A thriller that actually thrills!!

Rating: 8/10 (5 December 2005)

I have seen this film on countless occasions and every time i enjoy it. The two main leads (Washington and Hawke) are excellent in there portrayal of there characters, Hawke a fresh faced rookie trying to work his way to detective and Washington as the narcissistic experienced narc.
The film unfolds over the space of one day and although questionable that so much could happen in a day you have only to watch th t.v series 24 to see what Hollywood considers plausible. The acting aside the story is well presented and lets us know a little bit at a time, in between showing us the discussions between Washington and Hawke as they drive around L.A, these vignettes are extremely involving as Washingtons character changes from Mr nice guy to bad guy so quickly that u never no how he is going to act.
It is questionable whether Washington deserved an Oscar for this as it is not his best film, but i say it is about time he got one for he has had to wait so long, and if it means that this film has been bought to more peoples attention because of it then i salute the panel for giving it to him, man on fire should have swept the whole lot, lol!!