Matt Damon 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 Matt Damon-whose latest project "The Odyssey" releases in theaters today. 

Matt Damon's Filmography Ranked:

39.The Legend of Bagger Vance (D)

38.Ocean's Twelve (D)

37.Stuck on You (D)

36.Interstellar (D+)

35.The Monuments Men (C)

34.Invictus (C) 

33.Titan A.E. (C)

32.Jason Bourne (C)

31.The Bourne Supremacy (C) 

30.Suburbicon (C)

29.Green Zone (C+)

28.The Informant! (C+)

27.The Great Wall (C+)

26.No Sudden Move (B-)

25.The Bourne Ultimatum (B-)

24.Stillwater (B-)

23.School Ties (B)

22.We Bought a Zoo (B)

21.Oppenheimer (B)

20.The Adjustment Bureau (B)

19.Elysium (B)

18.The Bourne Identity (B)

17.The Rip (B)

16.Drive-Away Dolls (B)

15.Chasing Amy (B)

14.Contagion (B)

13.IF (B+)

12.The Martian (B+)

11.Ocean's Thirteen (B+)

10.Ford v. Ferrari (B+)

9.Air (B+)

8.Dogma (B+)

7.The Last Duel (B+)

6.Rounders (A-)

5.True Grit (A)

4.Saving Private Ryan (A)

3.Ocean's Eleven (A)

2.Good Will Hunting (A)

1.The Departed (A+)

Top Dog: The Departed (2006)

The Departed will always and forever be my favorite Martin Scorsese movie. Is that because I was 14 when it was released, is set in Boston and was the first movie of his that I ever watched? Perhaps, but I also just happen to think that it's really special. Scorsese had been making crime movies for 30+ years when The Departed entered production, and all that experience is on display as he concocts this engrossing look at the blurred lines between cops and criminals. The twists and turns that transpire as green undercover cop Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) infiltrates the inner circle of Irish mob boss (Jack Nicholson, in what is arguably his last great performance before retiring from acting following 2010's How Do You Know) are incredible and the last 30 minutes never fail to leave my jaw on the floor.

Bottom Feeder: The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000)

Robert Redford assembled one of the most illustrious careers of any person to ever work in Hollywood. The Legend of Bagger Vance was not among his highlights. My choice to watch this movie stemmed entirely from a years-long running bit that I had with a couple of friends, and it took about 20-25 minutes for me to regret sitting down to watch it. Unapologetic cheese tends to at least have some theatrics behind it, but this project is so fucking lethargic that it can't even be bothered to play up the overwhelming sentimentality that's baked into its cornball sports drama narrative. Part of me hopes that Damon and Charlize Theron shared a laugh about this movie when they were on set together for The Odyssey.     

Most Underrated: The Last Duel (2021):

Ridley Scott is at the top of the list of directors that I feel are complete wild cards in terms of the quality of the films they deliver. While his erraticism has absolutely gotten worse with age, he's never been able to string together multiple undeniable triumphs at any point in his career. During his very busy 2020's so far (next month's The Dog Stars will be the 5th movie he's released!), he's produced a sole slice of greatness in The Last Duel. The care put into its multi-perspective narrative along with a stunning lead performance from Jodie Comer made this a really compelling, powerful drama about the great lengths' society and the preparators of sexual assaults go to discredit the women who have been violated at the hands of predators.  

Most Overrated: Interstellar (2014):

Speaking of cornball movies starring Damon, the time has arrived for me to talk about how much I hate Interstellar. Not liking Interstellar has never been a popular take, but in recent years as it has seemingly become every person on the fucking planet's favorite Christopher Nolan movie, saying that you think this movie sucks shit is a surefire way to make a whole lot of people disgusted, confused and/or infuriated. My reasoning for thinking Interstellar is a turd is simple: Adding schmaltzy family drama to Nolan's signature convoluted exposition dumps acts as a brutal kiss of death that made this movie a groanworthy slog to sit through. The library scene is at the end is the worst thing Nolan has ever committed to film, and I'll never forget the tidal wave of disgust that overtook me as it was playing out on the big screen. I would rather go through a dozen wormholes than sit through this nauseatingly melodramatic snoozefest again.