I finished watching “Deja Vu” a couple of days ago, and I have to say that I enjoyed it. Then yesterday I saw the movie poster for “American Gangster”, which is coming out this summer with Denzel and Russell Crowe. I haven’t seen a trailer yet, but the poster alone gave me an anticipation chub, so needless to say I’m looking forward to it.

These two things got me to thinking about the career of my boy, Denzel, and how much respect I have for the guy. Denzel is a straight shooter who rarely disappoints. I never get “Nic Caged” by Denzel. And by that I mean I can tell just from the trailer when a Denzel movie is something I don’t want to see (i.e. “John Q”), whereas other actors–most notably Nic Cage–churn out a plethora of movies that kind of look the same and you’re on your own to sort out what’s watchable and what’s garbage.

Denzel is the Marvin Harrison of the movie business. Not a lot of glitz. A superstar, but still a bit under the radar. He shows up every night, does his job to the best of his ability, plays hurt, blocks downfield, never truly disappoints. Even when Denzel’s movies aren’t tremendous (i.e. “Deja Vu”), they’re still on par with the old bad sex/bad pizza line: even when they’re not very good, they’re still pretty good.

So in honor of Denzel never delivering a really bad movie (not counting “The Preacher’s Wife”, because if you went into that with any expectations whatsoever saw that movie, feel free to stop reading and click here), I’ve put together a list of Top 5 Underrated Denzel flicks. This list breaks down the quality flicks that flew under the radar and are not the household names/award winners (”Glory”, “Remember the Titans”, etc.). Don’t email me that “‘Training Day’ rocked and should have been on the list.” Of course “Training Day” fucking rocked, everyone knows it rocked, my Grandma thinks it rocked.

And now, on to the list:

Number 5: “Ricochet”

“Ricochet” may have been a massive hit in 1991, but my parents didn’t let me watch R rated movies until I was like 23, so bear with me if I’m late to jump on the bandwagon. Young Denzel is solid in this one, but John Lithgow–back when he was uber creepy with the whole I refuse to blink thing–dominates this one.

I’m especially intrigued by that scene where a married Denzel is tied to a bed and forced to bone some hot stripper. What’s a guy supposed to do in that situation, out-think an erection? If you really didn’t want to go through with it, just how long could you mentally quiz yourself on baseball rosters before you finally gave in? This really needs to be a separate debate in its own forum.

Number 4: “Out of Time”

Enjoyable little thriller made exponentially more enjoyable by several Eva Mendes moments. “Out of Time” isn’t great, but is definitely good for a Sunday on the couch in the summer. Also, it’s probably the last time anyone will ever see Dean Cain in a motion picture.

Number 3: “Deja Vu”

Most recent movie on the list. The special effects are solid, but even better are the psychological twists. The truly clutch thing they did was keeping the scope limited so all the looking back in the past/time travel stuff didn’t get over the top cheesy. I’d recommend the rental.

Number 2: “Inside Man”

“Inside Man” makes a strong case for #1 Underrated, but it was pretty critically acclaimed and Chris Walken doesn’t make an appearance so it gets bumped down one spot. It’s just all in all a good movie. Good story (who doesn’t like complex bank robberies?) and good cast (Denzel, Clive Owen, Jodie Foster, and that old dude who tells Russell Crowe he’s a schizo in “A Beautiful Mind”).

You definitely find yourself asking, “Did Spike Lee really direct this?” on several occasions, most notably when the credits roll and you realize Spike didn’t totally fuck it up.

Side Note: I was just recently informed that pretty much the whole world is certain that Jodie Foster is a lesbian. How was I in the dark on this? It’s baffling. I’m pretty upset with myself. I usually spot lesbians like my buddy JB spots chicks with low self esteem.

Number 1: “Man on Fire”

“Man on Fire” flat out dominates. How this movie didn’t challenge “Highlander” for the greatest movie ever made award, I don’t know.

You’ve got Denzel playing an alcoholic ex-mercenary seeking redemption. You’ve got Christopher Walken dropping lines like, “Creasy’s art is death. He’s about to paint his masterpiece.” You’ve got a random Marc Anthony appearance where he solidifies what a little bitch he is. You’ve got some cool hostage negotiation scenes. And–most importantly–you’ve got Denzel completely losing his shit and pretty much killing everyone in Mexico.

About half the movie is a bone-chillingly awesome revenge rampage.

“Man on Fire” is pretty much everything I ask for in a movie. The only complaint I have is the lack of eye candy. Really doesn’t seem like it would have been that difficult to cast Eva Mendes in one of the female roles, and then throw in a gratuitous full frontal nudity shot. But whatever. Chris Walken is in it. You can’t win ‘em all.

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