Every Denzel Washington Movie Ranked Worst To Best

7. Mo' Better Blues (1990)

Mo' Better Blues Spike Lee
Universal Pictures

The film that kicked off his partnership with Spike Lee, Mo' Better Blues casts Denzel Washington as a passionate but impulsive trumpeter who constantly messes up his chances for success.

Washington plays Bleek Gilliam as a man at odds with himself, but aware of his talents, and makes his journey both frustrating and sad in the process.

Watching Mo' Better Blues after all this time - and remembering this was a film released just after his Oscar win - it's clear why Lee took to Washington so strongly, and how the actor became such an icon going into the 90s.

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