YMMV / American Gangster

• Award Snub: The film earned only two Academy Award nominations, winning neither.
• Magnificent Bastard: Frank Lucas is the friendly but ruthless former right-hand man of crime lord "Bumpy" Johnson, seeking to restore order to Harlem following Johnson’s death. Frank manages to monopolize the Harlem drug market with his business practices, built on the principles of honesty, integrity, hard work, and family, inspiring loyalty amongst his community and subordinates. Frank becomes so powerful that he can commit murder in the open without repercussion, and operates for half a decade without issue, cultivating the image of a well-meaning family man. Upon his arrest, Frank assists Richie Roberts's investigation, putting corrupt cops and most of the DEA behind bars, while also getting his 70-year sentence reduced to 15. A man that lives by a code, despite his violent actions, Frank instills devotion in his followers and respect in the clean-cut Roberts, operating by his wits and willpower while exploiting a massive Cassandra Truth: that a black man in the 1960s has managed to rise to power.
• Signature Scene: Frank Lucas shooting Tango in the middle of a busy city street and walking back to the diner like nothing happened.
• Tear Jerker: The scene where Mama Lucas tries to dissuade Frank from starting shooting cops outright, warning him that if he doesn't pull in his darker instincts, his entire family—including her—will abandon him. It doesn't help that Mama seemed cheerfully oblivious about Frank's criminal enterprises, only to reveal in this dialogue that she Knew It All Along:
  Mama Lucas: I never asked you where all this came from, because I didn't wanna hear you lie to me—
  Frank: Because I don't want you to worry about it! Now come on—
  Mama Lucas: Please—
  Frank: I got to go—
  Mama Lucas: Don't LIE to me!
  (She slaps him across the face)
  Mama Lucas: ...don't do that. Do you want to—do you wanna make things so bad for your family that they'll leave you? Because they will.
  (Gesturing to Eva, who is watching upstairs)
  Mama Lucas: She will leave you.
  (A Beat)
  Mama Lucas: I will leave you.

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