The Best and Worst of Mark Wahlberg

Film Starring Mark Wahlberg I've Seen:
Boogie Nights
Three Kings
The Perfect Storm
Planet of the Apes
Rock Star
The Italian Job
I Heart Huckabees
Four Brothers
Invincible
The Departed
Shooter
We Own the Night
The Happening
Max Payne
Date Night
The Other Guys
The Fighter
Contraband
Ted
Broken City
Pain & Gain
2 Guns
Lone Survivor
Transformers: Age of Extinction 
The Gambler

Best Performance: The Departed (2006)
Wahlberg's greatest strength as an actor is his comedic chops and in his scene-stealing turn as Boston police Sgt. Sean Dignam in 2006 Best Picture winner The Departed, he's never been funnier on screen. In a cast full of elite actors including Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon and Jack Nicholson, Wahlberg managed to run away with the most memorable performance in the entire film.

Worst Performance: The Happening (2008)
No actor in Hollywood has deeper extremes in terms of the quality of their work than Wahlberg. In other words, he's either absolutely incredible or laughably bad in just about every movie. His turn in M. Night's Shyamalan's sci-fi clunker, The Happening, perfectly exemplifies the type of dramatic catastrophes that ensue when he's off his game. Wahlberg spends the entire film staring blankly into the camera and delivering the film's ridiculous dialogue without even a hint of irony. While it's sometimes amusing to watch him go into emotionless drone mode, it's kind of sad to watch a really gifted actor embarrass themselves to the extent Wahlberg does here.

Best Movie: The Departed (2006)
Wahlberg has starred in a lot of excellent movies over his 20-year film career, but The Departed is the clear number one. With its complex, twist-heavy narrative, multi-faceted characters and brilliant acting across the board, The Departed is the epitome of a perfect crime drama. 

Worst Movie: The Happening (2008)
I firmly believe that M. Night Shyamalan's career died as soon as soon Mel Gibson uttered the line "Swing away" to a baseball-bat wielding Joaquin Phoenix during the ludicrous finale of his 2002 alien-invasion film Signs. Ever since that faithful line of dialogue was spoken, Shyamalan has released five films that have ranged from below average at best (After Earth) to completely unwatchable (Lady in the Water). While The Happening is not the worst thing he's ever done (that distinction goes to the aforementioned Lady in the Water), it's still a moronic and unintentionally hilarious movie from a director that was once touted as one of the brightest directors in Hollywood.



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 Magic Mike XL star Channing Tatum.