Joe Carnahan 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 Joe Carnahan-whose latest project "The Rip" begins streaming on Netflix tomorrow. 

Joe Carnahan's Filmography Ranked:

7.Shadow Force (C)

6.Copshop (B)

5.The Grey (B)

4.Boss Level (B)

3.Narc (B+)

2.The A-Team (B+)

1.Smokin' Aces (A)

Top Dog: Smokin' Aces (2007)

A combination of fond memories of seeing this with a few friends in theaters as a freshman in high school and true respect for all the chaotic silliness that it contains has led to me develop an enduring love for Smokin' Aces. All of the detractors that have dismissed it as nothing but a Red Bull-fueled riff on Tarantino are making a fair point, but the movie is so fucking fun that I really don't care who Carnahan was influenced by while making it. 

Bottom Feeder: Shadow Force (2025)

Shadow Force is an unfortunate misfire of a movie. Kerry Washington and Omar Sy are a stellar romantic pairing that give the film a great foundation. You completely buy them as special forces operators that had to go into hiding after falling in love and having a kid (Jahleel Kamara), which went against the rules their boss (Mark Strong) had established for their elite unit. When the film shifts away from the breezy chemistry of Washington and Sy to focus on the action and its throwaway plot (Strong's vengeful boss find out they're still alive and aims to kill them), it becomes a sterile, rudderless affair. Carnahan is way too much of a seasoned vet to be putting out action flicks this aggressively mediocre and I'm hopeful that The Rip will end up being a return to form for him.

Most Underrated: The A-Team (2010)

Carnahan's sole foray into the world of true blockbuster filmmaking is also one of the finest accomplishments of his career. Boasting a knowingly silly tone, well-cast misfit heroes (Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Quentin "Rampage" Jackson, Sharlto Copley) and plenty of awesome cartoony action, The A-Team successfully applies the spirit of the classic series to a much bigger modern canvas. 

Most Overrated: The Grey (2012)

This feels a little unfair as The Grey is a solid survival thriller, but it's the best reviewed movie of Carnahan's career by just about any metric you throw out there and I just don't think it's on the level of his best work-namely due to its underwhelming final act.