Academy Award winnerDenzel Washingtonis rightly considered one of the greatest actors not only of his generation, but of all time. But even a powerhouse performer like Washington is not immune to critics, withone of his earlier, much-maligned, efforts now landing on the streaming servicePrime Video. TitledVirtuosity, Washington starred in the sci-fi action movie way, way back in 1995, alongside fellow Academy Award winnerRussell Crowe.While the movie was panned at the time, and holds a rating of just 32% on Rotten Tomatoes, knowing what we know about the actors now, and the plot’s use of Ai, was it perhaps misunderstood?
Comingafter acclaimed performancesin the likes ofCry Freedom, Glory, Malcolm X, andPhiladelphia,Virtuosityis set in the futuristic year of…1999, and finds Washington starring as Parker Barnes, a former cop who is imprisoned for killing the psychopath who killed his family. While serving time, Barnes is recruited to test out a new virtual-reality program with the goal being to apprehend a computer-generated being called SID 6.7, played by Russell Crowe.
SID has been modeled on hundreds of deranged criminals, including the man who killed Barnes’ family and, of course, the program quickly manages to escape the confines of the digital world and wreak havoc on the real-world. And only Barnes can stop it.
Virtuosity
IfVirtuositysounds like a very different project for Washington,that’s because it is, with the actor reportedly changing a lot of the story and dialogue during filming. Still, while it may not be in contention for “best movie of all time,”Virtuosityis a lot of fun, and finds Washington once again on magnetic form while Crowe is clearly having a blast chewing as much scenery as possible.
Virtuosityis now available to stream on Prime Video.
Denzel Washington & Russell Crowe Would Meet Again on the Big Screen
Virtuositywould not be the only time that Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe faced off, with 2007’sAmerican Gangsterputting them on opposite sides of the law. Thankfully, the two stars’ second effort fared far better, and stands at a “Certified Fresh” rating of 81% on Rotten Tomatoes.
The pair also now have something else in common: theGladiatorfranchise. While they won’t share the screen, Washington is all set to star aspower broker and former slave Macrinusin director Ridley Scott’sGladiator II. Russell Crowe’s role in the first movie came five years afterVirtuosity, and saw the actor earn critical acclaim and win the Academy Award for Best Actor.
This Ingenious Casting of Denzel Washington Happened for One Exciting Reason
Denzel Washington is pulling the strings in Gladiator II, and the Oscar-winner reveals why he chose to play Macrinus.
Sadly, Crowe’s hero Maximus Decimus Meridius will not feature in the sequel due to him being very dead come the end of the first movie. Instead,Gladiator 2will followAftersunandNormal Peoplestar Paul Mescal as an older Lucius Verus who, years after witnessing the death of Maximus at the hands of his uncle, must enter the Colosseum himself after the powerful emperors of Rome conquer his home.Gladiator IIis scheduled to be released in the United States on June 20, 2025.
