Denzel Washington's 15 best and 15 worst movies, according to critics
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- Denzel Washington is one of the most beloved movie stars of all time.
- He's been nominated for nine Oscars, with rumors of a 10th buzzing after "Gladiator II."
- But not all of his films have been hits with critics.
If you think about the greatest movie stars of the last five decades, there's no way Denzel Washington doesn't make that list.
In addition to having two Academy Awards from nine nominations, he's also been a major box-office draw and the star of at least one successful franchise ("The Equalizer"). He was also named People's Sexiest Man Alive in 1996, the first man of color to receive the honor.
But even if the 69-year-old is widely considered one of the finest actors of his generation, it doesn't mean all of his films are stone-cold classics — though, admittedly, even the bad ones are entertaining.
We used Rotten Tomatoes scores to determine the best and worst movies of Washington's career, according to critics.
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Washington has been nominated for nine Academy Awards across 36 years, winning two. But not every film in his career has been that highly regarded.
These are the worst films in his career, according to Rotten Tomatoes.
Warner Bros.
"The Pelican Brief" is based on the John Grisham novel of the same name, and stars Julia Roberts as Darby Shaw, a Tulane law student who uncovers a widespread conspiracy about oil drilling in Louisiana. Washington plays a journalist who teams up with Darby to shed light on the plot.
"An old hand at this sort of thing, [director] Alan J. Pakula goes through the motions, but not much more," wrote Time Out.
Universal Pictures
In "Safe House," Washington plays Tobin Frost, a former CIA operative who has been accused of turning on the agency. When the safe house he's being held at is attacked, he goes on the run with his handler, Matt Weston (Ryan Reynolds).
"The film's super-saturated look and quick cutting are mere substitutes for any real sense of intrigue," wrote The New Yorker's Bruce Diones.
Sony Pictures Releasing
Washington returns as Robert McCall in "The Equalizer 2." This time, Robert is dragged back into action after the death of his close friend Susan (Melissa Leo).
The London Evening Standard's Guy Lodge called this film "clunky, over-processed cement-mixer cinema, given some consistency by Washington's screen presence."
Sony Pictures Releasing
A remake of the 1974 film, "Pelham 123" stars Washington as an MTA employee who negotiates with a group of men who have taken an entire subway train hostage in exchange for millions of dollars.
"This is pointless, redundant, irrelevant film remaking, in which nothing of weight is ever at stake, and no relationships are ever formed," wrote Deborah Ross of The Spectator.
20th Century Fox
"Power" is the story of a media consultant, Pete St. John (Richard Gere) who pulls out all the stops to get his client, businessman Jerome Cade (JT Walsh), elected to the US Senate. Washington plays a PR expert who goes up against Pete.
"The movie seems to be asking us to walk out of the theater shaking our heads in disillusionment, but I was more puzzled than disillusioned," wrote Roger Ebert.
Warner Bros. Pictures
Washington plays the titular Eli in "The Book of Eli," which takes place in a future United States ravaged by a nuclear apocalypse. Over the course of the film, he travels across the States trying to deliver a mysterious book against all odds.
Ed Koch of The Atlantic wrote, "This picture is one big waste of time, including that of the actors and those in the audience who pay to see it."
20th Century Fox
"The Siege" stars Washington as an FBI agent who, after New York City endures multiple terrorist attacks, goes against a US general (played by Bruce Willis) who declares martial law and begins detaining innocent American civilians.
"'The Siege' attempts to update the bluffs and counterfeints of the Cold War spy thriller, not to advance any ideological point but to obscure the fact that it doesn't have one," wrote Sight & Sound's Ken Hollings.
Warner Bros. Pictures
"The Little Things" costars Washington and Rami Malek as two cops who are obsessed with an unsolved murder and become hellbent on proving that a suspect, Albert (Jared Leto), is guilty, no matter what.
"What saves the movie is the star. Malek is stuck at surface level, but with Washington you see the soul-deep breakage of a character whom the abyss has gazed back into," wrote Danny Leigh for the Financial Times.
Archive Photos/Getty Images
This film is about a fallen angel, Azazel, who becomes determined to possess Detective John Hobbes (Washington). But Hobbes is smarter than Azazel anticipated, and the cat-and-mouse game quickly becomes deadly.
"Denzel Washington has the almost impossible task of holding together a convoluted picture that's only intermittently suspenseful and not very engaging emotionally or intellectually," wrote Emanuel Levy for Variety.
20th Century Fox
In "Man on Fire," Washington plays a CIA operative turned bodyguard, John Creasy. He bonds with his young charge Pita (Dakota Fanning), but after she is kidnapped, he pledges to do anything in his power to get her back.
"[Director] Tony Scott's latest exercise in assaultive excess nevertheless lingers for two and a half hours, like a drunken houseguest who won't leave," wrote Nathan Rabin for AV Club.
Paramount Pictures
When a virtual amalgamation of the most violent serial killers in history is brought into the real world via an android, the LAPD releases Parker Barnes (Washington) from prison in order to track down and neutralize the android.
"Washington, that talented and flexible actor, is wasted here (I believe the dramatic motivation he called upon was $7 million)," wrote Entertainment Weekly's Lisa Schwarzbaum.
Universal Pictures
In "The Bone Collector," the actor plays a forensics expert who has been paralyzed from the neck down. Unable to continue his investigative work alone, he teams up with a young patrol officer, Amelia (Angelina Jolie), to hunt down a serial killer.
The Akron Beacon Journal's Chuck Klosterman wrote, "'The Bone Collector' is an example of everything bad about the serial-killer genre — it's gruesome and needlessly complex, only to end with a sudden avalanche of simplicity that teaches us nothing about the people involved."
Atlantic Entertainment Group
This little-remembered film is best known for Washington's Cockney accent — he plays a British paratrooper who returns to London and finds that society is indifferent to the racism he experiences and his difficulties trying to integrate back into society.
"This is a serious subject, and worthy of a serious journalistic report. That is not, however, what 'For Queen and Country' is," wrote Dave Kehr for The Chicago Tribune.
New Line Cinema
"John Q." is the story of a father (Washington) who takes an entire hospital hostage in order to get his son on the heart transplant list after he exhausts every other option in the healthcare system.
The BBC's Neil Smith thought that the film "doesn't so much need a heart as a brain transplant."
New Line Cinema
The worst film Washington has appeared in, according to critics, is "Heart Condition." He plays an ambulance-chasing lawyer, Napoleon, who has a rivalry with a racist cop, Jack. When Napoleon dies in a car crash, his heart is donated to Jack — but when Jack wakes up, he finds that he can't escape Napoleon's ghost.
"The movie is all over the map, trying whatever seems to work at the moment," wrote Roger Ebert.
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
These are the best films of his career, according to critics.
Universal Pictures
Washington received his sixth Golden Globe nomination for his performance as Frank Lucas, a real-life drug kingpin operating out of Harlem, as he goes up against a New Jersey detective played by Russell Crowe.
Empire's Ian Freer called the film "an entertaining romp through familiar cop-and-crim cat-and-mousery, bolstered by strong star turns from Washington and Crowe."
TriStar Pictures
Most of the praise for "Philadelphia" goes to Washington's costar, Tom Hanks, as Andrew Beckett, a lawyer with AIDS who sues his old firm for discrimination, but Washington's performance as Andrew's lawyer, Joe Miller, is just as important to the success of this film.
Marjorie Baumgarten wrote for the Austin Chronicle that "Philadelphia" is "comprised of enough 'little moments' that provide all the richness and grace we need to get us past the film's more inelegant moments."
Universal Pictures
Washington's fourth Oscar nomination came for his performance as Rubin "The Hurricane" Carter, a real boxer who was wrongfully convicted of murder and served 20 years before being exonerated.
"Give director Norman Jewison credit for two things: 1) He made the movie; 2) He let Washington run away with it," wrote Mick LaSalle for SF Gate.
20th Century Fox
"Courage Under Fire" switches back and forth between two timelines. In the present, Washington plays Nathaniel Serling, a former Army officer who is assigned a desk job after a traumatic friendly fire incident leads to the death of his friend. He's tasked with investigating the death of Captain Karen Walden (Meg Ryan) and to see if she's worthy of receiving the Medal of Honor.
The film also jumps back to the past to show us what actually happened to Karen on the day she died, and if she deserves the medal.
"Washington's inherent gravity anchors his troubled and troublesome character, and Ryan, whom we'd all but written off as a perpetual pom-pom girl, takes on an atypical role and acquits herself, well, honorably," wrote TV Guide.
Universal Pictures
Washington and Clive Owen costar as an NYPD detective and a master bank thief, respectively, who engage in a battle of wits after Owen's character executes an elaborate heist on the Manhattan Trust bank.
"Director Spike Lee's most polished effort in years is a gripping thriller with strong performances," wrote The Times-Picayune's Mike Scott.
20th Century Studios
Based on a real incident in 2001, "Unstoppable" is about a literal runaway train … and the only people who can stop it are railroad engineer Frank Barnes (Washington) and conductor Will Colson (Chris Pine).
"Let's give credit where it's due: [director Tony] Scott's on his A-game — as opposed to, ugh, 'Spy Game' — for this occasionally exhilarating piece of popcorn cinema," wrote Keith Uhlich for Time Out New York.
Warner Bros.
Washington's third Oscar nomination came in 1993 when he was nominated for his role as civil rights leader Malcolm X in this biopic of the same name.
"[Director Spike] Lee and company have performed a powerful service: they have brought Malcolm X very much to life again, both as man and myth," wrote David Ansen for Newsweek.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
"The Mighty Quinn" is a breezy crime caper that takes place on a fictional Caribbean island. When a local, Maubee (Robert Townsend), is accused of murdering a hotel tycoon, it's up to his friend and chief of police, Xavier Quinn (Washington), to clear his name.
"With [screenwriter Hampton] Fancher's dialogue and Washington's comedic timing, 'The Mighty Quinn' is more fun than a cabana full of bananas," wrote Rita Kempley for The Washington Post.
Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
"Crimson Tide" is a submarine thriller costarring Washington and Gene Hackman. Hackman's character is the brash, experienced captain, while Washington plays a slower-to-action second-in-command with no combat experience. Their approach to leading the sub differs, which causes tension.
"Producers [Don] Simpson/[Donald] Bruckheimer have plunged to the ocean's depths to reach the heights of commercial, big-movie filmmaking," wrote Duane Byrge for The Hollywood Reporter.
Columbia Pictures
Washington has a supporting role in "A Soldier's Story," which is the complex story of the murder of a Black Army officer in World War II-era Louisiana. Washington plays one of the soldiers in the murdered officer's company.
Cinemania's Dan Jardine called the film an "occasionally preachy but mostly intense, intelligent and captivating racially provocative drama."
The Samuel Goldwyn Company
In this Shakespeare adaptation, Washington plays Don Pedro, a prince and matchmaker for his close friends Leonato, Benedick, Hero, Claudio, and Beatrice. In classic Shakespeare fashion, things go awry almost immediately.
David Denby wrote for New York Magazine that "'Much Ado About Nothing' is one of the few movies of recent years that could leave its audiences weeping with joy."
Sony Pictures Releasing
Washington plays a would-be PI living in Los Angeles in 1948 in this neo-noir classic. Easy (Washington) is hired to search for the missing wife of a politician, and the search takes him deep into the criminal underworld of LA.
"It is a smart, sly film imbued with the rich subtle tones of a mournful blues saxophone piece, worthy of comparisons to some of the best noir films of decades past," wrote Patricia Bibby for the Associated Press.
Paramount Pictures
Washington received two Oscar nominations for "Fences": one for producing and one for acting. The film, based on the August Wilson play of the same name, costars Washington and Viola Davis as a married couple living in Pittsburgh with their son, Cory, who wants to play college football against his father's wishes.
"Denzel swells with dangerous charisma. Viola works high emotion from every one of her many lines. They are so good they almost convince us we're watching a movie," wrote Donald Clarke for The Irish Times.
The Samuel Goldwyn Company
"Mississippi Masala" is a romantic drama about an Indian-Ugandan immigrant, played by Sarita Choudhury, falling in love with a local Mississippi man, played by Denzel Washington, against the wishes of her father who wants more than anything to return home to Uganda.
"'Mississippi Masala' appears to have been produced on a modest (by Hollywood standards) budget, but it is a big movie in terms of talent, geography and concerns," wrote The New York Times' Vincent Canby.
Apple Original Films
Washington received his ninth and final (for now) Academy Award nomination for playing Macbeth in director Joel Coen's adaptation of Shakespeare's tragedy. The story follows the doomed king of Scotland as he slowly descends into paranoia and tyranny.
"It's not exactly cheerful holiday viewing, but this 'Macbeth' is nonetheless a gift," wrote Moira Macdonald for The Seattle Times.
Tri-Star Pictures
Washington received his second Oscar nom — and first win — for his role in the Civil War epic "Glory," which critics have deemed his best film. The film stars Matthew Broderick as Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, who leads the first all-Black regiment in the Union's army. Washington plays one of the members of the regiment, Private Silas Trip.
Ian Nathan of Empire called this film an "exceptionally well-rendered and emotive war drama."