Emily Blunt Ranked

Welcome to "Ranked"-where I rank a franchise or filmography from worst to best and hand out various related accolades. This week, I'm profiling the work of Emily Blunt-whose latest project "Jungle Cruise" releases in theaters and on Disney+ with Premier Access this Friday.

Emily Blunt's Filmography Ranked:

15.Gnomeo and Juliet (D)

14.The Wolfman (D)

13.Sunshine Cleaning (C-)

12.The Muppets (B-)

11.Charlie Wilson's War (B-)

10.Dan in Real Life (B-)

9.The Devil Wears Prada (B-)

8.The Five-Year Engagement (B)

7.The Adjustment Bureau (B)

6.The Girl on the Train (B+)

5.A Quiet Place Part II (B+)

4.A Quiet Place (B+)

3.Edge of Tomorrow (A-)

2.Looper (A-)

1.Sicario (A-)

Top Dog: Sicario (2015)

2 years after the release of the terrific moody mystery thriller Prisoners-which marked his first English language offering, Denis Villeneuve's impressive breakthrough into American cinema continued with Sicario. The film takes a pretty basic premise (a by-the-books veteran FBI agent has her ethics challenged after she joins a joint task force at the US/Mexico border that's aiming to take down a notorious cartel leader) and turns it into something really special by filling it with suffocating tension, nuanced performances from a stellar cast (Blunt, Benicio del Toro, Josh Brolin, Jon Bernthal, a pre-Get Out Daniel Kaluuya) and a heavy dose of moral ambiguity that demonstrates the very thin line that exists between law enforcement agencies and the drug kingpins they're chasing.   

Lowlight: Gnomeo and Juliet (2011)

Thank Christ Rocketman came along and did Elton John's legacy justice because it would've been a god damn tragedy if this obnoxious piece of shit was the only time his music was the driving force behind a jukebox musical. This animated, kid-friendly retelling of Romeo and Juliet starring a horde of lawn gnomes is a bizarrely smug, joyless affair that somehow was able to convince John to sign off on having horrible karaoke versions of his songs serve as musical interludes throughout this cheesy story.    

Most Underrated: The Girl on the Train (2016)

In the increasingly large field of spiritual sequels to Gone Girl, The Girl on the Train is easily the best. The writing is sharp enough to strongly develop its characters without disrupting the breakneck pacing of its misdirection-filled, non-linear mystery, the acting-particularly from Blunt as the lonely alcoholic protagonist who gets embroiled in a murder investigation, Haley Bennett as the young nanny who gets killed and Rebecca Ferguson as the current wife of Blunt's character's ex-husband- is really strong and of course, the trashy melodrama that sits at the center of the narrative is very well-executed. 

Most Overrated: Sunshine Cleaning (2009)

Amy Adams and Blunt deserved better than this poor dramedy for their only project together as co-leads (thus far). Despite game performances from both future superstars as estranged sisters who get a gig together cleaning crime scenes and Alan Arkin as their ornery father, the script and direction are too clunky to properly balance its dark comedy and sappy family drama mix.

Elite Contender for the Most Stunningly Boring Movie I've Ever Seen: The Wolfman (2010)

What do you get when you cross a heavyweight ensemble cast headlined by Benicio del Toro, Anthony Hopkins and Blunt, an eerie gothic setting and a bunch of gory werewolf killings? An inexplicable near total absence of excitement. Sloppy direction from the usually respectable Joe Johnston, some brutally slow pacing and half-hearted performances from said great actors-save for Hugo Weaving as the eccentric detective investigating the string of full moon murders-sealed the doomed fate of this version The Wolfman before it even got much of a chance to prove itself.

Most Sneaky Impactful Blockbuster of the 2010's: Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

Edge of Tomorrow finished its global box office run with a respectable, but hardly earth-shattering $378.5 mil and has yet to turn into a franchise despite a sequel being kicked around since it was released to critical acclaim back in June 2014. So how did Edge of Tomorrow proceed to greatly influence the present day blockbuster machine without any subsequent installments and only moderate financial success? Well, it helped reinvigorate the time loop narrative device in mainstream filmmaking, subverted military sci-fi action genre tropes by having the male lead be a cowardly asshole (Tom Cruise) who has to learn to become a hero from his intense, fearless female commander (Blunt) and is arguably the first Hollywood film to really nail the look and feel of video game action. Oh yeah and it also to be a really fun movie with great effects, one liners and a surprising amount of heart underneath its noisy exterior.