10 Certified Fresh Denzel Washington Thrillers And Where To Stream Them Right Now [Watch]
Sharai Bohannon
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After spending the summer watching Denzel Washington thrillers, we started to wonder how many were Certified Fresh at Rotten Tomatoes. That led us to a list of movies featuring our favorite actors that critics and audiences love. Because we couldn’t help noting that many are also currently streaming, we figured it was a good time to share places to continue your Denzel binge if you’re almost done with your current lists.
1. The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021)
Tomatometer Score: 92% Audience Score: 75%
Where You Can Watch: AppleTV+
A Scottish Lord plans to seize the throne with the support of his ambitious wife. Every few years Denzel almost convinces me to check out a Shakespeare adaptation. However, this movie was the hardest one to turn down because it looks cool as hell.
2. Philadelphia (1993)
Tomatometer Score: 81% Audience Score: 89%
Where You Can Watch: Starz
After being fired for having HIV, a man hires a homophobic lawyer as his attorney in his wrongful dismissal suit. This drama was way too heavy for me when I watched it as a child. However, I remember being old enough to know that Denzel Washington and Tom Hanks sharing a screen was an event.
3. Unstoppable (2010)
Tomatometer Score: 87% Audience Score: 72%
Where You Can Watch: AMC+( via Prime Channels) and TNT
A veteran engineer and a green conductor are the only people who can stop a freight train heading to ruin a city. This one sees our favorite actor team up with arguably our favorite Chris. The intersection of Chris Pine and Denzel is where we should all want to be.
Also Read: “What if Denzel Washington was Batman?”: It’s The #1 Franchise On Hulu Charts
4. Inside Man (2006)
Tomatometer Score: 86% Audience Score: 85%
Where You Can Watch: Tubi
A police detective must negotiate with a bank robber who has taken hostages as part of his epic plan. I could’ve watched Denzel and Clive Owen dance all day but the rest of the stacked cast sent me completely into orbit. This movie is a tense thriller that we need to talk about more often.
5. Devil in A Blue Dress (1995)
Tomatometer Score: 92% Audience Score: 70%
Where You Can Watch: PlutoTV
A Black man takes a job that leads to him stumbling into a deadly scandal. This movie has a young Denzel Washington running around in tanktops and it costars Don Cheadle and Lisa Nicole Carson. I think we all know this is the correct answer for what we should watch next.
6. Courage Under Fire (1996)
Tomatometer Score: 86% Audience Score: 66%
Where You Can Watch: Starz
A woman’s Medal of Honor comes under investigation by the U.S. Army. This war drama saw Mr. Washington team up with Meg Ryan, Lou Diamond Phillips, Sean Astin, and Scott Glenn. That cast is like catnip for critics so I’m not surprised it’s Certified Fresh.
7. The Hurricane (1999)
Tomatometer Score: 83% Audience Score: 87%
Where You Can Watch: Starz
This movie tells the Rubin ‘Hurricane’ Carter, a boxer who was wrongly imprisoned for murder for 20 years. This movie was how I learned about this case and Rubin Carter as a kid. If you want a good cry, and a reminder that the justice system has been historically broken since its inception, then this is the movie.
8. The Manchurian Candidate (2004)
Tomatometer Score: 80% Audience Score: 63%
Where You Can Watch: VOD
Soldiers are getting kidnapped and brainwashed during the Gulf War. Denzel loves his political thrillers almost as much as we love seeing him in them. This time he’s joined by Meryl Streep because one gift to film deserves another.
9. American Gangster (2007)
Tomatometer Score: 81% Audience Score: 89%
Where You Can Watch: Max
A cop tries to bring down Harlem drug lord Frank Lucas in this biopic. This movie might be the only time I’ve seen Denzel and Idris Elba attached to the same project. I was a child when this movie came out but I imagine a lot of you were fainting in the theater because I almost did a fool swoon looking at the cast list.
10. Flight (2012)
Tomatometer Score: 77% Audience Score: 75%
Where You Can Watch: VOD
As people investigate an incident they begin to realize that the heroic pilot that saved everyone might have also been the cause of the near crash. Because Denzel Washington never misses, this performance is another in the long list of times he should’ve gotten another Oscar.
Is your favorite Denzel Washington movie Certified Fresh? Or is it one that critics slept on? Tell me what it is either way at @misssharai because I’m in my Denzel era.
