Jesse Plemons Ranked

Welcome to "Ranked", a weekly series where I rank a franchise or filmography from worst to best and hand out assorted related superlatives. This week, I'm profiling the work of Jesse Plemons-whose latest project "Kinds of Kindness" opens in NYC/LA theaters today and expands nationwide next week.

Jesse Plemons' Filmography Ranked:

20.Battleship (D)

19.Observe and Report (C)

18.Bridge of Spies (C)

17.Antlers (C+)

16.American Made (C+)

15.Jungle Cruise (B-)

14.Like Mike (B-)

13.Black Mass (B)

12.The Post (B)

11.Paul (B)

10.Hostiles (B)

9.Varsity Blues (B+)

8.Other People (B+)

7.The Irishman (B+)

6.Vice (B+)

5.Civil War (B+)

4.The Power of the Dog (B+)

3.Killers of the Flower Moon (B+)

2.Game Night (A) 

1.Judas and the Black Messiah (A)

Top Dog: Judas and the Black Messiah (2021)

Shaka King pulled off something really special with Judas and the Black Messiah. This film that looks at how the FBI tapped petty thief William O'Neal to infiltrate the Chicago chapter of the Black Panthers and eventually help facilitate the assassination of the group's leader Fred Hampton at the hands of law enforcement simultaneously manages to be a riveting political thriller and deeply disturbing look at the lengths the American government will go to stomp out the threat of a cultural revolution-especially when it involves black people. The towering performances from Daniel Kaluuya as Hampton, LaKeith Stanfield as O'Neal and Dominique Fishback as Hampton's girlfriend/mother of his child Deborah Johnson are the best they've ever turned in and the final scene is one of the most gut-wrenching things I've ever seen in a film.     

Bottom Feeder: Battleship (2012)

While Peter Berg may not be among Hollywood's most gifted or respected filmmakers, he's capable of far better than what he delivers in Battleship. Turning the classic board game into a Transformers clone is a perfectly fine idea on the surface, the execution is just really, really poor. There should've been at least a few moments of dumb fun with this conceit, but a combination of Berg playing this shit way too straight and putting together a string of action sequences that have absolutely zero creativity or style turned that into an impossible dream.    

Most Underrated: Other People (2016)

Other People is one of those (sadly) increasingly regular examples of a Sundance title getting buried upon its general release. This tearjerker dramedy overcomes the trappings of a story riddled with soapy developments courtesy of its pure heart and really tremendous performances lead performances from Plemons and Molly Shannon as an estranged son and mother who are brought back together when she gets diagnosed with a rare form of terminal cancer.   

Most Overrated: Bridge of Spies (2015)

The reaction that many people had to The Post is the one that I had to Bridge of Spies. Steven Spielberg being behind such a boilerplate, intrigue-free spy drama is a pretty staggering development and Mark Rylance's win over Sylvester Stallone for Best Supporting Actor is perhaps the most disgusted I was by an Oscars result during the 2010's.