I'm watching all 52 Denzel Washington movies in 2026 — and he's the high point of this 1980s political thriller

I'm in week three of watching every Denzel Washington movie ever, and this week, I'm watching the political thriller, "Power" (1986). This experience has been a roller coaster ride. If you haven't read my previous two articles in this ongoing series, I was inspired by an X (Twitter) post by The New York Times senior staff writer Brooklyn White-Grier, which stated that you could watch one of Denzel's 52 movies every week of 2026 without needing to repeat a movie.

Since I'm going in chronological order, I've already reviewed 1981's "Carbon Copy" and 1984's "A Soldier's Story," and they were quite different experiences. While both examine race in America, only the latter manages to do so successfully, or manage to be an enjoyable movie to watch. In "Power," the hot-button issue under the microscope is politics rather than race, but once again, we get Denzel in a supporting, rather than starring role.

So now, the question is, is it a supporting role in a really good movie, like with "A Soldier's Story"? Or, is it a supporting performance tasked with holding up a flawed film, like in "Carbon Copy"? If you want to watch this movie before you read on, you can buy or rent "Power" from Amazon, Apple TV or Fandango at Home. Unfortunately, it's not available on the best streaming services or the best free streaming services. Once you're done watching, though, read on for my review of this 1986 political thriller.

Malcolm McMillan

Malcolm has been with the Streaming team at Tom's Guide since 2023, reviewing dozens of movies each year so you don't have to watch the bad ones.

Denzel is criminally underused in 'Power'

If you didn't bother watching this movie after the ringing endoresment I gave it in the Tom's Guide verdict, I don't blame you. After all, it's $4 to rent this movie, and that's not nothing when it amounts to half the cost of a month's Netflix subscription.

So here's the quick rundown on the plot of "Power." Richard Gere stars as Pete St. John, a hotshot political consultant who is considered the man to hire if you want to win your election. So when Ohio Senator Sam Hastings (E.G. Marshall) suddenly drops out of his re-election campaign, public relations Arnold Billings (Washington) is tasked with hiring St. John to manage the campaign of candidate Jerome Cade (J.T. Walsh).

Now, we as the viewer know going in that something is fishy about Cade, and to be fair, St. John suspects the Ohio businessman isn't an idealist. But as the movie plays out, an investigation by writer Ellen Freeman (Julie Christie) makes it clear that Hastings might have dropped out of his election for reasons other than simply wanting out of the public spotlight.

This sets up a tasty thriller. Can St. John figure out if there's something nefarious about Billings and Cade? Can Ellen get to the bottom of why Hastings isn't running for re-election? We know that these two things aren't related, but we don't know if Hastings is actively involved in getting Cade elected to his U.S. Senate seat.

Unfortunately, we don't get that. Instead, what we get is a surprising amount of Gere practicing Jazz music on a drum pad in rooms and private jets. We get multiple romantic scenes with Gere and the two lead actresses in this movie. As the movie reaches its conclusion, some semblance of urgency, of a thriller, develops, but for the most part, this movie is largely a character study of St. John and how he's sold his soul to be a political operator, masquerading as a thriller about a shadowy oil corporation trying to secure a proxy in the U.S. Senate.

Power (1986) Official Trailer - Richard Gere, Denzel Washington Movie HD - YouTube

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What we also don't get is much of Denzel as Billings, which is a bitter disappointment. It's not just disappointing because more Denzel is better — which it is — but because the movie sets up Billings vs. St. John as the game of cat-and-mouse at the center of this political thriller.

Even more egregious, when we get that game of cat and mouse instead of Gere banging on the drums for reasons that aren't ever explained (or at least, not that I noticed), the movie becomes interesting. St. John having his plane taken, his phones bugged, all by the guy who seemingly hired him, is compelling. And the final scene between the two in Billings' office, where Denzel gives Gere a dressing down, is the highlight of the film.

In short, this movie needed more focus, and it needed more Denzel. I'm not just saying that because he's an actor I'm devoting an entire year of study to, either. He's essential to the plot of "Power," but as the thriller's story plays out, he's treated as a mere afterthought.

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