# The 18 Greatest Denzel Washington Movies

> Steely cops and street kings, soldiers and lawyers, hushed dramas and full-throttle thrillers, this spread captures every side of one of cinema's most commanding leading men. Which one wins?

*By YPB Team · Published August 13, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/the-18-greatest-denzel-washington-movies*

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## Current results (3 votes)

1. **Training Day** — 66.67% (2 votes · score 1000/1000)
   The 2001 crime thriller that won Washington the Academy Award for Best Actor as corrupt narcotics detective Alonzo Harris.
2. **Malcolm X** — 33.33% (1 votes · score 885/1000)
   Spike Lee's sweeping 1992 biopic featuring Washington's Oscar-nominated portrayal of the civil rights leader.
3. **Glory** — 0% (0 votes · score 680/1000)
   The 1989 Civil War drama that earned Washington his first Oscar, for Best Supporting Actor.
4. **Crimson Tide** — 0% (0 votes · score 624/1000)
   The 1995 submarine thriller pitting Washington's officer against Gene Hackman's captain.
5. **Déjà Vu** — 0% (0 votes · score 560/1000)
   Tony Scott's 2006 sci-fi thriller with Washington as an agent using time-bending technology to stop an attack.
6. **Inside Man** — 0% (0 votes · score 485/1000)
   Spike Lee's 2006 heist thriller with Washington as a detective negotiating a tense bank standoff.
7. **American Gangster** — 0% (0 votes · score 485/1000)
   Ridley Scott's 2007 crime epic starring Washington as real-life Harlem drug kingpin Frank Lucas.
8. **The Hurricane** — 0% (0 votes · score 397/1000)
   The 1999 biopic of wrongly imprisoned boxer Rubin Carter that earned Washington an Oscar nomination.
9. **Philadelphia** — 0% (0 votes · score 397/1000)
   The landmark 1993 drama in which Washington plays a lawyer defending a man with AIDS.
10. **The Equalizer** — 0% (0 votes · score 397/1000)
   The 2014 action thriller in which Washington plays a retired operative dispensing lethal justice.
11. **Roman J. Israel, Esq.** — 0% (0 votes · score 397/1000)
   The 2017 legal drama that earned Washington an Oscar nomination as an idealistic activist lawyer.
12. **Remember the Titans** — 0% (0 votes · score 291/1000)
   The uplifting 2000 sports drama in which Washington coaches a newly integrated high school football team.
13. **The Great Debaters** — 0% (0 votes · score 291/1000)
   Washington directed and starred in this 2007 drama about a 1930s college debate team.
14. **Man on Fire** — 0% (0 votes · score 291/1000)
   Tony Scott's 2004 revenge thriller with Washington as a bodyguard avenging a kidnapped girl in Mexico City.
15. **The Book of Eli** — 0% (0 votes · score 162/1000)
   A 2010 post-apocalyptic action film with Washington guarding a sacred book across a ruined America.
16. **Courage Under Fire** — 0% (0 votes · score 162/1000)
   A 1996 war drama with Washington investigating a fallen officer's posthumous medal.
17. **Fences** — 0% (0 votes · score 162/1000)
   Washington directed and starred in this 2016 adaptation of August Wilson's play, earning an Oscar nomination.
18. **Flight** — 0% (0 votes · score 162/1000)
   The 2012 drama featuring Washington's Oscar-nominated turn as an airline pilot battling addiction.

Tags: movies, actors, classics, denzel washington