Is Denzel becoming our new-and-improved Robert
Mitchum? I mean, I forgot the number of times I have watched him in
one law-enforcement role or another, and usually as a cop or a
police detective… Or is he already typecast to such a degree that he
ends up playing more and more of such roles?
Here are just some of the films that easily come
to my mind with Denzel Washington as a cop, detective, P.I., or FBI
guy: Inside Man (2006) [Detective Keith Frazier]; Out of Time (2003)
[Matthias Lee Whitlock]; Training Day (2001) [Alonzo]; The Bone
Collector (1999) [Lincoln Rhyme]; The Siege (1998) [FBI Agent
Anthony 'Hub' Hubbard]; Fallen (1998) [Det. John Hobbes ]; Devil in
a Blue Dress (1995) [Easy Rawlins]. And I’m sure there are at least
this many more that I can’t recall right now…
Here are my favorite Denzel-the-cop parts and
the reasons why:
1) Inside Man (2006) [Detective Keith
Frazier] – here Denzel plays a police detective who is really
out of his depth. The joke is on him and we, as the audience, are in
on the joke at Frazier’s expense. However, Frazier is also morally
incorruptible. And at the end, his integrity upholds the law and
order against formidable money and influence and wins the day both
for himself and for us. To watch him in that vulnerable role of a
not-too-smart cop with a shining spirit and iron ethics is a
valuable cinematic experience. He is simply brilliant! Denzel won
the 2007 Black Reel Best Actor award for portraying Frazier. I tend
to believe that he also actually deserved an Oscar as well.
2) Training Day (2001) [Alonzo Harris]
– dirty cops were never portrayed before this contaminated on a
spiritual level. As law abiding tax payers, Alonzo presents all of
us with a burning law-enforcement dilemma that we are not equipped
to resolve quickly and neatly. Denzel shows his artistic bona-fides
by drawing a portrait of a king of the urban jungle very
convincingly. You don’t want to meet an undercover cop like Alonzo
in your life, under any circumstances. The role won Denzel his 2002
Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role.
3) Devil in a Blue Dress (1995) [Easy
Rawlins] - this is probably the best (and the only?) Afro-Noir
period who-done-it ever shot, portraying Denzel as the romantic lady
killer who gets the job done. This is Denzel at one of his sexiest
gumshoe performances. If you dig Raymond Chandler, you’re gonna dig
The “Blue Dress” and Denzel’s jazzy performance in it as well.
Ugur Akinci, Ph.D. is a senior writer and web
content consultant with 20 years of experience.
Subscribe to his FREE "Weekly Success
Update" newsletter today at
http://www.writer111.com
Denzel Washington-Deja Vu (2006)
By Josh Lipovetsky
Deja Vu was directed by Tony Scott, a familiar face in Denzel
Washingtons career. They had collaborated on the film, "Man on
Fire", in 2004. This time, the film features less action, and the
movie is more of a psychological thriller. I think they did a good
job overall, in making the new film. It's setting is in New
Orleans, and a tribute to what the citizens had to overcome in
Hurricane Katrina. Mixing theories of time-bending continuum, and
a few thrilling action sequences, Deja Vu is as good of a movie
that I thought it to be.In the movie,
Denzel Washington is plays as an ATF agent, and in his latest
investigation, over 500 people have been murdered by a bomb.
Sounds just like any other action movie, right? But Denzel's
character, Doug Carlin, is invited to a top secret government
operation. It is a program, that displays anything that happened 4
days ago, at the exact moment. I don't want to ruin the plot for
you, so thats all i'm going to reveal about the government
operation. The main villain, played by James Caviezel, is the one
who sets the bombs. Denzel must go back in time to stop him. Will
he be successful, or will he fail. The ending is very
unpredictable, and shocking.
What makes this movie so unique, and what
separates it from all of the other action films, is the scientific
connection. This movie makes you think, and you don't stop
thinking until the movie is over. Even then, you will have to
ponder about the various events that happened throughout the
course of the movie. This is why I don't recommend this movie to
the younger audiences who liked "Man on Fire". Even though it
features the same director, it has a completely different mind
set, and you have to be ready for it. If you aren't sure if you
want to see this movie, then rent it when it hits the video
stores. If you have a good mind, and have seen previous time
travel movies, like Timecop, then you should see it.
Overall, this movie was a good experience
for me, especially in a movie theatre. If you are looking for a
good mix of action and drama, then go ahead and see this movie. If
you are more of a non-stop action movie fan, then watch Casino
Royale. They producer tried to prove a point, and he thoroughly
delivered it to the fans. It's just that not every fan will be
able to comprehend the ideas.
Review written by Josh
For more visit:
http://www.relevantreviews.net
Denzel Washington-Man on Fire (2006) Review
By Josh Lipovetsky
Another Denzel Washington masterpiece was
produced in the year of 2004. The name of the film is "Man on
Fire", and it's my favorite Denzel Washington movie. It reveals
some of the harsh facts about the kidnapping rates in Latin
America, and how smart some criminals really are. If you are a fan
of action or adventure movies, or you are just in the mood to
watch a top quality movie, you should watch "Man on Fire". One
forewarning about the movie, the first hour builds an emotional
connection with all of the characters, and the second hour is when
all of the action takes place.Like I
mentioned earlier, the movie takes place in Latin America, and a
family assigns a bodyguard named Creasy (Washington) to protect
their daughter Pita (Dakota Fanning) from being kidnapped. Pita is
a swimmer on the school team, a great person in the community,
just as you would expect. The movies places an emotional
connection with Creasy and Pita, which progresses throughout the
film.
Then comes the dark side of the movie, the
second half. This is where all of the action comes to life. It all
starts with Pita getting kidnapped, and Creasy wanting to take
revenge. He vows to kill every single person involved in the
kidnapping. In doing so, he finds out an array of things. Each
thing he finds out, brings him closer to the unimaginable truth,
and it's shocking ending, which is for you to find out.
In conclusion, Man on Fire is a very unique
film, unlike many pointless action films. It has a great message,
which shouldn't be missed. Another trait that makes this movie
great, is that it's based on a true story. The movie contains some
great acting, and features the likes of Dakota Fanning,
Christopher Walken, and Marc Anthony. Everyone does a great acting
job, and no one contradicts each other. It seems as if they picked
the perfect cast. I think that this is one of the most underrated
movies of 2004. If you ever have a chance to watch it, I would
strongly recommend it.
Review written by Josh
For more visit:
http://www.relevantreviews.net
Movie Review - Deja Vu (2006)
By Ugur Akinci
(WARNING: This review contains plot
spoilers.)This is yet another film
in which Denzel Washington is playing a law-and-order character
(Detective Keith Frazier in "Inside Man (2006)"; dirty cop
Alonzo Harris in "Training Day (2001)"; and gumshoe Easy Rawlins
in "Devil in a Blue Dress (1995)").
This time he is a sunny side up ATF agent
who gets into a deep trouble that involves parallel universes
and painful time travel!
Tony Scott needs no introduction as a
director. He again directed Denzel in a similar role in "Man on
Fire (2004)". His action-thriller skills and credentials are
beyond question.
So this is another fantastic Scott
juggernaut with a little catch - the plot does not make total
sense. The penultimate scene puts Denzel in a place from where
there should have been no coming back, with or without time
travel. But, hey, that's Hollywood...
The film starts with a mega bang when a
ferry boat in New Orleans chartered to carry over five hundred
U.S. sailors explodes in a mother of all fireballs. Carnage.
Terrorism. Chaos. Underwater shots of cars and trucks and bodies
plunging into the water after they are catapulted high up into
the sky. Reminded me of similar shots in the opening scenes of
"Saving Private Ryan".
The whole film is held together by our
belief in this hi-tech government laser-beam-and-satellites
hocus-pocus contraption that can re-constitute the multi-media
record of everything that have happened 4 days ago in 3-D,
tracking forward towards the present with an exact 4 day lag.
Thus when Denzel identifies the ferryboat
bomber who has previously killed his partner, he arranges
himself transported to 4 days earlier, to an "earlier version of
reality." The goal of this desperate clock-ticking attempt is to
change the past in order to save the hundreds of sailors who
have already died in the present-day universe.
There is also a subplot involving saving
the gorgeous "love interest" played by beautiful Paula Patton
who is also already dead "today".
There are just too many people that need
to be saved in this movie by beaming to the past but not enough
seconds in a day. By the time Denzel manages to save them all he
runs out of time to save himself. Or does he?...
We're talking about time travel and an
amazing contraption that can make anything possible. Suspend
your disbelief and you can perhaps save most of the holes in
this plot as well.
Terrific directing. Good solid acting as
usual by Denzel Washington, Val Kilmer, Jim Caviezel, and Paula
Patton. And a very imaginative, risk-taking but logically
defective script.
Gets 7 stars "here and now" out of 10.
Ugur Akinci, Ph.D. is a senior writer
and web content consultant with 20 years of experience.
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