Every Denzel Washington Movie Ranked Worst To Best

Six years before missing the mark with The Bone Collector, Washington and Julia Roberts teamed-up for the first time in the bracing legal thriller The Pelican Brief.

Caught up in a deadly conspiracy (a theme that runs through many of Washington's films), the pair race against the clock to uncover the truth surrounding two recent assassinations.

Washington takes more of a backseat here compared to his embattled co-star, but delivers the goods throughout as a man eager to uphold the law. It's overlong and slightly silly, but The Pelican Brief works almost entirely thanks to its stars.