9. Denzel Washington As Malcolm X Malcolm X
Warner Bros. EntertainmentSpike Lees smart biopic of the celebrated black rights leader, Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little), is both grandiose and intimate. Lees marriage of narrative and philosophy is propelled by Denzel Washingtons magnetic performance as X, a combination so potent that the film engages the viewer throughout its goliath 202-minute runtime, and stays with them for longer still. The film follows a mostly chronological narrative that recounts Malcolm Xs numerous transformations, from his youth to his criminal years, through his incarceration and his discovery of the Islamic teachings, to his time as a minister for the Nation of Islam, and finally his split from that group, which came with his conversion to the Sunni branch of Islam. While the film might benefit from some editing, its ambition ultimately pays off. The vision of Malcolm X that audiences are shown is galvanising but by no means imperfect. A man who has made innumerable mistakes throughout his life, but one who ultimately fights for what is right; an imperturbable force of the civil rights movement that has since become an icon of the black pride movement.