Hawke Is Pretty Good, But He's Fighting a Losing Battle

Rating: 3/10 (26 July 2010)

A standard issue cop buddy film starts off as a promising character study, but it devolves into a stupid, preposterous action movie.
This garbage was only taken seriously because Denzel Washington was in it. Had any number of other black and less respected actors starred, people would have seen it for what it was.
Washington gives a nearly terrible performance, chewing the scenery so aggressively it's a wonder he wasn't sued by the art directors. Ethan Hawke fairs much better, but even he's asked to do silly things by the time the movie is over.
Both men were nominated for Oscars for their performances, and Washington won Best Actor, mostly because the Academy just wanted to give him a Best Actor award and didn't much care what they gave it to him for.
Grade: D