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All Jack Black Movies Ranked
School of Rock turns 20!
He was raised by satellite engineers, he grew up to wield the Pick of Destiny, and he’s amassed an impressive — and impressively eclectic — filmography as a manic funnyman, dramatic actor, and everything in between. We’re talking, of course, about the one and only Jack Black, a movie star whose singularly effusive charisma has helped fuel a string of blockbuster hits — King Kong, Tropic Thunder, the Jumanji revival — and cult classics — High Fidelity, Nacho Libre, School of Rock — stretching back for more than a quarter of a century. Clearly, this is a collected achievement worth celebrating — which is exactly why we’ve gone to the effort of rounding up his major film roles and sorting them by Tomatometer. How many Jack Black movies have you seen, and where do your favorites rank? Read on to find out!
#1
Critics Consensus: Black's exuberant, gleeful performance turns School of Rock into a hilarious, rocking good time.
Synopsis: Overly enthusiastic guitarist Dewey Finn (Jack Black) gets thrown out of his bar band and finds himself in desperate need
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#2
Critics Consensus: The deft hand of director Stephen Frears and strong performances by the ensemble cast combine to tell an entertaining story with a rock-solid soundtrack.
Synopsis: Rob Gordon (John Cusack) is the owner of a failing record store in Chicago, where he sells music the old-fashioned
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#3
Critics Consensus: The sweetly nostalgic Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood finds Richard Linklater reusing visual and thematic ingredients in a deeply personal, freshly inspired way.
Synopsis: Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood tells the story of the first moon landing in the summer of 1969
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#4
Critics Consensus: Richard Linklater's Bernie is a gently told and unexpectedly amusing true-crime comedy that benefits from an impressive performance by Jack Black.
Synopsis: Assistant funeral director Bernie Tiede (Jack Black) is one of the most-beloved residents in the small Texas town of Carthage.
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#5
Critics Consensus: Kung Fu Panda has a familiar message, but the pleasing mix of humor, swift martial arts action, and colorful animation makes for winning Summer entertainment.
Synopsis: Po the panda (Jack Black) works in his family's noodle shop and dreams of becoming a kung-fu master. His dream
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#6
Critics Consensus: Kung Fu Panda 3 boasts the requisite visual splendor, but like its rotund protagonist, this sequel's narrative is also surprisingly nimble, adding up to animated fun for the whole family.
Synopsis: Living large and loving life, Po (Jack Black) realizes that he has a lot to learn if he's going to
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#7
Critics Consensus: Featuring state-of-the-art special effects, terrific performances, and a majestic sense of spectacle, Peter Jackson's remake of King Kong is a potent epic that's faithful to the spirit of the 1933 original.
Synopsis: Peter Jackson's expansive remake of the 1933 classic follows director Carl Denham (Jack Black) and his crew on a journey
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#8
Critics Consensus: With biting satire, plenty of subversive humor, and an unforgettable turn by Robert Downey, Jr., Tropic Thunder is a triumphant late summer comedy.
Synopsis: Tugg Speedman (Ben Stiller), pampered action superstar, sets out for Southeast Asia to take part in the biggest, most-expensive war
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#9
Critics Consensus: The storyline arc may seem a tad familiar to fans of the original, but Kung Fu Panda 2 offers enough action, comedy, and visual sparkle to compensate.
Synopsis: Now known as the Dragon Warrior, Po (Jack Black) protects the Valley of Peace alongside his friends and fellow kung
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#10
Critics Consensus: Slight yet ultimately absorbing, Jesus' Son makes effective use of its period setting and talented ensemble cast.
Synopsis: Set in the early 1970's, "Jesus' Son" is a series of linked yet discrete stories that chart the to-hell-and-back journey
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#11
Critics Consensus: Goosebumps boasts more than enough of its spooky source material's kid-friendly charm to make up for some slightly scattershot humor and a hurried pace.
Synopsis: Upset about moving from the big city to a small town, young Zach Cooper (Dylan Minnette) finds a silver lining
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#12
Critics Consensus: Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot avoids inspirational biopic clichés thanks to sensitive work from writer-director Gus Van Sant and the admirable efforts of a well-chosen cast.
Synopsis: After nearly dying in a car accident, the last thing Oregon slacker John Callahan intends to do is give up
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#13
Critics Consensus: Even though Ice Age is treading over the same grounds as Monsters, Inc. and Shrek, it has enough wit and laughs to stand on its own.
Synopsis: Twenty-thousand years ago, Earth is a wondrous, prehistoric world filled with great danger, not the least of which is the
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#14
Critics Consensus: Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle uses a charming cast and a humorous twist to offer an undemanding yet solidly entertaining update on its source material.
Synopsis: Four high school kids discover an old video game console and are drawn into the game's jungle setting, literally becoming
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#15
Critics Consensus: Kung Fu Panda 4 offers enough eye-catching entertainment to sustain the franchise's young fans, although it's starting to feel like this series is running out of steam.
Synopsis: After three death-defying adventures defeating world-class villains with his unmatched courage and mad martial arts skills, Po, the Dragon Warrior
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#16
Critics Consensus: Like many classic games, Jumanji: The Next Level retains core components of what came before while adding enough fresh bits to keep things playable.
Synopsis: When Spencer goes back into the fantastical world of Jumanji, pals Martha, Fridge and Bethany re-enter the game to bring
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#17
Critics Consensus: An entertaining, topical thriller that finds director Tony Scott on solid form and Will Smith confirming his action headliner status.
Synopsis: Corrupt National Security Agency official Thomas Reynolds (Jon Voight) has a congressman assassinated to assure the passage of expansive new
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#18
Critics Consensus: Despite moments of hilarity and a talented ensemble, discordant direction and a sloppy script keep The Polka King from truly singing.
Synopsis: The rise and fall of Pennsylvania polka sensation Jan Lewan, who ultimately fleeced millions from investors through his polka-related activities.
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#19
Critics Consensus: An entertaining PG detour for gore maestro Eli Roth, The House with a Clock in Its Walls is a family-friendly blend of humor and horror with an infectious sense of fun.
Synopsis: Ten-year-old Lewis goes to live with his oddball uncle in a creaky old house that contains a mysterious ticktock noise.
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#20
Critics Consensus: Slighter and less disciplined than Gondry's previous mind-benders.
Synopsis: After a man (Jack Black) accidentally creates a magnetic field that erases a store's videotapes, he hatches a daring scheme
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#21
Critics Consensus: Witty and provocative.
Synopsis: As labor strikes break out throughout the country, New York is alive with cultural revolution. Nelson Rockefeller (John Cusack) commissions
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#22
Critics Consensus: While it's nowhere near as thrilling as turtle tipping your way to 128 lives, The Super Mario Bros. Movie is a colorful -- albeit thinly plotted -- animated adventure that has about as many Nintendos as Nintendon'ts.
Synopsis: Mario and Luigi go on a whirlwind adventure through Mushroom Kingdom, uniting with a cast of familiar characters to defeat
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#23
Critics Consensus: Tim Burton's alien invasion spoof faithfully recreates the wooden characters and schlocky story of cheesy '50s sci-fi and Ed Wood movies -- perhaps a little too faithfully for audiences.
Synopsis: A fleet of Martian spacecraft surrounds the world's major cities and all of humanity waits to see if the extraterrestrial
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#24
Critics Consensus: The Cable Guy's dark flashes of thought-provoking, subversive wit are often -- but not always -- enough to counter its frustratingly uneven storytelling approach.
Synopsis: Oddball cable installer Chip Douglas (Jim Carrey) attempts to strike up a friendship with customer Steven Kovacs (Matthew Broderick) by
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#25
Critics Consensus: The D Train offers Jack Black a too-rare opportunity to showcase his range, but its story and characters are too sloppily conceived to hold together as a film.
Synopsis: A nebbish (Jack Black) spins a web of lies around a famous former classmate (James Marsden) to win his friendship
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#26
Critics Consensus: Tenacious D fans will find this movie hilarious; everybody else will see only a low-brow concept movie and a small assembly of jokes stretched past the 100-minute mark.
Synopsis: Musicians JB (Jack Black) and KG (Kyle Gass) begin a friendship that could lead to the formation of the greatest
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#27
Critics Consensus: Despite a great cast, the characters in Margot at the Wedding are too unlikable to enthrall viewers.
Synopsis: Self-absorbed writer Margot (Nicole Kidman) and her young son arrive at her family's seaside home as surprise guests at the
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#28
Critics Consensus: While it's certainly sweet and even somewhat touching, The Holiday is so thoroughly predictable that audiences may end up opting for an early check-out time.
Synopsis: Two women, one from America and one from Britain, swap homes at Christmastime after bad breakups with their boyfriends. Each
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#29
Critics Consensus: While surprisingly sweeter and warm-hearted than previous Farrelly outings, Shallow Hal is also less funny and more bland.
Synopsis: The story revolves around Hal (Jack Black) who, taking his dying father's advice, dates only the embodiments of female physical
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#30
Critics Consensus: Smarter than the average teen movie, but a little on the unmemorable side.
Synopsis: A smart high-school student with his heart set on going to Stanford is horrified when his guidance counselor accidentally sends
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#31
Critics Consensus: Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween offers a handful of treats for very young viewers, but compared to the entertaining original, this sequel is a ding dong to ditch.
Synopsis: While collecting junk one day, best friends Sonny and Sam meet Slappy, a mischievous talking dummy from an unpublished "Goosebumps"
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#32
Critics Consensus: Though made with care and affection for its characters, The Big Year plods along, rarely reaching any comedic heights.
Synopsis: Three men find that they have come to a turning point. Stu (Steve Martin) faces a late-life crisis, Kenny (Owen
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#33
Critics Consensus: At times hilarious, but other times offensive, Director Jared Hess is unable to recapture the collective charisma of his Napoleon characters, instead relying on a one-joke concept that runs out of steam. Sure to entertain the adolescents, however.
Synopsis: Ignacio (Jack Black), or Nacho to his friends, works as a cook in the Mexican monastery where he grew up.
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#34
Critics Consensus: Derivative and full of pop culture in-jokes.
Synopsis: Underachiever Oscar (Will Smith) is a pint-sized fish with grand aspirations. When mob-connected great white shark Frankie (Michael Imperioli) is
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#35
Critics Consensus: Airborne skates downhill with a threadbare story, flat characters, and wince-inducing dialogue.
Synopsis: When his parents go to Australia for six months to work on a zoology project, young Mitchell (Shane McDermott) is
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#36
Critics Consensus: The Jackal is a relatively simple chase thriller incapable of adding thrills or excitement as the plot chugs along.
Synopsis: During an FBI raid on a Moscow nightclub, the brother of Russian gangster Terek Murad (David Hayman) is killed. Murad
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#37
Critics Consensus: Though Jack Black is back doing what he does best, Gulliver's Travels largely fails to do any justice to its source material, relying instead on juvenile humor and special effects.
Synopsis: Lemuel Gulliver (Jack Black) works in a mailroom at a city newspaper. While he is on an assignment in the
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#38
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A magic crystal leads a college student (Josh Charles) and an adventurer (Rutger Hauer) on a surreal quest to save
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#39
Critics Consensus: Dragged down by a plot lacking any sense of logic and obnoxious, unsympathetic characters, this comedy is more crude and mean-spirited than funny.
Synopsis: The film traces the misadventures of buddies J.D. (Jack Black) and Wayne (Steve Zahn), who begin to suspect that their
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#40
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: David (Luke Wilson) is an Oregon slacker content to sell pot and occasionally work on his art. When he meets
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#41
Critics Consensus: Year One is a poorly executed, slapdash comedy in which the talent both in front of and behind the camera never seem to be on the same page.
Synopsis: After Neanderthal hunter Zed (Jack Black) is exiled for eating forbidden fruit, he and his sardonic buddy Oh (Michael Cera)
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#42
Critics Consensus: Jack Black and Ben Stiller fail to wring laughs from a script that's essentially one extended poop joke.
Synopsis: Tim (Ben Stiller) has a chance to invest in Vapoorizer, the latest harebrained venture by his friend Nick (Jack Black).
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92%
71%
59%
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