All 9 Movies Directed By The Russo Brothers, Ranked

Anthony and Joseph "Joe" Russo, often referred to as the Russo brothers, have had one of the most eclectic directing careers in Hollywood. They got their start primarily in comedies and really honed their skills in the world of sitcoms, directing episodes of "Arrested Development" and "Community." Their ability to juggle ensemble casts made them a natural fit for the burgeoning Marvel Cinematic Universe, specifically 2014's "Captain America: The Winter Soldier."

It wasn't just any old Captain America movie; it saw Cap (Chris Evans) in a world that moved beyond the black-and-white moralism of his World War II days. And it threw in Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Falcon (Anthony Mackie) for good measure, requiring a deft touch to ensure every character got their moment to shine. The Russos then became the MCU golden boys before setting off on their own with action movies like "The Gray Man," but they couldn't stay away from Marvel for long.

We're ranking all of the Russo brothers' movies from worst to best, according to online metrics and one super-fan's personal opinion. Technically, one of their films — "Pieces" — is missing; and an untold truth of the Russo brothers is that their first feature-length movie is inaccessible. It premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival in the '90s and caught the attention of Steven Soderbergh, but due to music licensing issues, it couldn't be released. For now, here are all the Russo films you can easily watch, ranked.

• Cast: Millie Bobby Brown, Chris Pratt, Woody Harrelson

• Rating: PG-13

• Runtime: 128 minutes

• Where to watch: Netflix

• Rotten Tomatoes: 14%

Simon Stålenhag's 2018 illustrated book, "The Electric State," is absolutely haunting. It follows a teenage protagonist traversing a desolate American landscape that has been overfilled with depleted robots and images of consumerism. There's technological addiction and people looking for escape from a second Civil War. All of it reads as commentary on how we rely too heavily on technology to escape the horrors of our real world; but in the Russo brothers' "Electric State" for Netflix, all the melancholy is lost in favor of a standard adventure flick that's all sound and fury, signifying nothing.

Our review of "The Electric State" gave it a shockingly low 1/10, and we weren't even an outlier in criticizing the film. The film has a sorry 14% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with many agreeing the film destroys the source material. Instead of Michelle (Millie Bobby Brown) traveling across America with a lone robot companion to find her brother, she now has Keats (Chris Pratt) to tag along and offer quips.

Stålenhag's book forces you to slow down. In a world where you feel compelled to look at your phone every 10 seconds, reading the book is an opportunity to reflect on how we engage with this new tech. You see the barren landscapes and wonder if that's in store for us all. With the Russos' "Electric State," there's no time to think because you're too busy rolling your eyes at Keats, who is yelling about his hatred of Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch. Once you see this film, you'll start thinking that maybe it wouldn't be the worst thing if humanity went quietly into that good night.

• Cast: Tom Holland, Ciara Bravo, Jack Reynor

• Rating: R

• Runtime: 142 minutes

• Where to watch: Apple TV+

• Rotten Tomatoes: 37%

Coming off the massive success of "Avengers: Endgame," a welcome send-off to the MCU that we'll get more into in a little bit, the Russo brothers seemingly wanted to prove they could still do small-scale stories. Unfortunately, they brought in more grandiosity than needed for their follow-up, "Cherry." The film follows the titular character (Tom Holland), a PTSD-stricken soldier who has returned from war and has resorted to robbing banks to pay for his and his wife's drug addiction.

It's harrowing subject matter, and in different hands, it could've been a sobering look at what war does to people and how ill-equipped the United States is to help them upon returning. But even with a runtime pushing close to two-and-a-half hours, you don't walk away from "Cherry" feeling like you have a good handle on these characters or their dilemmas. It comes across as a mere "drugs are bad, don't do them" afterschool special, rather than a film that pinpoints the root of these systemic problems.

Holland's performance is commendable, even if he has admitted he'll never do a role like Cherry again. It just feels like the Russo brothers took too much of their Marvel maximalism with them into a story that could've allowed them to be taken seriously as dramatic filmmakers.

• Cast: Owen Wilson, Matt Dillon, Kate Hudson

• Rating: PG-13

• Runtime: 110 minutes

• Where to watch: YouTube

• Rotten Tomatoes: 21%

In the 2000s, the Russos were in their comedy era; and after working on "Arrested Development," they released "You, Me and Dupree." The rom-com sees Carl (Matt Dillon) invite his best friend Dupree (Owen Wilson) to live with him and his new wife Molly (Kate Hudson) for a while after he's fallen on hard times. Of course, shenanigans ensue when Dupree proves to be a terrible houseguest who overstays his welcome. The irony is that this comedy also overstays its welcome.

"You, Me and Dupree" doesn't have any grand ambitions like "Cherry." It's trying to offer a few laughs, but the problem is that it feels like a Frankenstein's monster of better rom-coms. There's another plotline where Molly's father holds massive disdain towards his son-in-law but actually likes Dupree, and it feels like it was pulled straight from "Meet the Parents." While Wilson is adept at playing these types of characters, Dupree feels like a poor imitation of his role in "Wedding Crashers."

"You, Me and Dupree" is harmless enough, but it's also completely forgettable. If it wasn't for their work in TV, it would be understandable to write the directing duo off entirely right here. However, there was still talent to be found.

• Cast: Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas

• Rating: PG-13

• Runtime: 122 minutes

• Where to watch: Netflix

• Rotten Tomatoes: 45%

Just like how "You, Me and Dupree" takes elements from better rom-coms to create something utterly bland, "The Gray Man" borrows from better action movies to create something that's as distinct as the titular color. "The Gray Man" is a little bit "Mission: Impossible" and "James Bond," but without a central protagonist you actually care about.

"The Gray Man" sees Sierra Six (Ryan Gosling), a man with no identity outside of the CIA, uncover a terrifying conspiracy and go on the run in a globe-trotting adventure to save his life and reveal the truth. It's filled with action and spy movie tropes that feel specifically tailored to the streaming era. There are bland action sequences to get you to look up from your phone every once in a while, but when it comes to decent characterizations, there's nothing there.

It's fun to see Chris Evans have a blast playing the villain. And sometimes, all you want is a mindless popcorn flick. But there are certainly plenty of better action movies out there, and some of them have even been directed by the Russos.

• Cast: Sam Rockwell, William H. Macy, Isaiah Washington

• Rating: R

• Runtime: 86 minutes

• Where to watch: Prime Video

• Rotten Tomatoes: 55%

Even though "Pieces" never saw the light of day, the Russo brothers had a chance to take a crack at another comedy shortly after: the underseen "Welcome to Collinwood." And even though it doesn't come up in conversation very often anymore, it's one of the best comedy remakes ever. It's an American interpretation of the 1958 Italian film "I soliti ignoti," where a group of small-time crooks decide to rob their local jeweler.

Despite its low budget, the film boasts some heavy hitters, like William H. Macy, Sam Rockwell, Gabrielle Union, and an amazing cameo from George Clooney. Clooney is also a producer on the flick, alongside early Russo champion Steven Soderbergh. It's a zany heist film, and despite most of the characters being criminals, they're imbued with enough depth to get you to root for them and understand where they're coming from.

"Welcome to Collinwood" is about as far away from a Marvel film as you can get, yet it still boasts all the hallmarks that would come to define the Russos' better works. It's an ensemble piece where everyone has time to shine. And even though it's bursting with humor, it doesn't detract from the heist itself once they get into the thick of it. "Pieces" may be lost to time, but "Welcome to Collinwood" was a more-than-worthy calling card for the Russos and a sign of what they're capable of.

• Cast: Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson

• Rating: PG-13

• Runtime: 147 minutes

• Where to watch: Disney+

• Rotten Tomatoes: 90%

So far on this list, there have been more bad Russo brothers movies than good ones. But for some inexplicable reason, the duo is really excellent at making Marvel movies. In fact, many of their superhero films rank amongst the best MCU movies. They work well in a studio system that requires adherence to the same visual style and overarching plotline across different movies; and while all their Marvel movies are great, one has to be the lesser of them all.

"Captain America: Civil War" sees the Avengers at their worst. Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is an advocate for the Sokovia Accords, which would force superheroes to work alongside the government to decide when they intervene. Captain America isn't a fan of that, so the two heroes create teams and duke it out to determine who has the better ideology. Their divisions are steadily being orchestrated by Zemo (Daniel Brühl), who has some of the best luck and timing of any superhero movie villain ever.

"Civil War" is really more of an "Avengers" movie that happens to have Captain America's name attached. But still, it's a great adaptation of the comic book that deviates in ways that make sense to what's occurring in the MCU. And the final fight between Cap and Iron Man is one of the best in the MCU, filled with genuine pathos over simply pure spectacle.

• Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo

• Rating: PG-13

• Runtime: 181 minutes

• Where to watch: Disney+

• Rotten Tomatoes: 94%

"Avengers: Endgame" could've gone very wrong as the final act of the MCU's Infinity Saga. Obviously, the franchise continued, but this was the payoff of over a decade of movies building up Thanos (Josh Brolin) as the ultimate threat. It only had three hours to wrap up a bunch of characters' arcs and deliver fitting sendoffs to the likes of Iron Man and Captain America. Oh, and they were also throwing time travel into the mix, which is always a daunting task for any story. And somehow, against all odds, it worked way better than it should have.

There are some flaws, like time travel plot holes and making Thor's (Chris Hemsworth) depression and subsequent weight gain a joke. But overall, "Endgame" gave fans precisely what they wanted out of an epic conclusion. We see the Avengers contend with their failure from "Avengers: Infinity War." They question themselves and work to make things right, all leading to the epic portal sequence where everyone who was dusted in the last movie comes back. If you saw "Endgame" opening weekend, your theater was likely cheering at that point.

Marvel made a lot of mistakes after "Avengers: Endgame." The MCU has been hit-or-miss ever since, but "Endgame" was a worthy caper. If you wanted to abandon the franchise after that, no one would blame you. But "Endgame" showed us what this kind of cinematic storytelling was capable of, and it remains to be seen if any other film series can ever match its scope.

• Cast: Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan

• Rating: PG-13

• Runtime: 136 minutes

• Where to watch: Disney+

• Rotten Tomatoes: 90%

Other superhero movies have the benefit of magic, flight, and copious laser beams to hold audience's attention. But "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" is far more grounded, meaning the fight scenes have to pack bigger punches (quite literally) to get the job done; and the fight choreography in "Winter Soldier" is some of the best throughout the MCU.

But that's only one part of what makes this MCU entry stand out. There are real stakes at play, as Captain America discovers that something is amiss within S.H.I.E.L.D., leading to a total upheaval of the status quo as he discovers the organization has been infiltrated by HYDRA. It's a great way to tie the sequel to Cap's first Marvel outing, even though it's set decades after "Captain America: The First Avenger." It offers great political commentary of how a rot in our institutions doesn't just pop up overnight. Indeed, it's a gradual decay until it's nearly too late to stop.

"Winter Soldier" offers the best characterization we've seen of Steve Rogers. He's not just a goody two-shoes anymore, fighting clear bad guys. There's a gray area where he wants to do what's right, but the institution he thought he was fighting for is actually committing great atrocities. It's a Marvel movie with real meat on its bones and still stands among the best of the franchise — even all these years later.

• Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Benedict Cumberbatch

• Rating: PG-13

• Runtime: 149 minutes

• Where to watch: Disney+

• Rotten Tomatoes: 85%

Throughout the Russo brothers' movies, some commonalities emerge. They're adept at managing large ensemble casts, incorporating humor, and having epic action set pieces. All of those merge into a glorious singularity with what's easily their greatest achievement, and arguably the greatest achievement within the MCU at large: "Avengers: Infinity War."

The movie deserves a lot of credit for taking the path less traveled and actually making Thanos the protagonist. Yes, he's trying to wipe out half of all life, but his arc drives the narrative. We come to understand why he holds this viewpoint, and by the end, he actually accomplishes his goal. The finale's a shocker, as the Avengers are left defeated with half of their comrades now turned to dust. It was a major cultural moment, as fans had to wait a year to see how these characters would return.

But even with so much focus on Thanos, the rest of the Marvel universe gets ample attention. The Guardians of the Galaxy finally being brought into the main conflict is a treat, and we get to see the fallout from "Civil War" with Captain America now a fugitive. There had been "Avengers" movies before, but "Infinity War" outdid them by showing how well the Avengers can work together — and fall apart. It's a careful balancing act that gives everyone their due, and "Infinity War" is the gold standard by which every other Russo brothers movie gets compared.