The story is a portrait of two men who, though on different sides of the law, are just as value-oriented in their ways.
By Bob Brown
Frank Lucas is today a wheelchair-bound man of 76, a mere shadow of the ruthless drug lord who ruled Harlem in the 1970s. Back then he was “Superfly,” an inspiration for the romanticized Gordon Parks Jr. film of 1972.
Ridley Scott’s film is in the vein of contemporary biopics that attempt to get closer to the subject. The screenplay by Steven Zaillian (Gangs of New York) is based partly on Mark Jacobson’s New York Magazine profile of Lucas (“The Return of Superfly,” August 7, 2000), in which the reformed gangster reminisces about, and embellishes, his past.
The movie re-creates well the drug-infused atmosphere of New York in the ‘70s, when streets were drive-in drug supermarkets with buyers lined up for a fix. Lucas (Denzel Washington) rose quickly in that milieu through a combination of personal charm, murder and family values. In a way, he was a more family-centered man than dons of the Cosa Nostra, with some of whom he forged an uneasy alliance. He didn’t trust them, so he imported his own extended family from North Carolina to front his operations.
Lucas wasn’t the first, or the only, black gangster in New York City. But he was the top dog, because he wouldn’t accept second place. Smart-mouth competitors got a warning and a bullet to the head. Heroin, like soda pop or cigarettes or cereal, came in dozens of brands, distributed by dozens of gangs. Lucas virtually cornered the market by bringing in purer heroin and selling his “Blue Magic” more cheaply than other brands. He did this by eliminating the middlemen, going directly to the source in Southeast Asia and smuggling high-grade kilos through military transports.
The war in Vietnam assured him a steady pipeline. Bodies were continually shipped back to the states — some in heroin-stuffed false-bottom coffins designed and built by Lucas’ personal carpenters. Once he got the system up and running, once he intimidated or killed his street competitors, Lucas sat back in Jersey and enjoyed the good life.
Lucas’ tasteful ostentation (he preferred the quiet assurance of a well-tailored suit to flashy displays) contrasts with the crummy frumpiness of Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe), the assistant prosecutor for Essex County. A former cop, Roberts was incorruptible at a time when lots of drug busts netted big bucks that his fellow boys in blue were skimming. That made him suspect among the fraternity. What he really got a rush from was putting away bad guys, the badder the better. The money meant nothing.
When Roberts is offered the chance to head a team investigating the influx of cheap, potent blow, he jumps at it. His recruits are kind of outsiders themselves, guys who get off on scoring a big bust but don’t care about kickbacks. They set up undercover operations to nose out the source on the street. But Lucas has scared so many gangsters that no one will talk. Instead they try to bribe Roberts into quitting. Or threaten him.
The film alternates scenes of Lucas’ lavish domestic life and harsh rule with that of Roberts and his humdrum days. Roberts fights a custody battle with his soon-to-be-ex wife, Laurie (Carla Gugino), or crams for his law exams. He and his team sit in a dingy office poring over a wall of photos, trying to link the gangsters back to one source. The story is really a double portrait of two men who, though on different sides of the law, are just as value-oriented in their way — and just as doggedly determined to win the whole enchilada. For Lucas, that means controlling the city’s entire heroin trade; for Roberts, it’s cutting off the head of the snake, whoever it might be.
Tension mounts as Roberts and his team get closer to the missing link — finally none of the Feds quite believes a black man could be better at organized crime than even the mafia. The chase at the finale is pure Ridley Scott.
With a subject this sprawling, the cast is huge, and many players stand out: Chiwetel Ejiofor as Lucas’ most trusted brother, Huey, gets a little too full of himself and is brought into line; Cuba Gooding Jr. is Nicky Barnes, Lucas’ biggest drug rival, and his antithesis as the most bling-encrusted dealer; Armand Assante is Lucas’ main Cosa Nostra connection, Dominic Cattano, who views Lucas with some disdain; Josh Brolin is Detective Trupo of the Special Investigations Unit, who thrives on drug kickbacks; and the amazing Ruby Dee is Mama Lucas, who in a few short sentences is the only one who can put her son in his place.
It’s an engrossing film, even at nearly two and three-quarter hours. This is thanks largely to the gripping performances by its two stars, who share brief screen time in a face-to-face at the climax. The colorful Frank Lucas and his now-faded era make a fascinating story. There’s even enough coda to suggest a sequel, if anyone had a mind to do it.
Rated R for violence, pervasive drug content and language, nudity and sexuality.

