Yes, he's made more than his share of crap over the past few years, but I still think of him as one of the better, more accomplished actors currently working in Hollywood. I know Tom Hanks won the Oscar for "Philadelphia" but I thought Washington gave a far superior and subtle performance in that film (not to take anything away from Hanks, but I thought he did a good, not a great, job). And he was extraordinary in "Training Day"; never before have I seen evil portrayed with such seemingly good-natured insouciance. And he was the most memorable part of the film "Glory". While I had some problems with "Malcolm X" as a film (Spike Lee just doesn't know the meaning of the word "Edit"), Washington tranformed himself into Malcolm X on the screen. It was one of the most magnificent instances of cinematic necromancy I've ever seen. That, for me, is always the sign of a truly great actor...when they can play the part of well-known real-life character and make us forget we're watching an actor playing a part; they're able to transcend the limitations of time and space and actually become that character (Nicholson did it in "Hoffa" and, more recently, Philip Seymour Hoffman did it in "Capote").
