Club Benefits
Rating: ★★★ stars
Verdict: "Ricochet" is certainly dated. It looks like it was made in the early 1990s. And like many action movies from that era, it has some over-the-top moments. Centering the movie, though, is an excellent, twisted game of cat-and-mouse between Denzel Washington and a murderous John Lithgow.
Where to watch: Stream "Ricochet" on YouTube now with a Cinemax 7-day free trial
It's week 11 of my Denzel Watchathon, and this week I'm checking out the twisted crime thriller "Ricochet." If you are discovering this ongoing series for the first time, I'm going through every one of Denzel's 52 movies, one per week, throughout 2026. I'm starting with 1981's "Carbon Copy" and ending with last year's "Highest 2 Lowest," the most recent Denzel/Spike Lee joint. This week, I'm reviewing this 1991 crime thriller that stars Denzel Washington in the battle of his life against John Lithgow, who plays a truly insane, murderous criminal.
Now, if you want to watch this movie before you read on, I've got (mostly) great news. While "Ricochet isn't currently available on any of the best streaming services, it is available on YouTube. There is a catch: you'll need to sign up for Cinemax on YouTube to watch it. But currently, you can sign up for a seven-day free trial, meaning that you can effectively stream "Ricochet" for free, which is exactly what I did.
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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.
John Lithgow's duel with Denzel in 'Ricochet' is incredible
Here are the other Denzel Washington movies I've covered so far in our Denzel Watchathon:
Typically, if you're in a movie with Denzel Washington, you're going to get outacted by him. I've seen the first 11 movies he did, and the only movie where someone put on a better performance than him was maybe "A Soldier's Story." That movie is an anomaly, too, as it is adapted from a play that featured a lot of the play's cast reprising their original roles for the movie.
But in "Ricochet," Denzel is outmatched, and it's stunning to watch. To be clear, Denzel is still good in this movie. He's the second-best thing about it. He plays Nick Styles, a cop who, after making a prestigious arrest, shoots his way up to being the Assistant District Attorney. But his life comes crashing down when the man he put away, Earl Talbot Blake (John Lithgow), gets out of prison and unleashes a plan to make Styles miserable for the rest of his life.
Again, Denzel is pretty good in this movie, especially when his life starts to unravel. There's one scene where he's trying to explain just what Blake is doing to him and watching him act out the dialogue, you could believe Denzel is actually going insane in real time.
But if Denzel flirts with insanity in his portrayal of Styles, Lithgow is already there. His portrayal of Blake is a combination of cold and calculating to completely unhinged. He's a hitman out for revenge, but his behavior is more akin to a serial killer. He stages suicides, pulls off an incredible prison escape, and fakes a drug-addled sex tape of Styles with a woman who is not his wife, all to make Styles suffer.
While he's only got one intended victim, he still racks up a pretty serious body count as the movie goes along, too, including in a brutal prison fight scene where, dressed as gladiators, he spears an Aryan Brotherhood member to death. The cold efficiency with which he does it is another part of the performance I found to be unnerving, but in an enthralling way.
Verdict: This movie may feel dated, but it's worth checking out while it's free
Despite the two performances at the movie's center being enthralling to watch, this movie is certainly not without its flaws. Aside from those two, none of the performances are anything to write home about, and some even delve into the absurd.
My favorite of these lesser performances is Ice-T (yes, the "Law and Order: SVU" Ice-T), who plays Odessa, a drug dealer that Styles grew up with and still considers somewhat of a friend. He's somehow both a caricature of a South Central gangster and just being Ice-T. I honestly would chuckle anytime he came on the screen.
There are also some filmmaking techniques that leave the film really dated. The score I actually found quite effective, but the slow-mo action shots and exaggerated gunshot deaths would feel totally out of place in an action movie today. Not to mention the visual effects used to make it look like a tower is being electrified in one scene in the movie, which looks like something ripped out of "Ghostbusters."
Still, for the low, low price of $0, this movie is undoubtedly worth watching. I had a fun time with it, and it's only an hour and 42 minutes long, so even if you don't love it, you're not investing much time with it. I promise you, though, Lithgow's performance as the murderous, villainous Blake is worth the price of admission.
Watch "Ricochet" on YouTube now with a Cinemax 7-day free trial
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