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Title: 2 1/2 stars really
Review: The problem with this film is that is was more designed as a vehicle for Washington to show off his tremedous acting ability than to actually create a solid story. Even the best actor can be limited by a bad script which is what happens in this movie. Denzel Washington is in my opinion in the top 5 actors of modern film, but a movie like this just doesn't give him the room he really needs to stretch out and show off the amazingly varied characters he can create. But, of course, this was the Academy's year to award the black actors (Washington and Halle Berry), both of whom are much better actors than their oscar winning roles showed them to be. If only the academy had given them oscars for the roles they truly deserved, then the academy wouldn't have to award less than stellar roles out of guilt. Any Denzel Washington role is still better than 90% of the other roles out there, but his better roles (Hurricane, Malcolm X) lie in the unawarded 10%.
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