The Best and Worst of Daniel Radcliffe

“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 “Playmobil: The Movie” star Daniel Radcliffe.

Films starring Daniel Radcliffe that I've seen:
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
What If?
Horns
Now You See Me 2
Trainwreck
Swiss Army Man
Imperium  

Best Performance: Horns (2014)
After his 10-year run as the face of a beloved franchise concluded in 2011, Radcliffe blazed a trail that was eventually followed by Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and several other actors that spent a good chunk of their early professional lives playing the same popular character by almost exclusively starring in offbeat indie projects in the aftermath of Harry Potter. Of the many interesting parts he took as a result of embarking on this unconventional path, Horns impressed me the most. Radcliffe displays a range that was absent during his time playing Hogwarts' most famous wizard by fearlessly handling the many surprising, morbid turns Alexandre Aja's dark fantasy flick takes.    

Worst Performance: Imperium (2016)
On the negative side of Radcliffe's bold post-Harry Potter resume sits Imperium. While it's far from a terrible performance, Radcliffe is too restrained to be fully convincing as an undercover FBI agent that infiltrates a Nazi group that's believed to be planning a bombing in Virginia.

Best Film: Trainwreck (2015)
Romantic comedies have made a hell of a comeback in recent years. Films like The Big Sick, Crazy Rich Asians and Set It Up have managed to recapture the public's interest in this light, feel-good subgenre after going through a bit of a down period earlier in this decade. If I was to credit just one project as the catalyst for this resurgence, it would be Trainwreck. Amy Schumer's big screen debut brought the traditional romcom structure into the modern day by having a story led by an imperfect character that is afraid to commit to a long-term relationship while also delivering the required dose of heartwarming charm and big laughs.

Worst Film: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2005)
As you can easily deduce from reading the list of Radcliffe films I've seen above, I'm not a Harry Potter fan. The franchise just failed to ever really connect with me and I never even bothered to finish the series. Of the four entries I've seen, the only one I have a truly negative opinion of is Prisoner of Azkaban. I just remember sitting in theater being bored out of my skull and questioning why Gary Oldman's Sirius Black looked like some kind of Goth Jesus.  

Thank you for reading this week's edition of “The Best and Worst of”. The next victim of my praise and ire will be “Richard Jewell” star Sam Rockwell.