This film was a disappointment for us. We expected a well-acted compelling story. It was well-acted, but it was deficient in the compelling department. The story, based on truth, never really grabbed me, and there were times during the 2 hour and 37 minutes running time when my mind wandered. The film tells the story of Frank Lucas (Denzell Washington) a heroin kingpin from Manhattan, who is smuggling the drug into the country in the coffins of soldiers returning from the Vietnam War. At the same time, it tells the story of Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe), a cop who is a pariah on the force because he once turned in a million unmarked dollars that he found in the trunk of a car. This was at a time when three-quarters of the Drug Enforcement Agency was on the take. His fellow officers didn’t trust him because he was too honest. Frank Lucas also has a strong moral code. While he doesn’t stop short of murder, he always behaves like a gentleman. And he is good to his family. Denzell Washington is very effective as Lucas, and he is the main reason to see the film. Crowe’s character was less interesting, and while I realize director Ridley Scott wanted to compare and contrast the two men on opposite sides of the law, I got bored with the cop’s story. I think it would have been a better movie if it had been cut by at least 30 minutes. Chiwetal Ejiofor, so good in Dirty Pretty Things, plays one of Lucas’s brothers, and Josh Brolin has great fun playing a corrupt cop. We particularly enjoyed seeing Ruby Dee as Lucas’s mother. There are some intense moments, but not enough of them to make this the great film that we expected. GRADE B