Summary

• Denzel Washington's move into action films began with Virtuosity, which featured him chasing down an unstoppable killer played by Russell Crowe.
• Virtuosity help fill the void left by the Terminator franchise, with SID's ability to regenerate and AI themes borrowing from Cameron's sci-fi saga.
• The Big Bang Theory's Kaley Cuoco made her big-screen debut in Virtuosity as Karin, the daughter of Kelly Lynch's character.

A 1995 cyberpunk action movie fronted by Denzel Washington also marked Kaley Cuoco's big-screen debut. While some movie stars start their careers with action movies before moving into other genres, Denzel took the opposite route. Denzel Washington's movie CV is filled with stirring dramas and taut thrillers like Training Day, but in the early stages of his career, he largely avoided traditional action roles. Crimson Tide is a psychological thriller at its core, and while 1991's Ricochet is a secret Die Hard spinoff, it too largely eschews action.

Washington's move into action began in earnest with 2004's Man on Fire and in the 20 years since, he's fronted The Equalizer trilogy and 2 Guns. Having a star of Washington's talent can elevate the most familiar of material. There are many ways a film like The Equalizer could have been a silly B-movie, but the star brings humanity to the film, making it something more memorable. While he often avoided action flicks before the 2000s, Washington first tried out the action genre with Virtuosity, where his cop has to chase down a killer played by Russell Crowe.

Virtuosity Pits Denzel Washington's Cop Against Russell Crowe's Unstoppable Killer

Virtuosity gave Russell Crowe one of his first big Hollywood roles

Virtuosity is hopelessly dated and derivative, but it has some solid action and having a cast comprised of Washington, Crowe and Road House's Kelly Lynch means it's never once dull.

Crowe's SID 6.7 is a virtual reality entity comprised of the worst serial killers in history and one who has an addiction to killing. SID later escapes into an artificial, regenerating android body, and goes on a killing spree that only Washington's disgraced cop Parker Barnes can stop. What follows is a slew of gunfights, car chases and sequences where an intensely hammy Crowe literally chews the scenery, chomping on pieces of glass to regenerate SID's damaged body parts.

This Denzel Washington action movie Virtuosity is hopelessly dated and derivative, but it has some solid action and having a cast comprised of Washington, Crowe and Road House's Kelly Lynch means it's never once dull. The film was helmed by Brett Leonard, who brings the same concerns about virtual reality and AI that featured in his previous movie, The Lawnmower Man. Denzel is never less than compelling, but since Virtuosity's focus is on setpieces, Barnes can't help but appear less interesting compared to Crowe's SID.

Washington and Crowe would later reunite in Ridley Scott's American Gangster.

Released the same year as Sam Raimi's The Quick and the Dead, Virtuosity was one of several movies where Crowe was trying to find his way as a leading man. The nature of SID allows Crowe to go as over the top as he pleases, and while this makes the character less threatening overall, the star is clearly having a blast. Sadly, it did little for his career, as Virtuosity grossed a disappointing $23 million worldwide on an estimated budget of $30 million (via The Numbers).

Virtuosity Filled The Void Left By The Terminator Franchise

Terminator fans had a 12-year wait between sequels

Terminator 2: Judgment Day was a phenomenon in 1991, with the James Cameron sequel grossing over $510 million worldwide. Naturally, audiences wanted another entry, but for various reasons like rights issues, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines didn't arrive until 2003, a full 12 years later. Fans of the Terminator franchise had to get their fix elsewhere, and Virtuosity took a lot of notes from Cameron's sci-fi saga. Like the T-1000, SID can regenerate after being shot or damaged, leading to many scenes of Washington's hero emptying entire magazines into SID with little to no effect.

The gimmick of SID's android body is that he needs silicon to heal from damage, so he's often pressing against glass to fix himself. It's a neat, Terminator-inspired gimmick, but one issue with Virtuosity is that SID is somewhat aimless as a villain. The Terminators have a clear objective to assassinate a given target, but SID is just kind of having fun causing random chaos. Like The Terminator, the film also takes a look at the inherent dangers of AI, but the execution is much campier.

Virtuosity Gave Kaley Cuoco Her First Movie Role

The future star of The Big Bang Theory plays a key supporting role in Virtuosity

Cuoco was only nine years old when Virtuosity was released, and had a handful of TV credits like an episode of Northern Exposure.

Another notable thing about Virtuosity is that Kaley Cuoco made her movie debut as Karin, the daughter of Kelly Lynch's Dr Carter. The movie reveals that the terrorist responsible for the deaths of Barnes' family is one of SID's personas. In a case of history repeating itself, SID kidnaps Karin in the third act and places her in the same kind of explosive death trap that killed Barnes' wife and child. Of course, Virtuosity ends with Barnes destroying SID, saving Cuoco's Karin and making peace with his past.

Cuoco was only nine years old when Virtuosity was released, and had a handful of TV credits like an episode of Northern Exposure. Looking ahead, she would amass an impressive list of projects, including Charmed and 8 Simple Rules, before landing a star-making role in The Big Bang Theory.

Source: The Numbers, The Numbers, Rotten Tomatoes