The real reason Denzel Washington starred in so many fails in the ’90s

Denzel Washington’s career is primarily a model of consistency. Once he officially broke through with his Academy Award-nominated performance as South African activist Steve Biko in “Cry Freedom,” he deftly alternated between prestige roles and strictly commercial roles. There were missteps, but at least you can understand why he signed up for a buddy comedy like “Heart Condition”; He hadn’t yet won his Oscar for “Gloria,” and the opportunity to act opposite a wildly talented performer like Bob Hoskins surely seemed appealing in theory. The movie is awful, but neither Washington nor Hoskins warn it by phone.

And yet, in 1992, some had the feeling that Washington’s brilliant, multifaceted performance in Spike Lee’s “Malcolm It’s intriguing to consider what might have happened if the Academy had not determined that 1992 was the year to honor the repeatedly snubbed Al Pacino for his full-screen “Hoo-hahs” in “Scent of a Woman.” Would Washington have turned around and made so many purely commercial plays if he had won the Best Actor award he so richly deserved?

Maybe not. Because according to Washington’s career strategy, these films had a specific degree of merit.

In a recent interview with The TimesWashington revealed that he made what some consider questionable decisions because he greatly respects his salary. According to the star, “Well, in life you learn, you earn, and then you come back, as in giving back. So, if your life lasts 90 years, until you’re 30 you learn and from 30 to 60 you earn.”

By this metric, Washington’s time to “win” officially ended in 2014, the year he officially launched his first successful franchise in “The Equalizer” (he had tried unsuccessfully to land a franchise based on Walter Mosley’s Easy Rawlins novels in 1995). ). This strategy is totally understandable, but does Washington regret the unspectacular films it has made as a result of working this way? “After ‘Malcolm

Look, no one bought a ticket to “Virtuosity,” “Fallen,” or “The Bone Collector” because they were expecting “Malcolm X Part II.” As someone who paid to see all three, I went because I simply like watching Washington do its thing. As I wrote when I ranked Tony Scott’s films, it’s immensely satisfying to see Washington give an unabashed star turn. And this shouldn’t be controversial because that’s what stars are for! It’s everything Cary Grant ever did, and many consider him the platonic ideal of a Hollywood movie star.

Plus, “Virtuosity” and “Fallen” aren’t bad movies at all! The former is a half-thoughtful, half-silly sci-fi action movie that pits Washington against a pre-stardom Russell Crowe, while the second is a clever horror flick with some nerve-wracking scenes. “The Bone Collector,” however, is pure garbage.

In any case, Washington is still cooking up a storm and has no plans to turn off the gas because, as it announced during the “Gladiator II” press tour, there are two more “Equalizer” movies on the way. They’re unlikely to win any Oscars, but they’ll allow us to spend a couple of hours in Washington’s company, which is a bargain at any price.