(Photo by Sony/ courtesy Everett Collection)
Hiroyuki Sanada Movies Ranked by Tomatometer
We’re ranking the films of Hiroyuki Sanada! We start with Sanada’s Certified Fresh films, including his international breakthrough The Twilight Samurai, Danny Boyle’s sci-fi thriller Sunshine, and recent Johnny Depp comeback vehicle Minamata. Sanada’s Fresh films demonstrate how he’s been a reliable presence in eclectic and worldly American productions, including Zack Snyder’s Netflix zombie actioner Army of the Dead, Tom Cruise’s The Last Samurai, and James Mangold’s first touch with Logan in The Wolverine. And some of Sanada’s Rotten films have become cult films or hits with audiences, like Rush Hour 3, Mortal Kombat (where he portrayed Scorpion), and the live-action cartoon Speed Racer. —Alex Vo
#1
Adjusted Score: 100701%
Critics Consensus: Samurai epic as a touching drama.
Synopsis: In 1860s Japan, samurai Seibei (Hiroyuki Sanada) lives in a rural village with his mother and daughters, where he is...
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#2
Adjusted Score: 96703%
Critics Consensus: Mr. Holmes focuses on the man behind the mysteries, and while it may lack Baker Street thrills, it more than compensates with tenderly wrought, well-acted drama.
Synopsis: Long-retired and near the end of his life, Sherlock Holmes (Ian McKellen) grapples with an unreliable memory and must rely...
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#3
Adjusted Score: 82005%
Critics Consensus: Heartfelt yet jumbled, Minamata pays tribute to a remarkable real-life story perhaps better served by the documentary treatment.
Synopsis: Inspired by a true story, Minamata stars Johnny Depp playing celebrated photojournalist Eugene Smith. The film takes place in 1971...
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#4
Adjusted Score: 82460%
Critics Consensus: Danny Boyle continues his descent into mind-twisting sci-fi madness, taking us along for the ride. Sunshine fulfills the dual requisite necessary to become classic sci-fi: dazzling visuals with intelligent action.
Synopsis: In the not-too-distant future, Earth's dying sun spells the end for humanity. In a last-ditch effort to save the planet,...
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#5
Adjusted Score: 99968%
Critics Consensus: Ringu combines supernatural elements with anxieties about modern technology in a truly frightening and unnerving way.
Synopsis: When her niece is found dead along with three friends after viewing a supposedly cursed videotape, reporter Reiko Asakawa (Nanako...
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#6
Adjusted Score: 83083%
Critics Consensus: Although its final act succumbs to the usual cartoonish antics, The Wolverine is one superhero movie that manages to stay true to the comics while keeping casual viewers entertained.
Synopsis: Lured to a Japan he hasn't seen since World War II, century-old mutant Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) finds himself in a...
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#7
Adjusted Score: 81603%
Critics Consensus: An ambitious, over-the-top zombie heist mashup, Army of the Dead brings Zack Snyder back to his genre roots with a suitably gory splash.
Synopsis: From filmmaker Zack Snyder (300, Zack Snyder's Justice League), ARMY OF THE DEAD takes place following a zombie outbreak that...
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#8
Adjusted Score: 82244%
Critics Consensus: Life is just thrilling, well-acted, and capably filmed enough to overcome an overall inability to add new wrinkles to the trapped-in-space genre.
Synopsis: Astronauts (Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson, Ryan Reynolds) aboard the International Space Station are on the cutting edge of one of...
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#9
Adjusted Score: 73711%
Critics Consensus: With high production values and thrilling battle scenes, The Last Samurai is a satisfying epic.
Synopsis: Capt. Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise) is an American military officer hired by the Emperor of Japan to train the country's...
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#10
Adjusted Score: 73366%
Critics Consensus: Understated to a fault, The Railway Man transcends its occasionally stodgy pacing with a touching, fact-based story and the quiet chemistry of its stars.
Synopsis: Eric Lomax (Colin Firth), a former British army officer and POW, discovers that the Japanese interpreter who tortured him is...
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#11
Adjusted Score: 72524%
Critics Consensus: Bullet Train's colorful cast and high-speed action are almost enough to keep things going after the story runs out of track.
Synopsis: In Bullet Train, Brad Pitt stars as Ladybug, an unlucky assassin determined to do his job peacefully after one too...
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#12
Adjusted Score: 70087%
Critics Consensus: Largely for fans of the source material but far from fatal(ity) flawed, Mortal Kombat revives the franchise in appropriately violent fashion.
Synopsis: In "Mortal Kombat," MMA fighter Cole Young, accustomed to taking a beating for money, is unaware of his heritage--or why...
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#13
Adjusted Score: 28942%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A Japanese emperor recruits masters of astronomy, exorcism and magic to battle evil spirits....
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#14
Adjusted Score: 52662%
Critics Consensus: High production values and fine performances get bogged down by a lifeless story that fails to engage the viewer.
Synopsis: In 1930s Shanghai, blind American ex-diplomat Todd Jackson (Ralph Fiennes) is a frequenter of the city's seamy underbelly of nightclubs...
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#15
Adjusted Score: 50736%
Critics Consensus: Overloaded with headache-inducing special effects, Speed Racer finds the Wachowskis focused on visual thrills at the expense of a coherent storyline.
Synopsis: Born into a family business of race cars, Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch) is one of the track's hot stars. Sitting...
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#16
Adjusted Score: 40516%
Critics Consensus: A stellar cast can't elevate this leaden adaptation that, while just as beautiful as anything director James Ivory's made before, comes off as dusty and dry.
Synopsis: An academic (Omar Metwally) goes to Uruguay to persuade the heirs of a deceased author to grant him permission to...
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#17
Adjusted Score: 36452%
Critics Consensus: The Catcher Was a Spy loses sight of the most interesting elements of its fact-based story, dropping the ball and leaving likable lead Paul Rudd stranded.
Synopsis: Major League Baseball player Moe Berg lives a double life as a spy for the Office of Strategic Services during...
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#18
Adjusted Score: 32206%
Critics Consensus: An incoherent plot and ridiculously obvious CGI effects doom this effort from the usually outstanding Chinese director Chen Kaige.
Synopsis: In ancient China a fleet-footed slave named Kunlun (Jang Dong-Kun) becomes personal servant to great Gen. Guangming (Hiroyuki Sanada). Posing...
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#19
Adjusted Score: 22974%
Critics Consensus: Rush Hour 3 is a tired rehash of the earlier films, and a change of scenery can't hide a lack of new ideas.
Synopsis: East meets West again when the assassination of Ambassador Han leads to the reunion of Lee (Jackie Chan) and Carter...
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#20
Adjusted Score: 19461%
Critics Consensus: 47 Ronin is a surprisingly dull fantasy adventure, one that leaves its talented international cast stranded within one dimensional roles.
Synopsis: In feudal Japan, Lord Asano rules his province with fairness. However, jealous Lord Kira (Tadanobu Asano) fears that the shogun...
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#21
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: While investigating the mysterious death of her boyfriend, Mai (Miki Nakatani) learns of the existence of a videotape that causes...
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