TopTenREVIEWS presents the film career and movie reviews of Denzel Washington.

Denzel Washington
Birthdate: December 28, 1954

Denzel Washington

ACTOR RANKINGS:

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CAREER SPAN

Decade
Movie Score
# Movies
1980s
2.1593
7
total ranking of 2.1593
1990s
3.1663
18
total ranking of 3.1663
2000s
3.1754
12
total ranking of 3.1754
Ratings and rankings are based on all available critic reviews & awards.
Overall Actor Score: Denzel Washington is ranked overall as 3.6214 of of 4 stars3.6214

Denzel Washington Movie Rankings

1
Denzel Washington starring in Glory
Denzel Washington scores a combined 3.1605 out of 4 stars for Glory3.1605
Based on the letters of Colonel Robert G. Shaw. Shaw was an officer in the Federal Army during the American Civil War who volunteered to lead the first company of black soldiers. ...more about Glory
Actor Awards
  • Academy Awards, USA - Best Actor in a Supporting Role
  • Golden Globes, USA - Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
  • Image Awards - Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
  • Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards - Best Supporting Actor
2
Denzel Washington starring in Malcolm X
Denzel Washington scores a combined 3.0896 out of 4 stars for Malcolm X3.0896
Chronicling the life of civil rights leader Malcolm X from childhood, through prison and Islamic enlightenment. ...more about Malcolm X
Actor Awards
  • Academy Awards, USA - Best Actor in a Leading Role
  • Berlin International Film Festival - Best Actor
  • Golden Globes, USA - Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama
  • Image Awards - Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture
  • Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards - Best Actor
  • New York Film Critics Circle Awards - Best Actor
  • Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards - Best Actor
3
Denzel Washington starring in Courage Under Fire
Denzel Washington scores a combined 3.0579 out of 4 stars for Courage Under Fire3.0579
The pilot of a rescue copter, Captain Karen Walden, died shortly before her helicopter crew was rescued after it crashed in Desert Storm. ...more about Courage Under Fire
Actor Awards
  • Image Awards - Outstanding Lead Actor in a Motion Picture
  • Lone Star Film & Television Awards - Best Actor
  • Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards - Best Actor
4
Inside Man (2006)
Denzel Washington scores a combined 3.0462 out of 4 stars for Inside Man3.0462
Negotiator Keith Frazier has met his match when Dalton Russell enacts the "perfect" bank heist. Each knowing the other has another trick up his sleeve, it seems every time Frasier has a handle on the dangerous situation Russell is one-step ahead. ...more about Inside Man
Actor Awards
  • Black Movie Awards - Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
  • Black Reel Awards - Best Actor
  • Image Awards - Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture
5
Crimson Tide (1995)
Denzel Washington scores a combined 3.0343 out of 4 stars for Crimson Tide3.0343
Instability in Russia results in the deployment of the the nuclear submarine "Alabama". Russian rebels have taken over a nuclear missile site and are refueling them for a possible strike against the USA. ...more about Crimson Tide
Actor Awards
  • Image Awards - Outstanding Lead Actor in a Motion Picture
6
Hurricane, The (1999)
Denzel Washington scores a combined 3.0103 out of 4 stars for Hurricane3.0103
In 1966, a promising middleweight boxer, Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, was wrongfully accused of murdering three men in New Jersey. Sentenced to three life terms Carter wrote a book about his life and incarceration. In 1985, after strong support from activists, Carter's conviction was overturned. ...more about Hurricane
Actor Awards
  • Academy Awards, USA - Best Actor in a Leading Role
  • Berlin International Film Festival - Best Actor
  • Black Reel Awards - Theatrical - Best Actor
  • Blockbuster Entertainment Awards - Favorite Actor - Drama
  • Chicago Film Critics Association Awards - Best Actor
  • Golden Globes, USA - Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama
  • Image Awards - Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture
  • Satellite Awards - Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama
  • Screen Actors Guild Awards - Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
7
Antwone Fisher (2002)
Denzel Washington scores a combined 2.9947 out of 4 stars for Antwone Fisher2.9947
A sailor (Derek Luke) prone to violent outbursts is sent to a naval psychiatrist (Washington) for help. Refusing at first to open up, the young man eventually breaks down and reveals a horrific childhood. ...more about Antwone Fisher
Actor Awards
  • Black Reel Awards - Theatrical - Best Supporting Actor
  • Image Awards - Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
8
Great Debaters, The (2007)
Denzel Washington scores a combined 2.9799 out of 4 stars for Great Debaters2.9799
Oscar winner Denzel Washington directs and stars in this drama set in the segregated South. Washington plays a debate coach who takes a Texas college team from obscurity to a showdown with Harvard's renowned students. ...more about Great Debaters
Actor Awards
  • Image Awards - Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture
9
American Gangster (2007)
Denzel Washington scores a combined 2.9797 out of 4 stars for American Gangster2.9797
In 1970s America, a detective works to bring down the drug empire of Frank Lucas, a heroin kingpin from Manhattan, who is smuggling the drug into the country in the coffins of soldiers returning from the Vietnam War. ...more about American Gangster
Actor Awards
  • Golden Globes, USA - Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama
  • Satellite Awards - Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama
10
He Got Game (1998)
Denzel Washington scores a combined 2.9731 out of 4 stars for He Got Game2.9731
Tells the story of Jesus Shuttlesworth, the most sought after high school basketball prospect in the nation. ...more about He Got Game
Actor Awards
  • Acapulco Black Film Festival - Best Actor
  • Image Awards - Outstanding Lead Actor in a Motion Picture
11
Manchurian Candidate, The (2004)
Denzel Washington scores a combined 2.9351 out of 4 stars for Manchurian Candidate2.9351
As the entire nation watches the presidential campaign hurtle towards Election Day, one soldier races to uncover the conspiracy behind it -- a conspiracy that seeks to destroy democracy itself. ...more about Manchurian Candidate
12
Remember the Titans (2000)
Denzel Washington scores a combined 2.9251 out of 4 stars for Remember the Titans2.9251
Suburban Virginia schools have been segregated for generations, in sight of the Washington Monument over the river in the nation's capital. One Black and one White high school are closed and the students sent to T.C. ...more about Remember the Titans
Actor Awards
  • BET Awards - Best Actor
  • Black Reel Awards - Theatrical - Best Actor
  • Blockbuster Entertainment Awards - Favorite Actor - Drama
  • Image Awards - Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture
  • Satellite Awards - Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama
13
Devil in a Blue Dress (1995)
Denzel Washington scores a combined 2.9193 out of 4 stars for Devil in a Blue Dress2.9193
It is 1948 in LA and Ezikeal "Easy" Rawlins, an African-American World War II veteran, is looking for work. ...more about Devil in a Blue Dress
14
Training Day (2001)
Denzel Washington scores a combined 2.9087 out of 4 stars for Training Day2.9087
In a city where streets are overrun by drug dealers, those who have sworn to uphold the law are breaking them to clean up the streets. Denzel Washington plays L.A.P. ...more about Training Day
Actor Awards
  • Academy Awards, USA - Best Actor in a Leading Role
  • AFI Awards, USA - AFI Actor of the Year - Male - Movies
  • Black Reel Awards - Theatrical - Best Actor
  • Boston Society of Film Critics Awards - Best Actor
  • Chicago Film Critics Association Awards - Best Actor
  • Golden Globes, USA - Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama
  • Image Awards - Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture
  • Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards - Best Actor
  • Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards - Best Actor
  • Online Film Critics Society Awards - Best Actor
  • Satellite Awards - Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama
  • Screen Actors Guild Awards - Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
15
Much Ado About Nothing (1993)
Denzel Washington scores a combined 2.8850 out of 4 stars for Much Ado About Nothing2.8850
Young lovers Hero and Claudio are to be married in one week. To pass the time, they conspire with Don Pedro to set a "lover's trap" for Benedick, an arrogant confirmed bachelor, and Beatrice, his favorite sparring partner. ...more about Much Ado About Nothing
16
Philadelphia (1993)
Denzel Washington scores a combined 2.8195 out of 4 stars for Philadelphia2.8195
Andrew Beckett, a gay lawyer infected with AIDS, is fired from his conservative law firm in fear that they might contract AIDS from him. ...more about Philadelphia
17
Out of Time (2003)
Denzel Washington scores a combined 2.7643 out of 4 stars for Out of Time2.7643
Matt Lee Whitlock (Washington), respected chief of police in small Banyan Key, Florida, must solve a vicious double homicide before he himself falls under suspicion. ...more about Out of Time
Actor Awards
  • Black Reel Awards - Film: Best Actor
  • Image Awards - Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture
18
Mo' Better Blues (1990)
Denzel Washington scores a combined 2.7275 out of 4 stars for Mo' Better Blues2.7275
Opens with Bleek as a child learning to play the trumpet, his friends want him to come out and play but mother insists he finish his lessons. Bleek grows into adulthood and forms his own band - The Bleek Gilliam Quartet. ...more about Mo' Better Blues
19
Siege, The (1998)
Denzel Washington scores a combined 2.6970 out of 4 stars for Siege2.6970
After the abduction by the US military of an Islamic religious leader, New York City becomes the target of escalating terrorist attacks. ...more about Siege
Actor Awards
  • Blockbuster Entertainment Awards - Favorite Actor - Suspense
20
Fallen (1998)
Denzel Washington scores a combined 2.6805 out of 4 stars for Fallen2.6805
Det. John Hobbes is convinced that when killer Edgar Reese is executed, all of his troubles are over. ...more about Fallen
21
Preacher's Wife, The (1996)
Denzel Washington scores a combined 2.6736 out of 4 stars for Preacher's Wife2.6736
Good natured Reverend Henry Biggs (Courtney B. Vance) finds that his marriage to choir mistress Julia (Whitney Houston) is flagging, due to his constant absence caring for the deprived neighbourhood they live in. ...more about Preacher's Wife
22
Deja Vu (2006)
Denzel Washington scores a combined 2.6632 out of 4 stars for Deja Vu2.6632
In order to save 500 people and one local women from dying in a ferry bombing, ATF agent Doug Carlin travels back in time. ...more about Deja Vu
23
Man on Fire (2004)
Denzel Washington scores a combined 2.6499 out of 4 stars for Man on Fire2.6499
A wave of kidnappings has swept through Mexico, feeding a growing sense of panic among its wealthier citizens, especially parents. In one six-day period, there were twenty-four abductions, leading many to hire bodyguards for their children. ...more about Man on Fire
Actor Awards
  • Image Awards - Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture
24
Bone Collector, The (1999)
Denzel Washington scores a combined 2.6133 out of 4 stars for Bone Collector2.6133
A diabolical killer whose brutal slayings leave a trail of cryptic messages hidden at the scene of the crime is loose on the streets of Manhattan. As the city lies in fear, a gifted but disabled detective (Washington) teams with a rookie street cop. ...more about Bone Collector
25
John Q (2002)
Denzel Washington scores a combined 2.5178 out of 4 stars for John Q2.5178
John Quincy Archibald's son Michael collapses while playing baseball as a result of a heart failure. Immediately, John Q. rushes Michael to the hospital's emergency room for a transplant. Unfortunately, the insurance would not cover his son's transplant. ...more about John Q
Actor Awards
  • Black Reel Awards - Theatrical - Best Actor
  • Image Awards - Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture
26
Out of Time (2003)
Denzel Washington scores a combined 2.3931 out of 4 stars for Out of Time2.3931
When Banyan Key, Florida is rocked by a double homicide, chief of police Matt Lee Whitlock (Washington) finds himself in a race against time to solve the murders before he himself falls under suspicion. ...more about Out of Time
27
Pelican Brief, The (1993)
Denzel Washington scores a combined 2.3691 out of 4 stars for Pelican Brief2.3691
Two Supreme Court Justices have been killed. Now a college professor, who clerked for one of the two men, who's also having an affair with one of his students, is given a brief by her, that states who probably, wanted to see these two men dead. ...more about Pelican Brief
28
Virtuosity (1995)
Denzel Washington scores a combined 2.3552 out of 4 stars for Virtuosity2.3552
The Law Enforcement Technology Advancement Centre (LETAC) has developed SID version 6.7: a Sadistic, Intelligent, and Dangerous virtual reality entity which is synthesized from the personalities of more than 150 serial killers. ...more about Virtuosity
29
Mississippi Masala (1991)
Denzel Washington scores a combined 2.0570 out of 4 stars for Mississippi Masala2.0570
An Indian family is expelled from Uganda when Idi Amin takes power. They move to Mississippi and time passes. The Indian daughter falls in love with a black man, and the respective families have to come to terms with it. ...more about Mississippi Masala
Actor Awards
  • Image Awards - Outstanding Lead Actor in a Motion Picture
30
For Queen and Country (1988)
Denzel Washington scores a combined 2.0363 out of 4 stars for For Queen and Country2.0363
Reuben, having been discharged from the British military, returns to London after a tour of duty in Northern Ireland and the Falklands, where he was decorated as a war Hero. ...more about For Queen and Country
31
Power (1986)
Denzel Washington scores a combined 1.9468 out of 4 stars for Power1.9468
Pete St. John is a powerful and successful political consultant, with clients spread around the country. ...more about Power
Actor Awards
  • Image Awards - Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
32
Cry Freedom (1987)
Denzel Washington scores a combined 1.9431 out of 4 stars for Cry Freedom1.9431
Donald Woods is chief editor at the liberal newspaper Daily Dispatch in South Africa. He has written several editorials critical of the views of Steve Biko. But after having met him for the first time, he changes his views. ...more about Cry Freedom
Actor Awards
  • Academy Awards, USA - Best Actor in a Supporting Role
  • Golden Globes, USA - Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama
33
Soldier's Story, A (1984)
Denzel Washington scores a combined 1.9313 out of 4 stars for Soldier's Story1.9313
A black soldier is killed while returning to his base in the deep south. The white people of the area are suspected at first. A tough black army attorney is brought in to find out the truth. ...more about Soldier's Story
34
Mighty Quinn, The (1989)
Denzel Washington scores a combined 1.8144 out of 4 stars for Mighty Quinn1.8144
When police officer Xavier Quinn's childhood friend, Maubee, becomes associated with murder and a briefcase full of ten thousand dollar bills, The Mighty Quinn must clear his name. Or try to catch him, which could be even trickier. ...more about Mighty Quinn
35
Heart Condition (1990)
Denzel Washington scores a combined 1.6986 out of 4 stars for Heart Condition1.6986
Jack Moony, a white cop, has it in for a black lawyer to the drug crowd, Napoleon Stone. That Stone is now dating his ex-girlfriend doesn't help matters at all. ...more about Heart Condition
36
Ricochet (1991)
Denzel Washington scores a combined 1.6355 out of 4 stars for Ricochet1.6355
In this action thriller, Denzel Washington plays Nick Styles, the assistant district attorney of L.A. The film opens in his early days as a cop on the L.A.P.D. ...more about Ricochet
37
Carbon Copy (1981)
Denzel Washington scores a combined 1.6026 out of 4 stars for Carbon Copy1.6026
A white corporate executive is surprised to discover that he has a black teen-age son who can't wait to be adopted into the, almost-exclusively-white community of, San Marino, California. ...more about Carbon Copy