My love for Denzel Washington knows no bounds. There, I've said it. So I am happy to report on 2 Denzel efforts, both well-directed by Tony Scott, one in the theaters and one on DVD.
Deja Vu. All over again. This time-twisting thriller pits ATF agent Doug Carlin (Denzel) against a home-grown terrorist intent on blowing up a Mississippi River ferry (hasn't New Orleans suffered enough?). With a weird time-travel dependent love interest mixed in...
...it's exciting, fast-paced, clever, and fun (in an action movie kind of way). The romance with artsy Claire (Paula Patton) builds nicely, if improbably, and makes the story that much more interesting. Denzel is just the perfect decent man -- the rescuer of anyone's dreams -- an antidote to all the government goofballs who let down the Big Easy after Katrina. (And kudos to director Tony Scott for scenes set not only in 'tourist' New Orleans but also in still-devastated neighborhoods; pretending about it won't make it go away.) Worth seeing twice!
On DVD I finally saw Man on Fire, in which Denzel plays a jaded and emotionally shut down former Special Forces assassin who finds a reason to live (and laugh) when he takes a job guarding the perky blonde little daughter (Dakota Fanning) of a Mexican businessman and his American wife. Kidnappings for ransom apparently happen todo dias in Mexico City, so the bodyguarding is quite common for the spawn of the city's financial elite. When his charming young charge is taken, Denzel calls on his former skills in an effort to find her 'nappers. Although a tossed off line in the movie makes reference to the idea that "revenge is a dish best served cold," the movie takes a somewhat opposite tack, dishing up revenge in heaping platefuls. It's a movie with heart, but you've got to slog through some other parts to get to it. Nonetheless, Denzel, he is the man, and you'll enjoy him no matter what.