Always the reluctant hero, Washington (even his name is capital) manages to make women swoon with his movie star good looks while being everyman’s man. Now that’s skill.
Washington returns to cinemas in the shoot-’em-up action adventure The Magnificent Seven, leading a team of outlaws to rain vengeance on behalf of the downtrodden. It is the man’s calling.
Here are seven reasons why Denzel Washington is saviour of all mankind.
1. He takes on Russia
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Okay, he doesn’t. He does, however, save the world from a nuclear holocaust in Crimson Tide. A young, upstart commanding officer on a nuclear ballistic submarine mutinies against a respected old-hat commanding officer when a nuclear launch order against a rogue Russian military base is interrupted. Washington goes head to head with the impressive Gene Hackman and holds his own ground. Even though Washington takes a beating from Hackman, he emerges victorious when they realise the launch codes have been cancelled, thereby stopping a nuclear altercation — and wins the respect of salty seadog Hackman.
2. He takes on savages in a post-apocalyptic world
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Washington is most heroic when he doesn’t set out to be one. In between saving damsels in distress and hunting the odd cat for food in the post-apocalyptic wasteland of The Book of Eli, Washington finds time to brutally kill, maim and disembowel bad guys out to rob him of a precious book in his possession. The book turns out to be the last remaining copy of the Bible. Eli manages to save the book for all mankind while losing his own life. Allegory alert!
3. He takes on demons from the pit of hell
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In Fallen, Washington jumps from homicide police to amateur ghostbuster as he tracks down Azazel, a fallen angel cursed to roam the earth without form, possessing humans to survive. The Rolling Stone’s Time Is On My Side serves as the eerie theme song that Azazel sings to identify itself. The movie ends in a continuation of the opening credits: With Washington scrambling across the snow. If you’ve haven’t watched it, we’re not spoiling it for you. But rest assured, it is one of those movies with a plot twist so mind-blowing, you can only watch it once.
4. He takes on the laws of physics
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Washington confronts a different kind of demons in Flight. The movie opens with Washington’s airline pilot shaking off a night of sex, drugs and drinking. He rouses himself with a line of cocaine, which gets him ready for work. As he preps the plane for take-off, Washington makes himself a mean screwdriver with in-flight vodka and orange juice. All the booze and drugs don’t stop the man from saving the flight from certain doom, pulling an impossible flight manoeuvre that no other pilot could replicate in a simulator. Don’t worry, he eventually cleans up his act and gets help for his alcoholism and drug abuse.
5. He takes on the cartel
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Again the reluctant hero, Washington is a washed-up ex-CIA agent in Man On Fire who takes up bodyguard duties to pay for his alcoholism. However, Washington learns to love his charge (Dakota Fanning), cleans up his act, and even takes over some parental duties — teaching the girl to swim competitively. After Fanning is kidnapped, Washington rouses from his hospital bed to hunt down the gang. He eventually finds out who the mastermind is, and saves Fanning while giving up his own life for her. If you’re not in tears by the end of this movie, check for a pulse.
6. He takes on the mobsters
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In American Gangster, Washington starts out as an ambitious mobster who rises to the top after his mentor dies. This time he goes up against good cop Russell Crowe, who struggles with marital woes, law school and crooked cops. This is where Washington is so good at playing the baddie that the audience is suckered into rooting for him. Sure, he finally gets arrested, but we cheer when his sentence is reduced for ratting out the crooked cops and mobsters. Based on a true story, the real Richie Roberts (Crowe) became Frank Lucas’ (Washington) lawyer and later his son’s godfather in real life.
7. Oh heck, he takes on all the bad guys — at once
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Washington underscores his day-job at Home Mart with a kick-ass resume in The Equalizer. He goes to the aid of Kick-Ass’s Chloe Grace-Moretz and shows off the A to Z of killing bad guys. Before The Equalizer, we wouldn’t have thought of a shot glass as a lethal weapon. We now stand corrected. But it’s really when Washington offs a baddie with just a book that he emerges unrivalled as the superhero of all heroes. FYI: The Equalizer helmer Antoine Fuqua also directs Washington in The Magnificent Seven.
The Magnificent Seven opens in cinemas Sept 22.
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