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All John Singleton Movies Ranked
With Boyz n the Hood, John Singleton fashioned a riveting, truthful document of turbulent inner city life within South Central Los Angeles, gave image and power to a class of people previously ignored in mainstream cinema, and became the youngest person to be Oscar-nominated for Best Director at age 24. And the first African-American ever.
It was just about as auspicious a debut as any director has had, and Singleton carried the torch with more propulsive dramas: the lyrical Poetic Justice starring Janet Jackson, and the university-set Higher Learning. Neither were able to achieve the same high marks with critics back in the day, though they connected with their intended targets if the Audience Scores are anything to be reckoned with. Rosewood, about the 1923 Florida massacre, could be seen something of a return to form.
Singleton formally entered his Hollywood era with the new century, delivering the sly Shaft remake starring Samuel L. Jackson and the first Fast and Furious franchise sequel. After 2011’s Abduction with Taylor Lautner fizzled, Singleton turned to television, directing episodes of The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story and Empire, and creating drug crime serial Snowfall for FX. In April 2019, Singleton passed away at the age of 51 after lapsing into a coma due to a stroke he suffered two weeks earlier. As the movie industry deals with the loss of a pioneering talent and trailblazing voice, we celebrate his life by looking back on all of John Singleton’s movies. —Alex Vo
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