Michael B. Jordan 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 Michael B. Jordan-whose latest project "Sinners" releases in theaters on Thursday. 

Michael B. Jordan Filmography's Ranked:

14.A Journal for Jordan (C-)

13.Fantastic Four (C)

12.Without Remorse (B-)

11.Red Tails (B-)

10.Hardball (B)

9.That Awkward Moment (B)

8.Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (B+)

7.Chronicle (B+)

6.Creed II (A)

5.Creed III (A)

4.Just Mercy (A)

3.Creed (A)

2.Black Panther (A)

1.Fruitvale Station (A)

Top Dog: Fruitvale Station (2013)

The movie that birthed the creative partnership between Jordan and Ryan Coogler remains their finest work. Fruitvale Station succinctly and powerfully shows that Oscar Grant was just a young man trying to get his life back on track after a brief prison stint for selling weed who was deprived of that opportunity after he was murdered by transit police in a heinous act of police brutality that was caught entirely on camera by fellow BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) riders at the titular subway station in Oakland. The fact that Coogler and Jordan were only 25 and 24 respectively at the time of production only adds to how remarkable of an accomplishment this film is.    

Bottom Feeder: A Journal for Jordan (2021)

You'll be hard pressed to find too many people that don't feel that Denzel Washington is one of the greatest actors to ever grace a screen or stage. Considering how special his talent is as a performer; it's kind of astonishing how none of it has translated to his behind-the-camera work-which is plain and typically far too reliant on ineffective melodrama. Washington's fourth directorial effort A Journal for Jordan manages to be the most damning showcase of his shortcomings as a filmmaker thus far. While the magnetic lead pairing of Jordan and Chante Adams have strong enough chemistry to sell the romantic portions of the narrative, the film's ruminations on grief, loss and raising a child alone as a widow are far too contrived to provide the tearjerking gut punch that this fact-based story is aiming to provide.          

Most Underrated: Just Mercy (2019)

Just Mercy got dealt a rough hand as it had to contend with being a part of the most loaded awards slate in recent memory and having its home release come in the early days of the COVID lockdown where nobody was interested in watching anything that featured heavy subject matter. While we're living through a time right now that's scary and uncertain in its own right, I can't recommend seeking out Just Mercy enough. It's a vintage rousing legal drama that features exceptional performances from Jordan, Jamie Foxx and Rob Morgan that also happens to be an honest, unflinching exploration of the enduring stranglehold that systemic racism has maintained on the American justice system post-Jim Crow.            

Most Overrated: None

Jordan's relatively small filmography for an actor whose been steadily working for over a decade now paired with the varying degree of high opinions I have on his acclaimed films was enough to earn him a reprieve here.    

Most Compelling Evidence for Hollywood to Give Josh Trank Another Shot: Chronicle (2012)

Whatever bad shit happened with Fantastic Four has completely stalled Josh Trank's career. The only film he's put out since then was 2020's alternately fascinating and baffling biopic Capone that tackled the unglamorous final years of the notorious Chicago gangster, and he just began production on an indie horror film led by child stars and current VOD/streaming mainstays Robbie Amell and Victoria Justice. To this day, I still believe that Chronicle serves as evidence that Trank is talented and deserves another shot in the big leagues. Aided by a trio of great lead performances from Dane DeHaan, Alex Russell and Jordan and one of the best uses of the found footage format since The Blair Witch Project, Chronicle successfully turns the superhero genre on its head by exploring what would happen if getting superpowers corrupted a person to the point of no return. The most impressive part of Chronicle is that Trank was able to pull it off in an 83-minute film that boasted a production budget of $15 mil, which is the sign of a filmmaker who is resourceful to enough to deal with budgetary constraints without compromising the scope of their vision.