(Photo by Universal / courtesy Everett Collection)

All Brendan Fraser Movies, Ranked by Tomatometer

Like a defrosted caveman, Brendan Fraser arrived out of nowhere when he starred as the titular Encino Man in 1992. The Paleolithic cult movie is a prototypical ’90s comedy: It’s broad, goofy, and Pauly Shore is never more than 10 feet away off-camera. Airheads and George of the Jungle were more in that ’90s style, while 1998’s Gods and Monsters showed off Fraser’s range. (Though School Ties, released the same year as Encino Man, had already proven some dramatic chops.) The Mummy turned Fraser into an international star, with the 1999 blockbuster remembered fondly today.

But flops began to mount (Monkeybone, Dudley Do-Right, Looney Tunes: Back in Action), and though Fraser was in Best Picture-winner Crash, so was half of Hollywood. Even The Mummy unraveled: The box office returns for Returns were good, but the Rachel Weisz-less Tomb of the Dragon Emperor bombed, killing the franchise in 2008. By 2010, we were witnessing Fraser getting blasted by skunks in Furry Vengeance and yelling ‘Miley Cyrus!’ as an expletive. After 2013’s Gimme Shelter, Fraser seemed to be no longer cast in movies.

At the end of the decade, Fraser’s voice was being heard again. He was Robotman in DC Comics’ series Titans. Well-received by fans, Robotman got upgraded to main status in spin-off Doom Patrol. Along with a recurring role in The Affair‘s third season, Fraser’s re-appearance made audiences wonder about the likable, genial actor’s long absence. The question was answered in a 2018 GQ interview, where Fraser alleges he was sexually assaulted in 2003 by Philip Berk, president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, and was subsequently blacklisted by the industry for speaking out.

From this revelation (and more, like a contentious divorce, surgeries from doing stunt work, and the death of his mother), Fraser has emerged as a populist figure in the celebrity world, one whose fans are drawn to because of his survival through mistreatment and struggle. Like Britney Spears (whose conservatorship battle is documented in Framing Britney Spears), Fraser was once mocked and laughed at, but is now generating easy and eager goodwill after cultural re-examination of victimhood and predatory showbiz behavior. Directors seem glad Fraser’s around again: Steven Soderbergh put him on-screen in No Sudden Move, Fraser’s first Certified Fresh movie in 17 years. And the comeback continues with his casting in Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale and Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon.

Now, we’re ranking all Brendan Fraser movies by Tomatometer! —Alex Vo