The Best and Worst of Michael Shannon

“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 “Knives Out” star Michael Shannon.

Films starring Michael Shannon that I've seen:
Groundhog Day
Pearl Harbor
8 Mile
Kangaroo Jack
Bad Boys II
Let's Go to Prison 
Revolutionary Road
Jonah Hex
Machine Gun Preacher
Mud
Premium Rush
Man of Steel
They Came Together
99 Homes
The Night Before
Midnight Special
Nocturnal Animals
The Shape of Water

Best Performance: 99 Homes (2015)
This is such an unheralded performance from one of the most underrated actors working today. As the owner of a central Florida eviction business, Shannon manages to be an equally reprehensible and magnetic sleazeball that is riveting to watch.

Worst Performance: Man of Steel (2013)
Shannon's comically over-the-top performance may have added some energy to the otherwise sleepy Man of Steel, but that doesn't disqualify General Zod from being an all time bad superhero villain. His constant yelling and violent gesturing turned this supposedly imposing destroyer of worlds into a loopy cartoon character that was impossible to take seriously.
 

Best Film: The Night Before (2015)
In a filmography loaded with acclaimed projects including a Best Picture winner (The Shape of Water), my favorite movie of Shannon's is a stoner Christmas comedy. The Night Before is a damn near perfect holiday film featuring a thoroughly convincing buddy rapport between its three leads (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anthony Mackie), no shortage of huge laughs and a tremendously heartwarming conclusion.

Worst Film: Pearl Harbor (2001)
Pearl Harbor is one of the most bizarre miscalculations I've ever come across in the world of cinema. Using one of the most horrific moments in American history as the basis for a sappy romantic drama isn't just in questionable taste, it makes absolutely no god damn sense from a creative standpoint. It also doesn't help that the acting is near-universally wretched and that by the time Michael Bay gets to do what he does best (stage huge, loud action sequences) at the very end of this three hour slog, overwhelming fatigue from this cornball overload had already set in.  

Thank you for reading this week's edition of “The Best and Worst of”. The next victim of my praise and ire will be “Playmobil: The Movie” star Daniel Radcliffe.