Every Will Smith Movie, Ranked Worst to Best
Updated December 1, 2022 to add Emancipation.
First rising to fame in the 1980s as the non-DJ half of the hip hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, Will Smith moved into acting in 1990 as the star of the hit NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (soon to be rebooted as a Peacock drama series). He would make his big-screen debut a few years later in a few indie movies before quickly moving to above-the-title stardom with 1995's Bad Boys. He has been a major presence in film ever since, with roles in over 30 films, a pair of Oscar nominations, and a cumulative box office gross of over $4 billion.
His newest film, King Richard, is headed to theaters and HBO Max on November 19th and is expected to be an Oscar contender in multiple categories. How does it compare to his past work? In the gallery on this page, we rank every one of Will Smith's films in order from worst to best by their Metascores, which represent the consensus opinions of top film critics. Note that we have excluded titles where Smith's role was limited to a brief cameo appearance (such as in Winter's Tale, Jersey Girl, and Anchorman 2).
Smith's second superhero movie (following the one-off Hancock) was this poorly received 2016 DC Extended Universe outing directed by David Ayer. Playing the assassin Floyd Lawton/Deadshot—and turning down a chance to star in the sequel to Independence Day as a result—Smith was part of a large ensemble that also included his Focus co-star Margot Robbie plus Jared Leto, Joel Kinnaman, Viola Davis, Jai Courtney, and more. The film grossed nearly $750 million despite mostly lousy reviews that faulted a poor script (and, to a lesser extent, Ayer's direction) for the film's bloat, failed humor, and muddled story and characters.
Smith was originally expected to reprise his role for the similarly titled (and much improved) 2021 sequel The Suicide Squad but was forced to sit that one out due to a scheduling conflict. However, because director James Gunn opted not to recast the role of Deadshot in the sequel (and instead just removed the character), Smith could still return in a future DCEU installment—perhaps even in a Deadshot-centered film.
“When you compare Suicide Squad to what James Gunn and Marvel Studios achieved in Guardians of the Galaxy – low-profile property, oddball characters, make-it-fun brief – the film makes you cringe so hard your teeth come loose. But it’s a slog even on its own crushingly puerile terms.” —Robbie Collin, The Telegraph
| Stream On |
|
| Buy on |
|
| Stream On |
|
| Stream On |
|
| Stream On |
|
| Stream On |
|