'American Gangster' -- 3 stars

Superfly vs. Serpico
It's the '70s again (and that's a good thing) as Denzel and Russell face off in 'American Gangster'

Amid this fall's array of small, topical dramas, many of which have carried a medicinal aftertaste, "American Gangster" comes as something of a relief. It's a big, juicy 1970s period piece, one foot in real life, the other in the movies, the preferred stance of many Hollywood crime sagas. The film gathers steam slowly but surely. Near the end, after spending most of their screen time on parallel tracks, Denzel Washington, as Harlem drug lord Frank Lucas, mixes it up with Russell Crowe's narcotics cop Richie Roberts. Separately and, fleetingly, together, it's a pleasure to watch these two stars do their job. Director Ridley Scott's saga is full of lovely supporting work, too, from Chiwetel Ejiofor as one of Lucas' brothers to an outrageously hammy Armand Assante as a mafioso, to Josh Brolin, dripping with tough-guy privilege as a New York cop on the take.