The Best and Worst of Zoe Kravitz

“The Best and Worst of” series chronicles the career highlights and lowlights of an actor starring in one of the week's new theatrical releases. This week, I take a look at the filmography of “Kin” star Zoe Kravitz.

Films starring Zoe Kravitz that I've seen:
It's Kind of a Funny Story
X-Men: First Class
After Earth
Divergent
Insurgent
Mad Max: Fury Road
Dope
Allegiant
The Lego Batman Movie
Rough Night
Gemini 

Best Performance: Dope (2015)
Shamiek Moore, Tony Revolori, Kiersey Clemons, Blake Anderson and Chanel Iman may have had showier and/or more comedically-rich roles, but Kravitz may be the unsung hero among Dope's terrific ensemble. As Nakia-the love interest of Malcolm (Moore) who indirectly sets the primary plot into motion, Kravitz's wise, even-keeled presence helps ground this (mostly) implausible coming-of-age-story in some sort of reality.

Worst Performance: Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
The failure of this performance honestly has nothing to do with Kravitz. Every character that wasn't named Max, Furiousa, Nux or Immortan Joe in this vastly overrated action flick was a completely disposable presence that sat idly in the background while an extensive, rarely-exciting straight line chase scene played out in front of them.  

Best Film: Dope (2015)
After putting out a string of mediocre romantic comedies, writer/director Rick Famuyiwa (The Wood) gloriously returned to his coming-of-age story roots here. Dope's entertaining characters, oddball sense of humor and aforementioned top-notch efforts from its ensemble cast made it a true standout in a genre that has seen its fair share of excellence in recent years.

Worst Film: After Earth (2013)
I actually feel kind of bad picking After Earth to fill this slot because I sincerely don't think it's anywhere near as bad as the popular opinion has made it out to be. However, I'm not going to pretend like I view Will Smith's passion project in a particularly positive light either. Thanks to some uneven pacing and a pretty horrendous performance from Will's beloved son Jaden in the co-leading role, After Earth ends up being a below average post-apocalyptic survival story that has all but completely disintegrated from my memory.

Thank you for reading this week's edition of “The Best and Worst of”. The next victim of my praise and ire will be “The Nun” star Demian Bichir.