(Photo by Michael Gibson/STX Entertainment)
All Idris Elba Movies Ranked
To some fans, Idris Elba will forever be Stringer Bell from The Wire. To others, he’ll always be best remembered as John Luther. For still others, he’s the guy who gave us the Heimdall of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or — and this is admittedly a much smaller subset — finally brought gunslinger Roland Deschain to the big screen in the long-gestating adaptation of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower. All of which is to say that Mr. Elba’s done a lot in his impressive career, and by all appearances, he’s still just getting started: even if those persistent rumors about him taking over the James Bond franchise never pan out, he’s got plenty of projects lined up to add to an eclectic filmography that already includes some of the more popular and widely acclaimed TV and film releases in recent memory, including an original character in The Suicide Squad. And now we’re ranking all Idris Elba movies by Tomatometer!
#37
Adjusted Score: 8.817%
Critics Consensus: A dim and predictable remake of an already dull slasher film, this Prom Night fails to be memorable.
Synopsis: Donna's senior prom is supposed to be the best night of her life. After surviving a horrible tragedy, she has...
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#36
Adjusted Score: 12.083%
Critics Consensus: It may feature such accomplished actors as Hilary Swank and Stephen Rea, but The Reaping also boasts the apropos tagline "What hath God wrought?" It's schlocky, spiritually shallow, and scare-free.
Synopsis: A former Christian missionary, who lost her faith after her family was tragically killed, has since become a world renowned...
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#35
Adjusted Score: 13.306%
Critics Consensus: David Goyer's Unborn is a tame genre effort with cheap thrills and scares that border on silliness.
Synopsis: Casey Beldon hated her mother for leaving her as a child. But when inexplicable things start to happen, Casey begins...
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#34
Adjusted Score: 13.464%
Critics Consensus: Dull, derivative, and generally uninspired, No Good Deed wastes its stars' talents -- and the audience's time.
Synopsis: Terri (Taraji P. Henson), a devoted wife and mother of two, lives an ideal life that takes a dramatic turn...
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#33
Adjusted Score: 27.376%
Critics Consensus: Go then, there are other Stephen King adaptations than these.
Synopsis: There are other worlds than these. Stephen King's The Dark Tower, the ambitious and expansive story from one of the...
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#32
Adjusted Score: 23.362%
Critics Consensus: With an uninspired plot and rote set pieces that are overshadowed by its star's physique, The Gunman proves a muddled misfire in the rapidly aging Over-50 Action Hero genre.
Synopsis: THE GUNMAN, the new action thriller from Pierre Morel, the director of Taken, stars Sean Penn, Javier Bardem, Idris Elba,...
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#31
Adjusted Score: 21.604%
Critics Consensus: With a weak script, uneven CG work, and a Nic Cage performance so predictably loony it's no longer amusing, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance aims to be trashy fun but ends up as plain trash.
Synopsis: Nicolas Cage reprises his role as Johnny Blaze in Ghost Rider Spirit of Vengeance. In this gritty new vision for...
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#30
Adjusted Score: 21.257%
Critics Consensus: The inevitable Fatal Attraction comparisons aside, Obsessed is a generic, toothless thriller both instantly predictable and instantly forgettable.
Synopsis: Derek Charles, a successful asset manager who has just received a huge promotion, is blissfully happy in his career and...
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#29
Adjusted Score: 33.315%
Critics Consensus: Despite its fur-midable cast, this Cats adaptation is a clawful mistake that will leave most viewers begging to be put out of their mew-sery.
Synopsis: Universal Pictures and Working Title's Cats is a most-unexpected film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's beloved smash musical "Cats" and...
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#28
Adjusted Score: 27.049%
Critics Consensus: Daddy's Little Girls boasts fine performances and a poignant message, but is ultimately let down by amateurish filmmaking.
Synopsis: Diary of a Mad Black Woman mastermind Tyler Perry turns the familiar Cinderella tale on its head with this story...
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#27
Adjusted Score: 30.827%
Critics Consensus: Takers boasts some gripping set pieces and keeps things moving quickly, but its two-dimensional characters, clichéd script, and brazenly derivative plot make it hard to recommend.
Synopsis: A Los Angeles detective races to bust a group of notorious thieves before they can carry out a 20-million-dollar heist...
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#26
Adjusted Score: 32.412%
Critics Consensus: While it features outstanding musical numbers, The Gospel reduces a series of worthy themes -- faith, family, forgiveness -- to soapy, banal clichés.
Synopsis: David, a successful R&B singer, returns home when he learns that his father, a much-loved bishop in the local church,...
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#25
Adjusted Score: 45.701%
Critics Consensus: The Mountain Between Us may be too far-fetched for some viewers to appreciate, but it's elevated by reliably engaging performances from Idris Elba and Kate Winslet.
Synopsis: Stranded after a tragic plane crash, two strangers must forge a connection to survive the extreme elements of a remote...
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#24
Adjusted Score: 41.788%
Critics Consensus: 100 Streets strands its talented cast - led by a clearly overqualified Idris Elba - in the midst of a well-meaning but fatally contrived drama.
Synopsis: 100 STREETS, a powerful ensemble drama, follows three contrasting and interwoven stories as they play out in one square mile...
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#23
Adjusted Score: 50.411%
Critics Consensus: Bastille Day proves Idris Elba is an action hero in waiting -- specifically, waiting for a script that deserves his talents.
Synopsis: Michael Mason is an American pickpocket living in Paris who finds himself hunted by the CIA when he steals a...
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#22
Adjusted Score: 52.554%
Critics Consensus: The Losers is loud, fast, and unrelentingly violent -- but it's also funny and well-acted, which will make all the difference for some action fans.
Synopsis: Director Sylvain White adapts the Vertigo comic about a team of mercenaries who wage war on the CIA after they're...
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#21
Adjusted Score: 56.149%
Critics Consensus: This Christmas features strong performances and a sharp portrayal of family dynamics, but relies too heavily on holiday movie clichés.
Synopsis: Upon gathering together under one roof for the first time in seven years, an estranged family celebrating Christmas rediscovers long-forgotten...
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#20
Adjusted Score: 65.18%
Critics Consensus: Mixed reviews for Guy Ritchie's return to his London-based cockney wideboy gangster movie roots, but most agree, it's a step in the right direction following two major turkeys.
Synopsis: Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels director Guy Ritchie heads back to the London underworld for this hyperkinetic crime comedy...
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#19
Adjusted Score: 65.955%
Critics Consensus: It might be too respectful to truly soar, but there's no denying Idris Elba's impressive work in Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom -- or the inspirational power of the life it depicts.
Synopsis: MANDELA: LONG WALK TO FREEDOM is based on South African President Nelson Mandela's autobiography of the same name, which chronicles...
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#18
Adjusted Score: 76.528%
Critics Consensus: It may not be the finest film to come from the Marvel Universe, but Thor: The Dark World still offers plenty of the humor and high-stakes action that fans have come to expect.
Synopsis: Marvel's "Thor: The Dark World" continues the big-screen adventures of Thor, the Mighty Avenger, as he battles to save Earth...
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#17
Adjusted Score: 81.96%
Critics Consensus: Hobbs & Shaw doesn't rev as high as the franchise's best installments, but gets decent mileage out of its well-matched stars and over-the-top action sequences.
Synopsis: Ever since hulking lawman Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson), a loyal agent of America's Diplomatic Security Service, and lawless outcast Shaw (Jason...
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#16
Adjusted Score: 77.397%
Critics Consensus: While 28 Weeks Later lacks the humanism that made 28 Days Later a classic, it's made up with fantastic atmosphere and punchy direction.
Synopsis: The devastating rage virus that annihilated the British Isles mysteriously resurfaces in Goya Award-winning director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo's sequel to...
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#15
Adjusted Score: 83.251%
Critics Consensus: It may sport more style than substance, but Pacific Rim is a solid modern creature feature bolstered by fantastical imagery and an irresistible sense of fun.
Synopsis: When legions of monstrous creatures, known as Kaiju, started rising from the sea, a war began that would take millions...
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#14
Adjusted Score: 84.345%
Critics Consensus: Ridley Scott's ambitious quasi-prequel to Alien may not answer all of its big questions, but it's redeemed by its haunting visual grandeur and compelling performances -- particularly Michael Fassbender as a fastidious android.
Synopsis: Ridley Scott, director of Alien and Blade Runner, returns to the genre he helped define. With Prometheus, he creates a...
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#13
Adjusted Score: 89.144%
Critics Consensus: Exuberant and eye-popping, Avengers: Age of Ultron serves as an overstuffed but mostly satisfying sequel, reuniting its predecessor's unwieldy cast with a few new additions and a worthy foe.
Synopsis: When Tony Stark jumpstarts a dormant peacekeeping program, things go awry and Earth's Mightiest Heroes, including Iron Man, Captain America,...
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#12
Adjusted Score: 68.993%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: This release constains the film Second Coming about a married couple who find out that they are expecting a child,...
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#11
Adjusted Score: 85.918%
Critics Consensus: A dazzling blockbuster that tempers its sweeping scope with wit, humor, and human drama, Thor is mighty Marvel entertainment.
Synopsis: The epic adventure Thor spans the Marvel Universe from present day Earth to the mystical realm of Asgard. At the...
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#10
Adjusted Score: 87.118%
Critics Consensus: American Gangster is a gritty and entertaining throwback to classic gangster films, with its lead performers firing on all cylinders.
Synopsis: Nobody used to notice Frank Lucas, the quiet driver to one of the inner city's leading black crime bosses. But...
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#9
Adjusted Score: 94.736%
Critics Consensus: Powered by an intriguing story and a pair of outstanding performances from Jessica Chastain and Idris Elba, Molly's Game marks a solid debut for writer-director Aaron Sorkin.
Synopsis: MOLLY'S GAME is based on the true story of Molly Bloom, an Olympic-class skier who ran the world's most exclusive...
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#8
Adjusted Score: 16.865%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A haunted black-ops soldier struggles with paranoia and anxiety while hiding out in a seedy Brooklyn tenement building, and plotting...
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#7
Adjusted Score: 105.45%
Critics Consensus: Avengers: Infinity War ably juggles a dizzying array of MCU heroes in the fight against their gravest threat yet, and the result is a thrilling, emotionally resonant blockbuster that (mostly) realizes its gargantuan ambitions.
Synopsis: An unprecedented cinematic journey ten years in the making and spanning the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe, Marvel Studios' "Avengers: Infinity...
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#6
Adjusted Score: 97.877%
Critics Consensus: Star Trek Beyond continues the franchise's post-reboot hot streak with an epic sci-fi adventure that honors the series' sci-fi roots without skimping on the blockbuster action.
Synopsis: Captain Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise encounter an alien warrior race when marooned on a distant planet after...
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#5
Adjusted Score: 96.805%
Critics Consensus: Beasts of No Nation finds writer-director Cary Fukunaga working with a talented cast to offer a sobering, uncompromising, yet still somehow hopeful picture of war's human cost.
Synopsis: In West Africa, the life of young Agu (Abraham Attah) is disrupted when his father is slaughtered in a civil...
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#4
Adjusted Score: 110.793%
Critics Consensus: Exciting, funny, and above all fun, Thor: Ragnarok is a colorful cosmic adventure that sets a new standard for its franchise -- and the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Synopsis: In Marvel Studios' "Thor: Ragnarok," Thor is imprisoned on the other side of the universe without his mighty hammer and...
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#3
Adjusted Score: 106.901%
Critics Consensus: Funny, poignant, and thought-provoking, Finding Dory delivers a beautifully animated adventure that adds another entertaining chapter to its predecessor's classic story.
Synopsis: "Finding Dory" reunites the friendly-but-forgetful blue tang fish with her loved ones, and everyone learns a few things about the...
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#2
Adjusted Score: 106.645%
Critics Consensus: As lovely to behold as it is engrossing to watch, The Jungle Book is the rare remake that actually improves upon its predecessors -- all while setting a new standard for CGI.
Synopsis: Mowgli, a man-cub raised in the jungle by a family of wolves, embarks on a captivating journey of self-discovery when...
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#1
Adjusted Score: 109.067%
Critics Consensus: The brilliantly well-rounded Zootopia offers a thoughtful, inclusive message that's as rich and timely as its sumptuously state-of-the-art animation -- all while remaining fast and funny enough to keep younger viewers entertained.
Synopsis: The modern mammal metropolis of Zootopia is a city like no other. Comprised of habitat neighborhoods like ritzy Sahara Square...
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