Nobody doubts that Will Smith (who today turns 54 in the eye of the hurricane after what happened in the last installment of the Oscars) is one of the biggest Hollywood stars of the last three decades.
Hardly any other African-American actor, not to mention almost, has managed to shine as high as him. Yes, Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman, Sidney Poitier or Forest Whitaker have many better titles in his filmography and many more awards on their bookshelf. However, not even together do they meet the blockbusters and popularity of the films of the eternal fresh prince of Bel-Air.
But we’re not here to talk about the series that changed the rapper’s career forever, but about other types of movies that, even though he’s gained a little belly in recent months, will always accompany him. In fact, for himself, the best role of his career is that of Muhammad Ali (for whom we already told you how he managed to get as muscular as a heavyweight boxer), but we’re not going to talk about it either.
Although he has not appeared in the Fast & Furious saga or is part of The Expendables that Stallone plans to reunite for the fourth time, although James Gunn passed him for his reboot of ‘Suicide Squad’, nobody can compete with Will Smith as an action hero. Perhaps because films of his genre have always tried to deliver something more than gunfights, blows with a swollen bicep or explosions.
Like Arnold Schwarzenegger, good old Smith has always balanced comedy with drama, managing to be both the likable guy and the hero who gets the girl. Some good, some very bad, some average, Will Smith’s action movies are hardly changeable when they are put on television. They do it over and over again because we always go back and see them again.
Films like the Bad Boys trilogy or Men in Black are examples of this, but we can’t forget about tabletop popcorn movie icons like I’m Legend or Yo Robot. Now that Gemini is coming to Netflix, we’ve decided to compile a top 10 (with a couple of shameless cheats), Will Smith’s best action titles. And yes, we know that number one is precisely the one you haven’t seen, what can we do?
Gemini (Ang Lee, 2019)
Who better to hunt down and kill Will Smith than Will Smith himself? That’s what Ang Lee must have thought in this film with impeccable special effects and incredible shots in which Smith is the best shooter the world has ever seen. Of course, to kill him, they use a young clone of himself.
Bright (David Ayer, 2017)
With the second part in the works, this Netflix original by David Ayer won viewers of the streaming platform with its colorful mix of action, humor and fantasy.
Hancock (Peter Berg, 2008)
In 2008 the superhero genre was still flourishing and no one quite fitted Hancock’s drunken anti-hero perspective. Now, after The Boys or Invincible , perhaps it would be something more than another Will Smith movie.
Focus (Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, 2015)
Ok, this movie isn’t all action but the intricate heists and amazing scams in the movie make for a good evening. Also, the chemistry between Smith and Margot Robbie is obvious.
Independence Day (Roland Emmerich, 1996)
American patriotism became terrestrial in this Emmerich blockbuster in which Smith established himself as a movie star opposite an ensemble cast of Jeff Goldblun and Bill Pullman.
Yo, Robot (Alex Proyas, 2004)
The film resembles Asimov’s novel as my toaster resembles the robots in the film, but it served to give us an entertaining tale of action and survival of the human race in the midst of turn-of-the-century technological hype.
Men in Black trilogy (1997, 2002, 2012)
Will Smith displayed all his comedic brilliance while killing giant aliens in his three Men in Black movies . Partnering him with Tommy Lee Jones was a masterful choice.
