The Best and Worst of Common

“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 “Smallfoot” star Common.

Films starring Common that I've seen:
Smokin' Aces
American Gangster
Street Kings
Wanted
Terminator Salvation
Date Night
Movie 43
Now You See Me
Selma
Run All Night
Barbershop: The Next Cut
Suicide Squad
John Wick: Chapter 2

Best Performance: John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017)
This decision was entirely influenced by the subway shootout scene. As far as I'm concerned, that beautiful, clever and endlessly fun sequence was the career peak for everyone involved.  

Worst Performance: Date Night (2010)
The quality of Common's performances as hardo characters is all over the map. He's had some triumphs (John Wick, Run All Night), a lot of mixed bags (pretty much everything he starred in from 2007-2010) and on occasion, a total failure (his extended cameo in Suicide Squad). Of these missteps, Date Night is definitely the lowest of the low. He's just not even remotely funny or menacing as one of the corrupt cops that's in pursuit of an unassuming married couple (Steve Carrell and Tina Fey) that unintentionally gets caught up in the middle of a manic search for a flash drive full of incriminating information about dirty New York city officials.      

Best Film: Smokin' Aces (2007)
Joe Carnahan's Smokin' Aces is probably my favorite blatant Tarantino ripoff that wasn't directed by Guy Ritchie. A ludicrous last-second twist ending couldn't even spoil the tremendous amount of morbid fun this ultraviolent, smartass quip-filled slice of pure adrenaline stuffed into its 110-minute runtime.    

Worst Film: Movie 43 (2013)
I'm an especially soft critic on comedies. A lot of movies in this genre are solely made with the purpose of making people laugh and I've always found that to be refreshing in an industry that has no shortage of people that take themselves way too seriously. With all this being said, I just can't give a pass to Movie 43. This star-studded anthology film completely whiffs on the type of juvenile jokes that I tend to eat up at an astounding rate. If Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star didn't exist, I would declare Movie 43 the worst mainstream comedy I've seen during this decade without hesitation.

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