CEITEDMOFO
Banned
1. 'Malcolm X' (1992)
This monumental performance as the slain civil rights leader in Spike Lee's masterful biopic remains the greatest thing he's done to date – a journey that takes in the man from small-time hustler to prisoner, preacher, leader and finally, martyr. But this Malcolm is a cumulative effort: At every stage, you see glimmers of the man he once was, so that he's always in a dialogue with his past selves. (This isn't just solid character work, but an actual theme in the film.) Lee and Washington are arguing that what made Malcolm so magnetic and powerful was his distillation of these many experiences – that he truly understood what it meant to be poor, dispossessed, and angry in the first half of the 20th century. The actor so thoroughly inhabits the part at every stage of these changes that, at the time, it was hard to think of him ever doing another movie after this. Amazingly, he was just getting started.
2. 'Training Day' (2001)
The film that won Washington his second Oscar is still perhaps his best-known part. As the remorselessly corrupt LAPD detective Alonzo Harris, putting rookie Jake Hoyt (Ethan Hawke) through what at first seems like the world's worst hazing ritual, Washington keeps us constantly uncertain as to his true intentions: Is he simply teaching Jake how to survive on the streets? Does he have something more nefarious in mind? That sense of never knowing where we stand with this character makes this a riveting, high-wire act of a performance. And when Harris finally does go totally over-the-top, it's a turn worthy of Jimmy Cagney. In the modern era, one can't imagine anybody but Denzel pulling it off. "King Kong ain't got sh*t on me!"
3. 'Mo' Better Blues' (1990)
4. 'Flight' (2012)
The actor gives one of his greatest performances as Whip Whitaker, a pilot whose heroic exploits during a plane crash wind up inadvertently revealing the extent of his drug and alcohol addiction. Outraged that anyone would dare question his actions after he's saved hundreds of people, Whip slips further and further into anger and resentment. It's a role that requires an impressive range, as our hero goes from confidence to denial to fear to devastation. For all the film's amazing effects and tension – director Robert Zemeckis stages the plane crash with heart attack-inducing suspense – the real drama of this story plays out on Denzel's face. He is simply amazing.
5. 'Mississippi Masala' (1992)
In one of his sexiest performances, Washington is an enterprising Mississippi carpet cleaner who falls for Sarita Choudhury's independent-minded Indian immigrant. Mira Nair's lush, heartfelt romance glows with humanity and desire; it puts the "passion" back in "compassion." Denzel navigates his character's journey – from a handsome, cool, and even slightly smug business owner to hopeless romantic – with loads of magnetism, and he and Choudhury have incredible chemistry together. Even their phone conversations smolder.
6. 'Inside Man' (2006)
7. 'Crimson Tide' (1995)
8. 'The Mighty Quinn' (1989)
9. 'Cry Freedom' (1987)
10. 'Glory' (1989)
11. 'The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3' (2009)
12. 'Unstoppable' (2010)
13. 'Out of Time' (2003)
14. 'He Got Game' (1998)
15. 'Devil in a Blue Dress' (1995)
16. 'Courage Under Fire' (1996)
17. 'Philadelphia' (1993)
18. 'American Gangster' (2007)
19. 'The Hurricane' (1999)
20. 'Remember the Titans' (2000)
21. 'Man on Fire' (2004)
22. 'Deja Vu' (2006)
23. '2 Guns' (2013)
24. 'Antwone Fisher' (2002)
25. 'Ricochet' (1991)
26. 'Much Ado About Nothing' (1993)
27. 'A Soldier's Story' (1984)
28. 'The Bone Collector' (1999)
29. 'The Equalizer' (2014)
30. 'John Q' (2002)-They fu*ked this up. John Q is top ten
31. 'For Queen & Country' (1988)
32. 'The Preacher's Wife' (1996)
33. 'The Pelican Brief' (1993)
34. 'The Manchurian Candidate' (2004)
35. 'Power' (1986)
Denzel Washington's Movies Ranked, From Worst to Best
This monumental performance as the slain civil rights leader in Spike Lee's masterful biopic remains the greatest thing he's done to date – a journey that takes in the man from small-time hustler to prisoner, preacher, leader and finally, martyr. But this Malcolm is a cumulative effort: At every stage, you see glimmers of the man he once was, so that he's always in a dialogue with his past selves. (This isn't just solid character work, but an actual theme in the film.) Lee and Washington are arguing that what made Malcolm so magnetic and powerful was his distillation of these many experiences – that he truly understood what it meant to be poor, dispossessed, and angry in the first half of the 20th century. The actor so thoroughly inhabits the part at every stage of these changes that, at the time, it was hard to think of him ever doing another movie after this. Amazingly, he was just getting started.
2. 'Training Day' (2001)
The film that won Washington his second Oscar is still perhaps his best-known part. As the remorselessly corrupt LAPD detective Alonzo Harris, putting rookie Jake Hoyt (Ethan Hawke) through what at first seems like the world's worst hazing ritual, Washington keeps us constantly uncertain as to his true intentions: Is he simply teaching Jake how to survive on the streets? Does he have something more nefarious in mind? That sense of never knowing where we stand with this character makes this a riveting, high-wire act of a performance. And when Harris finally does go totally over-the-top, it's a turn worthy of Jimmy Cagney. In the modern era, one can't imagine anybody but Denzel pulling it off. "King Kong ain't got sh*t on me!"
3. 'Mo' Better Blues' (1990)
4. 'Flight' (2012)
The actor gives one of his greatest performances as Whip Whitaker, a pilot whose heroic exploits during a plane crash wind up inadvertently revealing the extent of his drug and alcohol addiction. Outraged that anyone would dare question his actions after he's saved hundreds of people, Whip slips further and further into anger and resentment. It's a role that requires an impressive range, as our hero goes from confidence to denial to fear to devastation. For all the film's amazing effects and tension – director Robert Zemeckis stages the plane crash with heart attack-inducing suspense – the real drama of this story plays out on Denzel's face. He is simply amazing.
5. 'Mississippi Masala' (1992)
In one of his sexiest performances, Washington is an enterprising Mississippi carpet cleaner who falls for Sarita Choudhury's independent-minded Indian immigrant. Mira Nair's lush, heartfelt romance glows with humanity and desire; it puts the "passion" back in "compassion." Denzel navigates his character's journey – from a handsome, cool, and even slightly smug business owner to hopeless romantic – with loads of magnetism, and he and Choudhury have incredible chemistry together. Even their phone conversations smolder.
6. 'Inside Man' (2006)
7. 'Crimson Tide' (1995)
8. 'The Mighty Quinn' (1989)
9. 'Cry Freedom' (1987)
10. 'Glory' (1989)
11. 'The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3' (2009)
12. 'Unstoppable' (2010)
13. 'Out of Time' (2003)
14. 'He Got Game' (1998)
15. 'Devil in a Blue Dress' (1995)
16. 'Courage Under Fire' (1996)
17. 'Philadelphia' (1993)
18. 'American Gangster' (2007)
19. 'The Hurricane' (1999)
20. 'Remember the Titans' (2000)
21. 'Man on Fire' (2004)
22. 'Deja Vu' (2006)
23. '2 Guns' (2013)
24. 'Antwone Fisher' (2002)
25. 'Ricochet' (1991)
26. 'Much Ado About Nothing' (1993)
27. 'A Soldier's Story' (1984)
28. 'The Bone Collector' (1999)
29. 'The Equalizer' (2014)
30. 'John Q' (2002)-They fu*ked this up. John Q is top ten
31. 'For Queen & Country' (1988)
32. 'The Preacher's Wife' (1996)
33. 'The Pelican Brief' (1993)
34. 'The Manchurian Candidate' (2004)
35. 'Power' (1986)
Denzel Washington's Movies Ranked, From Worst to Best
That and he got game should be top 10. And I think Book of Eli should be on there as well.
