Denzel Washington: 5 Awesome Performances And 5 That Sucked

4. Doug Carlin - Deja Vu

Another puzzler we're still scratching our heads over: where did all go wrong with the Washington/Tony Scott collaboration? They started off so strong, with 2003's stylised, stylish and thrilling Man Of Fire, where Denzel played a troubled bodyguard-for-hire who falls foul of the criminal elements in Mexico City. And then it all went off the rails immediately afterward, with the thoroughly underwhelming and unnecessary remake of The Taking Of Pelham 123 (with John Travolta mining his villainous role for accidental comedy) and Unstoppable, a film about Denzel Washington trying to stop a really fast train that cannot be stopped. This is a big budget Hollywood blockbuster made in the year of our lord 2010. Really, though, the creative nadir of this initially promising pairing was 2006's Deja Vu. That's the film where Denzel Washington plays an agent for the Bureau Of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms And Explosives. Who have somehow invented time travel. And they use their time travel capabilities to go back and stop terrorist attacks before they can happen, like a reverse Minority Report. Except it's set in the present day, never explains the leap in technology, and gleefully sails past the numerous time paradoxes and plot holes. Worst of all is Washington as agent Doug Carlin, who stops a terrorist attack and then goes back in time again...because he is in love with a lady. It's a stupid role in a stupid film and Denzel puts in the right amount of effort, ie barely any.