Denzel Washington Ranked

 Welcome to the latest edition of "Ranked"-where I rank a franchise or filmography from worst to best and hand out related accolades. This week, I'm profiling the work of Denzel Washington-whose latest project "The Little Things" releases in theaters and on HBO Max this Friday

Denzel Washington's Filmography Ranked:

22.Roman J. Israel, Esq. (C-)

21.The Equalizer 2 (C)

20.Fences (C+)

19.Glory (C+)

18.The Equalizer (B-)

17.John Q (B-)

16.Deja Vu (B-)

15.The Taking of Pelham 123 (B)

14.Cry Freedom (B)

13.He Got Game (B)

12.Unstoppable (B)

11.2 Guns (B+)

10.Man on Fire (B+)

9.Safe House (B+)

8.Philadelphia (B+)

7.Flight (B+)

6.Inside Man (B+)

5.The Book of Eli (A-)

4.The Magnificent Seven (A-)

3.Remember the Titans (A)

2.American Gangster (A)

1.Training Day (A+) 

Top Dog: Training Day (2001)

There's a reason that Training Day is the most emulated crooked cop crime movie of this century. Washington astounds as a psychotic wild card LAPD narcotics officer tasked with showing a young beat cop (Ethan Hawke-who is the perfect foil for Washington's relentlessly meaning presence) who is up for a possible promotion to his unit the ropes during a ride along who proves throughout the day that he is significantly more dangerous and deranged than any drug dealer they'd come across on the street. The combination of Washington's historically good villain turn with a fearlessly grim script from David Ayer and tensely atmospheric direction from Antoine Fuqua makes this a crime thriller that thoroughly excites and unnerves.    

Lowlight: Roman J. Israel Esq. (2017)

Here was the first sign that the brilliance Dan Gilroy displayed with Nightcrawler may have drained him all of his creative juice. Roman J. Israel Esq. is a cheesy, absurdly dumb legal drama that quite literally is one tremendous performance away from being a complete disaster and Gilroy should forever be indebted to Mr. Washington's reliable excellence for making his poorly-written film even somewhat watchable.

Most Underrated: The Magnificent Seven (2016)

I'm not going to say that the latest Magnificent Seven remake is the best modern western, but it might just be the most fun. A simple yet engaging story, the charismatic group of actors that portrayed the titular hired guns (Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Byung Hun-Lee, Vincent D'onofrio, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Martin Sensmier), a properly imposing villain in Peter Sarsgaard's Bartholomew Bogue, and a plethora of exhilaratingly over-the-top shootouts made this a rollicking piece of vintage entertainment.

Most Overrated: Fences (2016)

From an acting standpoint, Fences is exceptional. Everyone from Viola Davis-who won her Oscar for her performance and Washington down to the bit players including Stephen McKinley Henderson and Mykelti Williamson do remarkable work that is worthy of every accolade in the book. The problem is that the collective virtuoso acting can't cover up the bland, stagey direction, melodrama-filled plot and above all, the completely unearned redemption arc for Washington's character that emerges in the final minutes that make the film incredibly tough to sit through.  

Best Late Career Goof Off: 2 Guns (2013)

Washington has put together one of the most decorated careers on both stage and screen in the history of the acting medium, so safe to say he was more than deserving of a little break from the world of serious art from time to time after nearly 30 years in the business. One of his first forays into the genre movie space came in the form of 2 Guns-a throwback 80's buddy action comedy that ended up being among the most entertaining flicks released in 2013. Washington's abundant charisma and underrated comic delivery made him the perfect person to team up with Mark Wahlberg for 2 hours of shooting guns, shit-talking and double-crossing in a proudly silly movie centered around a pair of undercover government agents who reluctantly team up once they discover the nefarious reasons why their employers wanted them to steal money from a prolific drug lord (Edward James Olmos).   

Worst Late Career Goof Off: The Equalizer 2 (2018)

By cutting back on the brutal action scenes that allowed the original to overcome its slow pacing and bizarre emphasis on a dull story, The Equalizer 2 succumbs to its shortcomings and becomes about as painfully average as a mainstream action movie with competent production values/actors/direction can possibly be.  

Best Dystopian Film with Religious Undertones: The Book of Eli (2010)

While I get how the prominent religious subtext of The Book of Eli could hamper one's ability to like it, my personal negative feelings about organized religion-particularly Christianity-didn't inhabit my ability to enjoy this movie in the slightest. The Hughes Brothers do an incredible job of building a dreary post-apocalyptic wasteland where anarchy reigns and the top-notch acting from Washington, Mila Kunis and Gary Oldman brings an unexpected level of emotional depth for a film about a nomad navigating the violence-and-hopelessness-fueled terrain to perform a task he believes to be vitally important (delivering a "book" to a secret group that's preserving art from the pre-apocalypse days).