In a moment of sudden inspiration he hits on the idea to use US involvement in the Vietnam war to forge a direct route into the country for heroin. At enormous personal risk he travels there and deals directly with a producer.
This pays off.
Meanwhile, Detective Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe) is put in charge of a task force to tackle the scourge of drugs on the streets.
CW: graphic images of drug abuse
Ridley Scott parks his tanks on the lawn of "The Godfather" and "Goodfellas" and does a solid job.
It paints Lucas as serious and businesslike but ruthlessly violent so Washington is in "being a boss" mode which he does well as we follow the rise and fall.
It's packed with a great supporting cast and in this extended version we also see Roberts evolve over time in a believable fashion. At almost three hours you really get a mass of detail that isn't wasted and it stands up well against the epics of the genre.
I'm not totally convinced by the direction it takes in the last half hour, but overall 8/10 highly recommended.