I’ve seen a lot of documentaries in my day, especially ones about the old school gangsta’s that ran 1930’s Chicago, Philly, or Harlem. Mr Untouchable is like none of those. This documentary doesn’t glorify that lifestyle, it condemns it. After watching I actually felt sympathy for these dudes because all of the joy and money that they were living in back in the day has gone, and most of these guys are either stuck in the jail for the rest of their lives or they’re hiding somewhere under the Witness Protection System out of fear that they could be killed at any moment.

Mr. Untouchable is the true-life story of Harlem’s notorious Nicky Barnes, a junkie turned multimillionaire drug-lord, and it takes its audience deep inside the heroin industry of the 1970s. The most powerful black drug kingpin in New York City history, Barnes came from humble beginnings to make himself and his comrades rich beyond their wildest dreams, ultimately reaching national infamy in 1977 when the New York Times put him on the front cover of their magazine with the headline “Mr. Untouchable”. Soon after, it all came crumbling down, and facing a life sentence without parole, Barnes started naming names. With the first hand testimony from “the black Godfather” himself, this documentary tells an epic story of business, excess, greed and revenge.

If you’ve seen American Gangster, you’ll definitely want to check this out because Cuba’s portrayal of Barnes in the movie doesn’t do justice to how much of a bad man this guy really was. If you haven’t seen American Gangster and have no idea who Nicky Barnes is you should still consider checking this film because it makes a nice commentary on the deterioration of one man and how in the face of adversity he chose the road less traveled but now is able to spend the rest of his life in peace.

Trailer After The Jump