The Best and Worst of Tessa Thompson

“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 “Men in Black: International” star Tessa Thompson.

Films starring Tessa Thompson that I've seen:
Dear White People
Selma
Creed
War on Everyone
Thor: Ragnarok
Annihilation 
Sorry to Bother You
Creed II
Avengers: Endgame

Best Performance: Creed (2015)
Sincere, deep-rooted emotion has made both Creed movies standouts in the sports drama genre and all three leads (Thompson, Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone) have equally contributed to the   poignancy that drives this era of the Rocky franchise. Thompson brings a very believable  combination of strength, vulnerability, courage and fear to her role as Bianca, an up-and-coming singer suffering from progressive hearing loss that develops an unlikely romantic relationship with Adonis Creed (Jordan).

Worst Performance: Sorry to Bother You (2018)
Over half of the above titles are elevated by Thompson's charm and ace comic timing. Sorry to Bother You is the only comedic role she's had thus far where those qualities didn't shine through. Her performance as Detroit, the artist girlfriend of protagonist Cassius Green (Lakeith Stanfield), is a terrible one-note joke about the phoniness and lack of self-awareness that many creative people have in spades.

Best Film: Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
Outside of the baffling disappointment of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2, Marvel has been in a hell of a groove over the past couple years. As much as I love Black Panther and the last two Avengers movies, Thor: Ragnarok is the peak of this era for me by far. Thanks to Taika Waititi's abstract sense of humor, a vibrant color palette that evokes the atmosphere of a comic book and a terrific cast that perfectly sells this goofy material, Ragnarok becomes the superhero behemoth's most entertaining and delightfully strange product to-date.

Worst Film: Sorry to Bother You (2018)
Boots Riley is a smart guy and he deserves some credit for making something that is a true original from start to finish. However, a bold, unique narrative isn't enough to cover up the poorly-constructed jokes and unfocused, hyperactive attempts at social/political commentary that ultimately sink this capitalism satire.

Thank you for reading this week's edition of “The Best and Worst of”. The next victim of my praise and ire will be “Toy Story 4” star Tim Allen.