Welcome to "Ranked", a weekly series where I rank a franchise or filmography from worst to best and hand out assorted related superlatives. This week, I'm profiling the work of Guillermo del Toro-whose latest project "Frankenstein" is in select theaters now and begins streaming on Netflix this Friday.
Guillermo del Toro's Filmography Ranked:
10.Nightmare Alley (C-)
9.Cronos (B-)
8.Pinocchio (B)
7.Hellboy II: The Golden Army (B)
6.Blade II (B)
5.Hellboy (B)
4.The Shape of Water (B+)
3.Crimson Peak (B+)
2.Pan's Labyrinth (B+)
1.Pacific Rim (A-)
Top Dog: Pacific Rim (2013)
Most people prefer Pan's Labyrinth's seamless marriage of fantastical wonder with the horrors of the real world or the whimsical fairy tale romance of The Shape of Water. But for me, del Toro peaked when he made big mechas fight big sea monsters for 2+ hours. Pacific Rim is the kind of colossal, badass blockbuster spectacle that the big screen was made for and one of the only effective uses of 3D I've ever comes across. It sucks that del Toro passed off directorial duties to screenwriter Steven S. DeKnight for the 2018 sequel Uprising-which was dumb fun in its own right but nowhere near as good as its predecessor-because this could've turned into a really sick franchise if it had remained in his hands.
Bottom Feeder: Nightmare Alley (2021)
As of this writing, this remains the only del Toro movie I've disliked. Despite boasting strong visuals, impeccable production design and a haunting final scene that features some of the best acting of Bradley Cooper's career, Nightmare Alley is a misfire that takes forever to tell a story that's light on compelling characters, style or double crosses that can't be seen coming from a mile away
Most Underrated: Crimson Peak (2015)
del Toro's previous trip to the world of gothic horror prior to Frankenstein resulted in one of his finest hours as a filmmaker. There's something really spellbinding about the manner in which Crimson Peak blends romance with dread-fueled haunted house atmospherics and revels in spinning together a soapy web that only becomes invigorating as the story progressively ratchets up the cartoonish melodrama until it reaches a boiling point in its glorious grand finale. Plus, it features the usual obscenely detailed, gorgeous visuals/sets you'd expect from a del Toro feature and an incredibly fun Jessica Chastain performance that really amplifies the effectiveness of its over-the-top storytelling.
Most Overrated: Nightmare Alley (2021)
Few films this decade have been less deserving of a Best Picture nomination than Nightmare Alley. del Toro struggles to bring the passion he has for the source material to the screen as this noir thriller crawls for the bulk of its 151-minute runtime and only really comes alive in the magnificent final moments when the damage of the near constant tedium that preceded it has already been done.
