Denzel Washington can be one of the most frustrating actors in Hollywood. The vast majority of his recent movies have been very good, and he always commands the screen with his endless charisma. But here and there, he manages to make some awful movies. We might like to think that with his Oscar and his strong directorial debut in the relatively recent past, we would never see the likes of \Virtuosity"" or ""The Bone Collector"" again. But in ""Out of Time,"" we get another taste of Washington's worst.
The movie centers around Mathius Whitlock (Washington), a Florida Key police chief, who is divorced from his wife Alex (Eva Mendes) and is having an affair with a married woman, Ann (Sanaa Lathan). When Ann reveals that she has terminal cancer, Whitlock borrows evidence money from a drug bust to pay for an experimental treatment for her. When Ann's home is destroyed in an arson attack, Whitlock is thrown into a whirlwind of mystery and deceit that puts his career and life in danger.
The flaws of ""Out of Time"" are plentiful but foremost is the writing. Whitlock's character is so stupid in everything he does that it is hard to feel sympathy for him, let alone believe that he made chief of police. The plot twists are predictable and dull because every twist seems like something we have seen a million times before, including all the elements of romance in the movie. And if no other good came from the movie ""Antitrust,"" Hollywood should have learned by now that climactic typing scenes just are not exciting.
There are a few exciting moments, and with screenwriter David Collard's past experience writing for ""Family Guy,"" there are naturally a couple of very funny moments. Otherwise, the script is tremendously bland and an inappropriate vehicle for a talent of Washington's caliber. It does not help that director Carl Franklin (""Devil in a Blue Dress"") thinks the only way to achieve drama is through a steady stream of bizarre and unnecessary close-ups.
With no help from the script, the casting is also problematic. Mendes (""2 Fast 2 Furious"") is poised and extraordinarily beautiful, but she is not believable as a detective. Lathan (""Brown Sugar"") is given a melodramatic character and only makes it worse. And while it is fun to see Dean Cain getting work, here he is given a very poor character for reviving his career. Worst of all is the character of Chae, Whitlock's buddy and comic relief, played by John Billingsley (""White Oleander""). It is sad to see a high budget movie get a cheap knockoff of Tom Arnold in one of the rare occasions when the genuine article would be perfect.
""Out of Time"" is not the worst movie Washington has done, but it is still bad. It is most reminiscent of ""Murder By Numbers"" and ""The Recruit"" in all the worst possible ways. For now, movie-goers would be much better off waiting for Washington to get back on track. He always does.
