The Best and Worst of Tyrese Gibson

The "Best and Worst" series profiles the best and worst work of an actor starring in one of the week's new theatrical releases. This week I take a look at the filmography of "The Fate of the Furious" star Tyrese Gibson.

Films starring Tyrese Gibson that I've seen:
Baby Boy
2 Fast 2 Furious
Flight of the Phoenix
Four Brothers
Annapolis 
Waist Deep
Transformers
Death Race
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Legion
Fast Five 
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Fast and Furious 6
Furious 7
Ride Along 2

Best Performance: Furious 7 (2015)
When Gibson's acting career is over, Roman Pearce is going to be the character he's most remembered for. Pearce has been a prominent player in the last three Fast and Furious movies, but the character's finest moment came in 2015's Furious 7. Gibson's abundance of charisma and excellent comedic rapport with Ludacris played an integral part in helping Furious 7 become a standout blockbuster.

Worst Performance: Legion (2010)
While he had some minor stumbles along the way (Annapolis, Flight of the Phoenix), Gibson had never really embarrassed himself during his first eight years in Hollywood. That all changed when Legion was released in January 2010. Like every other person that starred in this poorly-constructed action-horror flick, Gibson delivered the type of indifferent, effort-free performance that actors give when they don't give two shits about the material they're given to work with. 

Best Film: Fast Five (2011)
Fast Five is without question the most important film in the long-running Fast and Furious franchise. Not only is it the best entry in the franchise so far, it marked the turning point when the series went from a respectable franchise centered around illegal street racing to the gold standard in beautifully excessive, blockbuster action filmmaking. I don't know what caused this franchise to suddenly make such a massive shift in tone and genre, but as a proud over-the-top action movie whore, I'm beyond thankful that it happened.   

Worst Film: Legion (2010)  
Trashy action horror movies are very much in my wheelhouse. I've enjoyed everything from long-running cult franchises (Underworld, Resident Evil) to high-profile box office bombs that no one else on the planet liked (Doom, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter). This love of garbage horror-based action movies made my hatred for Legion very shocking. Despite a promising premise involving God sending angels from Heaven to eviscerate mankind, the film fails to deliver any of the sleazy fun, morbid laughs or frantic, gory action that typically drive this subgenre.    

Thank you for reading this week's installment of "The Best and Worst of". Next week, I'll take a look at the best and worst work of "Free Fire" star Brie Larson.