THE REWATCHABLES · September 1, 2025
A 2007 crime / drama movie directed by Ridley Scott—and decision no. 71 in the Hanks–Cruise tape.
ON THIS EPISODE
FROM THE CONVERSATION
WHY IT WORKS
WHAT DID NOT WORK
SCENES THEY KEPT COMING BACK TO
The film starts with Denzel shooting a burning man, immediately setting the tone.
About 16 minRichie and his partner debate what to do after finding nearly a million dollars in a trunk.
About 16 minFrank's showdown with Tango ends in a street execution that the hosts call iconic.
About 8 minFrank loses his composure when family and status collide at the party.
About 16 minThe film uses the famous fight as a key historical moment, but the fake athlete casting is mocked.
About 16 minThe search of the plane and the heroin-filled coffins is treated as a major procedural set piece.
About 16 minThe ending with Amazing Grace and the mass arrests is praised for scale and payoff.
About 16 minThe final back-and-forth between Frank and Richie is admired for its intelligence and tension.
About 16 minWHERE THEY DISAGREED
Van LathanMore Frank, less Richie.
Bill SimmonsMore Frank or a smaller Richie role would improve it.
Chris RyanEither a stronger Trupo movie or a Frank-focused movie could have worked better.
Bill SimmonsCrowe feels underwritten because the role was expanded for star power.
Van LathanHe should have leaned harder into being a bigger character.
Chris RyanThe performance works, but it feels like a favor to Denzel's side of the movie.
Bill SimmonsYes, Brolin's character could have been the whole movie.
Van LathanYes, the Trupo crew and corruption thread are strong enough for more screen time.
Chris RyanThe ending is oddly compressed, but the final conversation is strong.
Van LathanThe film needs more time to reconcile Frank's fall.
Bill SimmonsThe final stretch is doing too much character repair at once.
Bill SimmonsVery loosely based on reality; the movie makes things up freely.
Van LathanThe truth claims caused backlash and undercut the film's reputation.
Chris RyanThe development story and reality were constantly being reshaped in production.
Frames the movie as a mashup of favorite crime-movie ingredients, 1970s New York, and great casting.
About 8 minSees it as a very fun hang, even if it falls short of a great single-shape masterpiece.
About 8 minWants a tighter movie centered more on Frank Lucas than Richie Roberts.
About 8 minLikes Denzel's cool, controlled Frank, but thinks the movie leaves too much character development for the end.
About 8 minTreats Tango's death as the defining scene that keeps living in the movie's memory.
About 8 minSees Brolin as a borderline movie-stealer whose Trupo is perfect at this career stage.
About 8 minThinks Frank's meltdown at the party is one of the movie's best sequences.
About 8 minAdmires Scott's visual texture and New York atmosphere, even while acknowledging the film's structural issues.
About 8 minUses Crowe's earlier filmography as an example of why the Richie role feels underpowered here.
About 32 minPositions Denzel as a long-running star whose work here is part of a larger 'Denzel Incorporated' era.
About 16 minThinks the movie is one of the best hangout-style crime movies because there's so much going on in each scene.
About 8 minThe hosts read the movie as more about economic systems, supply chains, and business than simple gangster mythology.
About 16 minThe cops are depicted as corrupt, predatory, and often as criminal as the drug dealers.
About 8 minFrank's loyalty to family and his discomfort with status symbols drive much of the drama.
About 16 minThe Golden Triangle/Vietnam connection is treated as one of the movie's most interesting historical threads.
About 8 minThe episode uses American Gangster to mark the start of Denzel as an 'entity' or franchise-level star.
About 16 minThe episode is framed as The Rewatchables' 400th movie.
Opening minutesThe film reportedly went through multiple directors and versions, including Fincher, De Palma, and Fuqua.
About 32 minThe movie had a $100 million budget and made $269 million worldwide.
About 16 minThe film received two Oscar nominations: Art Direction and Ruby Dee for Supporting Actress.
About 16 minRoger Ebert gave the movie four stars.
About 16 minThe movie was part of an early accuracy backlash campaign.
About 16 minRussell Crowe gave RZA a mint-condition 1961 Gretsch guitar.
About 16 minFrank Lucas's driver in real life was Melvin Combs, Diddy's father.
About 16 minUsed as the original spark for The Rewatchables and as a comparison for American Gangster's density and star power.
Opening minutesPart of CR's mashup description of American Gangster's influences.
About 8 minReferenced as one of the crime-movie touchstones American Gangster evokes.
About 8 minUsed as a comparison point for gangster-movie energy and structure.
About 8 minMentioned as part of the model for ambitious gangster epics.
About 8 minAlso referenced as a tonal comparison for the film's production hype and star pairing.
About 8 minUsed to compare the feeling of hearing about a star director/star actor combination that seems unreal.
About 8 minReferenced in Crowe filmography and gossip discussion.
About 32 minCited as one of the high points in Denzel's 2000s run.
About 24 minReferenced as part of Denzel's strong 2000s streak.
About 24 minMentioned as a higher-standard TV comparison for drug-world stories.
About 16 minUsed as another TV example of nuanced drug-kingpin storytelling.
About 16 minReferenced in an aside about prestige TV and actor work.
About 16 minUsed as a comparison for recreating period New York/Los Angeles streets and set dressing.
About 16 minReferenced through a later joke about cinematic gun-pointing and early film history.
About 24 min · medium confidenceCraig gets repeatedly teased for his enthusiasm about the Bangkok/Golden Triangle material, culminating in the nickname 'Bangkok Craig.'
About 24 minThe hosts joke about Denzel as a stand-alone studio or corporate entity rather than just an actor.
About 16 minRepeated jokes connect the movie's product names, coffee sugar, and drug-language to ongoing bits.
About 24 minCR keeps returning to the Bangkok/Golden Triangle material as the movie's most tantalizing missing subplot.
About 8 minA long running joke imagines an all-white recasting of the film with absurd replacements.
About 24 min“There's five fucking movies in here”About 8 min
“Can I interest you in a quick scene in Bangkok?”About 8 min
“I just immediately grew a Josh Brolin mustache”Opening minutes
“You bought that shit”About 16 min
“I didn't know you spoke Thai”About 24 min
MAKE IT A MOVIE NIGHT
WHAT TO WATCH NEXT
Three movies to watch before American Gangster, and three to watch next.
ON THE MIC
Bill Simmons125 tracked appearances · 56 H / 64 C / 5 ties
Chris Ryan77 tracked appearances · 36 H / 38 C / 3 ties
Van Lathan36 tracked appearances · 11 H / 23 C / 2 tiesCATEGORY CONTEXT
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