Atypical start, typical finish

Rating: Null/10 (28 March 2002)

Gosh, don't read this comment if you don't want to hear how bad I thought the ending of the movie was.
This movie seemed to have good energy at the beginning, and Washington's character kept Hawke's character and the viewer off-balance during the early scenes. But just when I thought I was going to be pleasantly surprised by this film, the ending plummeted through the basement floor and became ridiculous.
Washington and Hawke play intriguing characters -- the former possessing few if any standards of decency (aside from wanting to put away the big, big fish in the pond, by any means necessary), the latter showing blind ambition at first followed by an awakening of beliefs.
But then, to tidy things up, I guess, there is an outrageous climax in which the two main characters -- who by this point have become overblown images of themselves -- go toe-to-toe (or face-to-windshield, in one over-the-top instance) and "good" manages to prevail over "evil." With the support of the local urbanites, I might add. Sheesh.
Washington wins Oscar for this role? Malcolm X, maybe. I could listen to an argument for his "Hurricane" Carter. But for this caricature of a "bad man"? I don't understand it -- or better yet, I do understand it. Pacino's "Scent of a Woman" nod was the foundation for this sort of award: We passed you by for better roles, so here's your chance. I don't like it, but oh well. I saw this movie before the Oscars, so I shouldn't let that add to my negative feelings toward this movie.
Bottom line, in my mind: A good idea that became fatally flawed by the last 20 minutes (give or take a few).