Sam Rockwell Ranked

Welcome to the latest edition of "Ranked", where I rank the franchise or the filmography of an actor/director and hand out related accolades. This week, I'm profiling the work of Sam Rockwell-whose new movie "The One and Only Ivan" hits Disney+ on Friday.  

Sam Rockwell's Filmography Ranked:

20.The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (D-)

19.Charlie's Angels (2000) (C-)

18.Mr. Right (C)

17.The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (C)

16.The Best of Enemies (C+)

15.Iron Man 2 (C+)

14.Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (B-)

13.The Sitter (B-)

12.Cowboys & Aliens (B)

11.The Way, Way Back (B)

10.The Winning Season (B)

9.Choke (B)

8.Galaxy Quest (B+)

7.Richard Jewell (B+)

6.Frost/Nixon (B+)

5.Moon (B+)

4.Vice (A-)

3.Seven Psychopaths (A-)

2.Jojo Rabbit (A)

1.The Green Mile (A+)

Top Dog: The Green Mile (1999)

It's been a very long time since I've seen The Green Mile, so it's possible that its abundant sentimentality wouldn't resonate with me the same way that it did during both times I watched it in middle/high school. That being said, all of my memories of The Green Mile paint the picture of a stunning film full of warmth, striking performances and overwhelmingly heartfelt emotion.    

Lowlight: The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)

As much as The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy sucks, it's kind of astonishing that Disney agreed to make it. A convoluted, pretentious British sci-fi comedy aimed at families is about as unsafe as it gets and there's no way that something like this would get greenlit under the current regime where anything that feels like it has even a tangible chance of failing to make a profit is off the table. If the day ever comes when Disney decides to roll the dice on something like this again, I'll let out an audible surprised gasp before eviscerating it for being an insufferable pile of garbage.   

Most Overrated: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)

Every year produces at least one Best Picture nominee that most film nerds just can't understand the hype behind. In 2017, the film that topped that list for me was Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. A few terrific performances (Frances McDormand, Rockwell, Lucas Hedges) and potent scenes couldn't overshadow the heavy reliance on contrived melodrama, awkward tonal shifts and infuriatingly ambiguous ending that destroyed whatever chance it had of achieving greatness.    

Most Underrated: Seven Psychopaths (2012)

Seven Psychopaths is the only one of Martin McDonagh's feature length directorial efforts thus far that hasn't received glowing praise, but in my eyes, it's his best work by far. The satire about the pretentiousness of screenwriters is very clever, the vicious yet quirky criminal underworld the protagonists get sucked creates a lot of scenarios where McDonagh's dark comedy chops get to shine and the ensemble cast (Colin Farrell, Rockwell, Christopher Walken, Woody Harrelson, Tom Waits, Abbie Cornish, Olga Kurylenko, Zeljiko Ivanek) is pretty much perfect. 

Top Performance in a Best Picture Nominee: Jojo Rabbit (2019)

Not even a full calendar year after delivering a spot-on impression of George W. Bush in Vice, Rockwell managed to deliver an even better performance in an eventual Best Picture nominee. His work as a deceptively compassionate Nazi officer running the Hitler Youth camp that the titular character (Roman Griffin Davis) attends is both hilarious and heartfelt.    

Most Discretely Bad Performance in a Superhero Movie: Iron Man 2 (2010)

Mickey Rourke's egregious overacting and awful Russian accent made Whiplash one of the most notably bad villains in superhero movie history. Given just how overwhelmingly bad Rourke is, Rockwell's performance as Whiplash's partner in crime Justin Hammer has been unfairly immune to criticism. While he doesn't have the proverbial scarlet letter of a hilariously bad accent attached to his character, Rockwell is 100% guilty of abusing the same playbook with only somewhat more favorable results.  

Is Rockwell Among the Top-Tier of Character Actors Working Today?: Without question

While admittedly this isn't a topic I've spent much time thinking about, Rockwell was one of the first names I came up with when briefly brainstorming the industry's best character actors earlier today. When breaking down Rockwell's intangibles as an actor, he fits the classic mold of the unsung veteran performer who delivers consistent, quality work despite rarely ever landing leading roles. He has the versatility to tackle any genre, a commanding presence that makes him capable of stealing any scene he appears in and whether it's an Oscar-winning part in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri or a silly bit part in an above average throwaway comedy like The Sitter, he's going to commit fully to the part no matter what.