body on the floor, and it is bloody, while there's also a pool of blood on the floor.
Richie goes in to identify the body of his dead junkie partner (and we see the body on a morgue table).
To make a statement in his neighborhood, Frank approaches rival drug lord Tango, and holds his handgun to that man's forehead. Tango doesn't think he will do anything, but Frank then shoots him point-blank in the head. We then see Tango dead on the street, with a bullet hole in his head, and a large pool of blood behind him.
We see a brief flashback of Frank shooting another man in the head, with a brief bit of blood spurting out.
We some blood in the carpet after some violence.
From heroin injections, we see blood on the person's leg, as well as some on the bathroom floor.
We see a little blood on Frank's sleeve after he is shot in the arm.
Many people are shot during a gun battle, with varying degrees of bloody results.
A corrupt cop places a handgun under his chin and commits suicide, with the blood spurting up onto the underside of a patio umbrella.

DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE: All of the criminals (including Frank) obviously have bad attitudes for their actions (that include murder, dealing drugs, and more).
Frank's crime boss is upset about the "chinks" putting Americans out of business.
Richie and his partner enter a car before getting a search warrant to do so. There, they find nearly $1 million in cash, and Richie's partner wants to keep it without reporting it, but Richie won't let him do that. Other cops then look down on Richie because of that.
Trupo and other cops take drugs from the evidence room, and then sell them to various drug dealers.
Frank (who's black) uses the term "Negro" for another black man.
The term "nigger" is used.
We see that various military personnel work with Frank to smuggle drugs back into the United States from Vietnam.
On the phone, Frank calls his brother Huey "boy" and "Negro" (both are black).
A person uses the term "faggot."
When Richie retrieves the $20,000 he was using to try to bait a drug dealer, but was then taken by Trupo and his men, the corrupt cop indirectly threatens Richie, telling him he needs to call him to get permission to come into the city.
Trupo attempts to shake down the Frank for a $10,000 a month bribe payment.
Frank is upset with Nicky for the latter changing the composition of Frank's drugs, but using the same name for them.
Richie's crime figure friend (the godfather to his kid) tries to bribe him to take the heat off Frank and his drug operation.
Some of Richie's team spots Frank's cousin following a distraught woman out onto the street. That man shoots the woman, injuring her, with Richie's men then rushing up and aiming their guns at the shooter, yelling for him to drop his gun.
Trupo and his men ransack Frank's home, looking for money they believe is hidden there, and which Trupo thinks Frank owes him. During this, Trupo slaps Eva, and later shoots Frank's dog dead (but we don't see that impact).
Richie and his crew tear open a military transport plane looking for hidden drugs. Richie then gets the idea that the drugs might be hidden in the body bags or caskets holding dead US soldiers. He then orders that they be opened, thus causing some tension on the scene between his team and military personnel there.
A person uses the term "nigger," while the term "kike" is also used.
Frank tries to bribe Richie in order to be let go.
The terms "mick" and "guinea" are used.

FRIGHTENING SCENES: Scenes listed under "Violence" and/or "Blood/Gore" may be unsettling or suspenseful to younger viewers and/or those with low tolerance levels for such material.
We see Frank's thugs pouring gasoline onto a bloody man who's tied to a chair. Frank then lights up the man (who screams in pain), and then shoots him repeatedly, killing him.
Frank's crime boss has a heart attack.
Richie and his partner attempt to serve a warrant on a man, and thus break through his front door with a sledgehammer. They rush in and chase the man, who tries to close a door, but Richie blocks that with his foot. The man then bites Richie on his hand, with Richie's partner smashing the handle of the sledgehammer through the door, hitting the other man in the face. Richie then pushes that man into the shower, where he repeatedly kicks him (we don't see the impact, but the man's face is bloody after that).
Richie gets a call in the middle of the night from his cop partner, who has shot a drug dealer dead. We don't see the impact, but do see the body on the floor, and it is bloody, while there's also a pool of blood on the floor. This occurs in Harlem, and an angry mob is outside the building. Despite the man being dead, Richie decides they must fake him being alive, and remove him on a gurney, so that they can safely get out of the building.
To make a statement in his neighborhood, Frank approaches rival drug lord Tango, and holds his handgun to that man's forehead. Tango doesn't think he will do anything, but Frank then shoots him point-blank in the head. We then see Tango dead on the street, with a bullet hole in his head, and a large pool of blood behind him.
When Richie retrieves the $20,000 he was using to try to bait a drug dealer, but was then taken by Trupo and his men, the corrupt cop indirectly threatens Richie, telling him he needs to call him to get permission to come into the city.
At a party, a man gropes a woman's clothed breast. That prompts another man to shoot him in the leg, with that angering Frank. Frank hits that man, and then repeatedly slams a piano lid on that man's head, although we don't see that direct contact (but we do see some blood in the carpet afterwards).
As punishment for Huey leaving drugs in the trunk of his car (with Trupo and his corrupt cops finding them there), Frank repeatedly smashes Huey's head against the inside of the car. He then punches him hard enough to break the car window behind Huey's head.
As Frank walks back to his parked car, he realizes what is about to occur, and rushes to get Eva out of the car. Just then, another car speeds by, shooting a machine gun into his car. Eva is not hit, but Frank is in the arm (and we see a little blood on his sleeve, and later a bandage on his bare arm). Frank's driver fires one return shot at the fleeing car.
Some of Richie's team spots Frank's cousin following a distraught woman out onto the street. That man shoots the woman, injuring her, with Richie's men then rushing up and aiming their guns at the shooter, yelling for him to drop his gun.
Trupo and his men ransack Frank's home, looking for money they believe is hidden there, and which Trupo thinks Frank owes him. During this, Trupo slaps Eva, and later shoots Frank's dog dead (but we don't see that impact).
Richie, his team, and various law enforcement officials prepare to raid Frank's drug operation. They slowly make their way into the building, with their guns drawn, and try to get innocent people out of the way. During this, Richie grabs one guy and throws him to the floor, while a rifle butt is used to hit one man in the face, and a sledgehammer is used to hit another man. A massive gun battle than breaks out between the cops and the drug dealers, and many people are shot, with varying degrees of bloody results. During this, a woman is kicked in the face to stop her from shooting, while Richie chases after Huey (including some brief cat and mouse moments), who breaks through some glass and falls to the ground, where Richie aims his shotgun at him, capturing him.
A corrupt cop places a handgun under his chin and commits suicide, with the blood spurting up onto the underside of a patio umbrella.

GUNS/WEAPONS: Handguns/Shotguns/Machine guns/Explosives & Bombs: Carried and/or used to threaten, wound or kill others and/or cause property damage. See "Violence" for details.
We see Richie's young son playing with a toy gun.
We see armed men with machine guns at a drug operation in Vietnam.
Frank briefly does some skeet shooting with a powerful criminal.

IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR: Phrases: "'You bit my f*cking hand," "F*ck you," "F*ck this," "Then we're f*cked both ways," "F*cking beautiful," "What the f*ck /is happening to the world/are you talking about?" "F*cking dead," "F*cking crazy," "M*therf*cking," "F*cking kill your ass," "F*cker," "Open this f*cking door," "Can you f*cking believe it?" "F*cking crazy world," "He doesn't f*ck around," "I'd blow your m*therf*cking brains out," "Shut the f*ck up," "Who the f*ck is this guy?" "F*cking pr*ck," "Wake the f*ck up," "No f*cking nigger," "Because your head is stuck up your f*cking ass," "This f*cking kike," "Stay the f*ck down," "You're gonna pay for this sh*t," "Bullsh*t," "Dog-sh*t," "Holy sh*t," "Chinks," "What the hell are you doing?" "Are you nuts?" "Hell yeah," "Niggers," "Punk ass," "Scum of the Earth," "Big ass," "Faggot," "I don't give a damn," "Hell no," "Snitch ass" and "Guinea."
Some of the behavior, attitudes, and action that are on display might be enticing for some kids to imitate.
We see miscellaneous graffiti.
After Richie has figured out his partner's a drug addict, the man jumps from a moving ambulance, and rolls on the street, but is okay.
We see a man doing some clothed dirty dancing with two women in a club.
We see some men with tattoos.
Realizing it drew unwanted attention to him, Frank burns an expensive for coat that he wore to a high profile boxing match.
A corrupt cop places a handgun under his chin and commits suicide, with the blood spurting up onto the underside of a patio umbrella.

JUMP SCENES: Trupo's empty car suddenly explodes, a message to him from Frank.

MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE): A moderate amount of suspenseful and some heavily dramatic music plays in the film.

MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE): We hear the repeated line from the Beatles song, "Why don't we do it in the road?"
Other lyrics couldn't be heard and/or understood in full, thus presenting the possibility of them potentially containing objectionable material.

PROFANITY: At least 126 "f" words (18 used with "mother," 2 used sexually as is the term "laid"), 29 "s" words, 1 slang term each for male and female genitals ("pr*ck" and "cootchie"), 10 asses (2 used with "hole"), 7 hells, 6 damns, 1 S.O.B., 7 uses of "G-damn," 2 of "Oh my Lord" and 1 use of "Swear to God."

SEX/NUDITY: We see a hooker on the street who shows cleavage.
We hear the repeated line from the Beatles song, "Why don't we do it in the road?"
We see a bare-breasted woman serving up heroin to a man at Frank's place. The woman is in small panties, and we see another woman in a bra top.
We see go-go dancers in small shorts and tops in a club.
We see Richie shirtless in bed, which also holds true for the woman there, and we see her bare breasts (but they were asleep, so nothing sexual was occurring).
We see various scantily clad hookers in Harlem.
About Richie's lawyer, his ex-wife says he's definitely "f*cking her." The next scene then shows Richie having sex with that woman, while standing, and there is thrusting and other related movement, with her passionately telling him to "f*ck me like a cop, not a lawyer."
We see a man doing some clothed dirty dancing with two women in a club.
When Frank's brothers enter his drug operation, they see various bare breasted, scantily clad, and some fully nude women (brief full frontal and full rear nudity), and the look on their faces prompts one of the women to ask them what's the matter, "You niggers ain't seen cootchie before?"
We see various nude or scantily clad women sorting drugs at Frank's place (we hear they are nude so that they can't steal any of the product).
Eva shows a little cleavage.
At a party, a man gropes a woman's clothed breast, but nothing else sexual occurs.
Eva shows Frank that she's wearing lingerie under her long fur coat that she's going to wear to a high profile boxing match.
Eva shows cleavage in her wedding gown.
Two women do some sexy dancing for Nicky.
In an argument in court, Laurie tells Richie, "Don't go out and get laid."
We see two bare-breasted women in just thongs who are giving a man a massage.
We see various scantily clad women in the club.
We see some bare-breasted women as well as others in bikinis working in the drug sorting room.

SMOKING: Trupo smokes at least 6 times, Frank (cigarette and cigars), Huey, and Richie's cop partner each smoke several times, while Richie smokes once, and many characters smoke (cigarettes, cigars and some pipes) in many scenes throughout the movie.
A criminal prepares an unlit cigar.

TENSE FAMILY SCENES: Laurie is Richie's ex-wife, and she states that she's taking their boy to her sister's place in Las Vegas. She then tells them that he doesn't have room for them (in his life), and that she'll see him in court.
We see a young child next to a dead or strung out parent (the sound of flies makes it appear to be the former).
Realizing his ex-wife is correct, Richie gives up the fight over their son.
The attempt on their lives puts growing strain on Frank and Eva's marriage.
To try to prevent him from doing something foolish (getting revenge on Trupo by killing him), Frank's mother slaps him. His mother then says that Frank's brothers will leave him, just like she will.
Frank tells the tale from his childhood of seeing the police shoot his 12 year old cousin in the head.

TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT: The film's historical accuracy and/or artistic license taken with the true story.
Drugs and drug dealers.
Corrupt cops.
The efforts of law enforcement to stop drug dealers.
Richie and his partner enter a car before getting a search warrant to do so. There, they find nearly $1 million in cash, and Richie's partner wants to keep it without reporting it, but Richie won't let him do that. The other cop is concerned, saying that cops kill cops they can't trust.
We see that various military personnel work with Frank to smuggle drugs back into the United States from Vietnam.
Frank's life principle that nobody owns him.
Frank states that he isn't going to run from anything, adding that this is America.
The notion that quitting while ahead is not the same as general quitting.

VIOLENCE: We see Frank's thugs pouring gasoline onto a bloody man who's tied to a chair. Frank then lights up the man (who screams in pain), and then shoots him repeatedly, killing him.
Richie and his partner attempt to serve a warrant on a man, and thus break through his front door with a sledgehammer. They rush in and chase the man, who tries to close a door, but Richie blocks that with his foot. The man then bites Richie on his hand, with Richie's partner smashing the handle of the sledgehammer through the door, hitting the other man in the face. Richie then pushes that man into the shower, where he repeatedly kicks him (we don't see the impact, but the man's face is bloody after that).
We see a flashback to man slicing another with something sharp but we don't see the impact, and then that of a man being thrown down a stairwell.
Richie gets a call in the middle of the night from his cop partner, who has shot a drug dealer dead. We don't see the impact, but do see the body on the floor, and it is bloody, while there's also a pool of blood on the floor.
To make a statement in his neighborhood, Frank approaches rival drug lord Tango, and holds his handgun to that man's forehead. Tango doesn't think he will do anything, but Frank then shoots him point-blank in the head. We then see Tango dead on the street, with a bullet hole in his head, and a large pool of blood behind him.
We see a brief flashback of Frank shooting another man in the head, with a brief bit of blood spurting out.
At a party, a man gropes a woman's clothed breast. That prompts another man to shoot him in the leg, with that angering Frank. Frank hits that man, and then repeatedly slams a piano lid on that man's head, although we don't see that direct contact (but we do see some blood in the carpet afterwards).
Trupo's empty car suddenly explodes, a message to him from Frank.
As punishment for Huey leaving drugs in the trunk of his car (with Trupo and his corrupt cops finding them there), Frank repeatedly smashes Huey's head against the inside of the car. He then punches him hard enough to break the car window behind Huey's head.
Richie grabs a guy and holds his gun on him, but does so to serve him a summons.
We see TV news footage from Vietnam were bombs drop and explode.
As Frank walks back to his parked car, he realizes what is about to occur, and rushes to get Eva out of the car. Just then, another car speeds by, shooting a machine gun into his car. Eva is not hit, but Frank is in the arm (and we see a little blood on his sleeve, and later a bandage on his bare arm). Frank's driver fires one return shot at the fleeing car.
Some of Richie's team spots Frank's cousin following a distraught woman out onto the street. That man shoots the woman, injuring her, with Richie's men then rushing up and aiming their guns at the shooter, yelling for him to drop his gun.
Trupo and his men ransack Frank's home, looking for money they believe is hidden there, and which Trupo thinks Frank owes him. During this, Trupo slaps Eva, and later shoots Frank's dog dead (but we don't see that impact).
To try to prevent him from doing something foolish (getting revenge on Trupo by killing him), Frank's mother slaps him.
Richie, his team, and various law enforcement officials prepare to raid Frank's drug operation. They slowly make their way into the building, with their guns drawn, and try to get innocent people out of the way. During this, Richie grabs one guy and throws him to the floor, while a rifle butt is used to hit one man in the face, and a sledgehammer is used to hit another man. A massive gun battle than breaks out between the cops and the drug dealers, and many people are shot, with varying degrees of bloody results. During this, a woman is kicked in the face to stop her from shooting, while Richie chases after Huey (including some brief cat and mouse moments), who breaks through some glass and falls to the ground, where Richie aims his shotgun at him, capturing him.
A corrupt cop places a handgun under his chin and commits suicide, with the blood spurting up onto the underside of a patio umbrella.

Reviewed October 4, 2007 / Posted November 2, 2007

Other new and recent reviews include:

Privacy Statement and Terms of Use and Disclaimer
By entering this site you acknowledge to having read and agreed to the above conditions.