Good movie, but Washington not believable

Rating: Null/10 (18 March 2002)

Denzel Washington is a good actor without doubt - I've enjoyed his work ever since St. Elsewhere. But because his characters are always of such stong moral conviction I had a really hard time believing him as a badass. Because he doesn't disappear into the character - as did Al Pacino in Scarface or Morgan Freeman in Street Smart or Harvey Keitel in The Bad Lieutenant - I spent much of the movie trying to believe that Washington was this bad guy, and ultimately couldn't do it. Ethan Hawke was surprisingly good as the rookie, and the plot is good, though the Russian thing seemed underdeveloped and contrived - why exactly did Washington own them the money? I'd recommend the movie, but it won't be remembered as Washington's best work.