Many Hollywood stars rise and fall, but it seems Denzel Washington is eternal. This highly respected actor segued from small screen success on St. Elsewhere to Oscar gold in 1989 with the Civil War drama Glory. Later, he dazzled audiences everywhere with his portrayal of the titular figure in Spike Lee's Malcolm X. Since then, he's played many heroes and villains across a variety of films, and he continues to be a box office draw.
Now Washington returns to the big screen in Gladiator II, the long overdue sequel to Ridley Scott’s 2000 classic. Does it rank among Washington’s best films? Not quite. Reviews have been somewhat mixed, but the consensus is that the sequel doesn’t reach the highs of the original. But never let it be said that Washington isn’t worth the price of admission all on his own. He delivers another larger-than-life, charismatic performance as gladiator owner and arms dealer Macrinus. It’s enough to wonder how much better a film Gladiator II would have been if Washington were the star of the show rather than a supporting player.
So if Gladiator II isn’t one of Washington’s best, what does make the cut? Which films are the highlights of Washington’s long and illustrious career? Here are the 14 films every Denzel Washington fan needs to see.
14. Safe House (2012)
Safe House is a prime example of how Denzel Washington's presence can prop up what might otherwise have been a formulaic action movie. Here he plays an aging CIA operative named Tobin Frost, with Ryan Reynolds starring opposite him as a rookie agent eager to prove himself. The movie wears its influences on its sleeve in how it draws heavily from both the Bourne movies (the frequent bouts of shaky-cam action) and Training Day (the morally compromised elder schooling the newbie). But the end result manages to rise above these influences and offer something more memorable.
While Washington's character is similar in many respects to his in Training Day, he brings a greater level of reserved calm to the role here. Frequent flashbacks help flesh out Frost and cast doubt on his seemingly villainous nature. Washington also enjoys a strong dynamic with Reynolds, who is forced to abandon his usual smarmy leading man role for a more dramatic approach.
13. Flight (2012)
With Flight, director Robert Zemeckis finally returned to the live-action realm and a subject he explored in Cast Away – plane crashes. The film's opening act sees Washington's character, a respected airline pilot, make a daring landing when his plane malfunctions. He saves the lives of hundreds of passengers where most pilots would have literally crashed and burned. For most films, this would be the entirety of the conflict. But it's only a starting point for the real dramatic meat of Flight.
The movie's real focus is on the post-crash investigation, where it's discovered that Captain Whip Whitaker is an alcoholic who was legally drunk at the time of the crash. His career and freedom are thrust into jeopardy as Whip confronts his addiction and struggles to move forward. The movie does veer into melodrama at times with its heavy-handed exploration of addiction and the nature of fate, but the performances more than make up for these flaws. Washington himself is typically excellent, as are co-stars John Goodman and Don Cheadle. Had Lincoln not stormed the Academy Awards that year, we could have seen Washington walking away with another Oscar.
12. American Gangster (2007)
If there's no one, instant formula for Hollywood success, pairing Washington with Russell Crowe has to be pretty close. Or maybe not, as Virtuosity proved. But the pairing certainly works in American Gangster, Ridley Scott's film about real-life drug kingpin Frank Lucas. Based on Mark Jacobson's article "The Return of Superfly," the movie follows Lucas' rise to power in the heroin trade during the Vietnam War and the efforts of Detective Richie Roberts (Crowe) to bring him down.
While American Gangster is accused of heavily dramatizing the source material, it's hard to complain too much when the results are so entertaining. The movie features Scott's distinctive directorial style and a tightly plotted script that emphasizes both Lucas and Roberts in equal measure. The movie avoids casting either character as the clear hero or villain. Washington and Crowe merely play highly driven characters in a tumultuous time.
11. The Equalizer (2014)
2014 is the year audiences truly fell in love with action movies about middle-aged killers coming out of retirement to punish wicked gangsters with extreme prejudice. It’s a formula that not only birthed the John Wick series, but also The Equalizer, a remake of the cult-favorite 1980s TV series.
Washington is in fine form here as Robert McCall, a former Marine reluctantly returning to his old ways after his friend (Chloë Grace Moretz) is abducted by sex traffickers. The result is a straightforward but very compelling revenge thriller that proves Washington can play a capable action hero when the situation demands. The film has so far inspired two sequels (with more on the way), keeping that winning partnership between Washington and director Antoine Fuqua alive.
10. Inside Man (2006)
The trailers for Inside Man might have made it look like another typical heist movie, but Spike Lee isn't the type of director to make a typical anything. Yes, it's a bit more mainstream than most Lee films, but Inside Man uses the bank robbery element as a means for Lee to comment on everything from racial tension to class warfare to violent video games. Ocean's Eleven this isn't.
Washington appears as part of an ensemble cast that also includes Clive Owen as the criminal mastermind, Jodie Foster as a highly-placed fixer, and Christopher Plummer as a bank chairman. Washington himself is the NYPD detective tasked with negotiating with Owen's crew. This sparks a tense, memorable standoff that plays directly to Washington's strengths and screen presence.
9. Remember the Titans (2000)
Who among us isn’t a sucker for a sentimental, feel-good sports movie? Remember the Titans has all the right ingredients in place to make a wholesome stew. Washington stars as embattled coach Herman Boone, who in 1971 is hired to lead the newly integrated T. C. Williams High School team. Naturally, it’s a long, uphill battle, but eventually, an entire community is brought together through the power of football.
Remember the Titans is formulaic almost to a fault, but the film definitely benefits from its very strong cast (including a young Ryan Gosling). As per usual, Washington dominates the screen, painting a vivid picture of Boone as a kindly but intense figure keeping his team together through sheer force of will (and the occasional rousing speech).
8. Fences (2016)
Washington is rightly regarded as one of the finest actors of his generation, but it seems he also has some real talent behind the camera too. Six years after starring in a Broadway revival of the play Fences, Washington both directed and starred in this big-screen adaptation. Washington plays Troy Maxson, a man struggling to provide for his family in 1950s Pittsburgh.
The actor earned one of his many Academy Award nominations for his captivating performance here. However, even that performance is arguably overshadowed by Viola Davis’ masterful work as Troy’s wife Rose. Washington may not have gone home with the Oscar that year, but Davis did, and she earned it.
7. Philadelphia (1993)
For all the strides society has made in terms of LGBTQ rights and representation, Philadelphia serves as a reminder that life was much different just a few decades ago. Inspired by a real-life court case, Philadelphia stars Tom Hanks as Andrew Beckett, an attorney who files a wrongful termination suit against his former firm. He believes he was fired because he was diagnosed with AIDS, and he turns to a personal injury lawyer (Washington) to represent him.
Naturally, Hanks attracted most of the critical acclaim for this film. Philadelphia helped shift the perception of Hanks as a comedic actor to more dramatic roles, and it earned him an Academy Award to boot. But Washington deserves plenty of credit for his performance as well. His own personal magnetism is dialed down even as his character is swept up in Beckett's heroic and ultimately tragic quest for justice.
6. The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021)
Movies have been adapting the work of William Shakespeare almost as long as the medium has existed, but few of these adaptations can boast the murderers’ row of talent that The Tragedy of Macbeth does. The film sees writer/director Joel Coen (in his first time flying solo) put a fresh spin on the beloved play, with Washington as Lord Macbeth and Frances McDormand as Lady Macbeth.
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a lean, stripped-down take on the source material, but one no less haunting and visually stunning because of it. Washington and McDormand are both superb, as one would expect, anchoring an all-around strong cast that makes the most of the meaty material. That Coen Bros. magic persists even when it’s just one Coen.
5. Crimson Tide (1995)
Crimson Tide proved that there was still room in Hollywood for a good submarine-themed drama even in the aftermath of Das Boot and The Hunt for Red October. It also proved that Washington hadn't quite reached the age where he couldn't still play the secondary character to another actor's grizzled veteran. In this case, that actor was Gene Hackman.
Hackman plays Captain Frank Ramsey, commander of a nuclear submarine and one of the few remaining Naval officers with actual submarine combat experience. Washington plays Lt. Commander Ron Hunter, a highly intelligent second-in-command who substitutes book smarts for actual experience. Throw the two of them together in a sub under imminent threat of nuclear war and you have all the makings for a strong military drama. Crimson Tide also has the distinction of kicking off a long series of collaborations between Washington and director Tony Scott. On that front, the best was yet to come.
4. Man on Fire (2004)
Speaking of Denzel Washington/Tony Scott collaborations, none can top this action/revenge flick from 2004. Those disappointed with the lukewarm Punisher movie the year before found a much more satisfying take on the idea of one vigilante meting out death and destruction.
Washington continued his increasing trend of gravitating toward morally dubious characters as he played Creasy, a retired Marine-turned-private bodyguard. His charge is a young girl named Pita (Dakota Fanning). The movie exploits their growing relationship to great effect, with Washington succeeding as the troubled father figure and Fanning finally ditching the precocious child heroine role she had played so many times. And once Pita is inevitably kidnapped, the movie shifts into full-on revenge mode. The result is one of Scott's tighter and more engaging action films, paving the way for other revenge movies like Taken.
3. Glory (1989)
Though hardly his first Hollywood effort, Glory is the movie that really put Washington on the map in 1989. The movie is based on the writings of Col. Robert Gould Shaw, the Civil War-era officer who led the US's first all-Black regiment. Washington plays one of Shaw's troops alongside Morgan Freeman and Andre Braugher.
Though Matthew Broderick elicited a mixed response in his role as Shaw, Denzel was far more universally praised. The movie earned him his first Academy Award and opened the door for a number of major dramatic roles in the years ahead.
2. Training Day (2001)
Prior to the release of Training Day, Washington had a reputation for playing mostly noble, heroic characters. This one movie profoundly reshaped his career going forward.
Washington is at his biggest and most magnetic in this turn as crooked LAPD detective Alonzo Harris. The movie sees Harris paired with a new partner, Jake Hoyt (Ethan Hawke), whom he immediately decides to educate through a brutal trial by fire. Both actors succeed admirably in their dueling roles, with Washington proving he has the right chops to play the villain (including the iconic "King Kong ain't got **** on me!" monologue) and Hawke navigating the murky, ambiguous world of narcotics policing. To the surprise of no one, Training Day earned Washington another Academy Award and more or less ensured that all his future roles would have much stronger shades of gray to them.
1. Malcolm X (1992)
If Glory put Washington on the map and earned him a Best Supporting Actor Oscar, Malcolm X solidified his reputation as one of the premier dramatic actors in Hollywood during the '90s. It was the role Washington was born to play. His gift for intense, magnetic, influential characters was tailor-made for one of the most famous and influential political figures of the 20th Century.
Director Spike Lee provides a comprehensive account of the life of the man formerly known as Malcolm Little, ranging from his childhood to his rise to power to his assassination. Perhaps it’s a little too comprehensive, considering the nearly three-and-a-half-hour run time. But Washington effortlessly holds everyone's attention throughout the film. Then and now, it's tough to imagine anyone else in Hollywood tackling the role and doing it justice to the extent that Washington manages.
What’s your favorite Denzel Washington film? Vote in our poll and let us know your pick in the comments below.
For more on Gladiator II, learn the 3 tricks Ridley Scott uses for every battle scene and see our full ending explained for the sequel.
Note: this article was originally published on 8/1/2013 and updated on 11/20/2024.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on BlueSky.
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