Every Forest Whitaker Movie Ranked Worst To Best

Forest Whitaker began his career as an actor when he was in his early 20s. Before that, he had studied at USC and earned scholarships for his work as an operatic tenor (via IMDb). While acting became his primary focus, music never left Whitaker's life, and several of his films have featured music or musicians. 

Over the decades since Whitaker made his film debut, he's become one of the most renowned performers in Hollywood. He's won numerous awards for his work, including a BAFTA, Golden Globe, and an Academy Award for Best Actor.

Whether Whitaker is playing a supporting role as a big-city cop or leading a film about a musical legend, he brings his all to every performance. Whitaker has the talent and gravitas to elevate any project, and with well over a hundred acting credits under his belt, he's been more than generous with that talent. Television, films, and even video games have all been graced by Whitaker's presence.

There's no sign that he's slowing down any time soon, but let's take a moment to look back at all of Forest Whitaker's feature film roles thus far, ranked from worst to best.

In 2000, Forest Whitaker starred in the multi-award-winning "Battlefield Earth." Unfortunately, those awards were Razzies. "Battlefield Earth" won an award for eight of 10 Razzie nominations, including "Worst Picture," "Worst Screenplay," "Worst Actor," "Worst Screen Couple," and even "Worst 'Drama' of Our First 25 Years." Whitaker himself received a Razzie nomination for his work in the film, but he didn't go on to win.

John Travolta helped produce the film, which was based on the novel "Battlefield Earth: A Saga of the Year 3000" by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. Travolta also stars as Terl, leader of an alien race called the Psychlos. Humanity has been enslaved by the Psychlos, but a rebellion is on the horizon. "Battlefield Earth" only covers the first half of Hubbard's novel, and though a sequel had been planned, the film's reception dashed those dreams (via The Guardian). If terrible science fiction is right up your alley, you might find some enjoyment in one of the genre's worst examples.

Patrick Dempsey leads this debut film from writer/director Nick Mead. 1993's "Bank Robber" tells the story of Billy (Dempsey), a man who's looking to escape from his life of crime. Billy plans one last bank robbery to pay for his escape from the life, but he's caught on camera during the heist. Pursued by Officers Gross (Judge Reinhold) and Battle (Forest Whitaker), Billy hides out in a hotel, but he's extorted by the guests and staff while he mulls over how to get away with the money.

Audiences on Rotten Tomatoes barely preferred "Bank Robber" to "Catch .44." The film currently has a 20% audience approval rating, and only a 4.4-star rating on IMDb. There's little to latch onto in the film's script, and the cliched premise never goes in any new directions. One reviewer for The New York Times called the film "a series of loosely connected tangents that come to an abrupt and unsatisfying conclusion."

If you've seen one police drama, you've seen them all, but every once in a while there's a cop drama that truly breaks the mold. Sadly, 2021's "Freelancers" is not one of those films. Directed by Jessy Terrero, "Freelancers" had an interesting cast going for it, but the story lacked originality and came across as a predictable bundle of cliches. Audiences on Rotten Tomatoes only give the film a 30% approval rating.

"Freelancers" tells the story of Jonas Maldonado (50 Cent), who joins the police academy to follow in the footsteps of his late father. Maldonado is greeted on the force by Lieutenant Dennis Lureu (Forest Whitaker) and Captain Joe Sarcone (Robert De Niro). When Maldonado discovers that Sarcone and a group of dirty cops might be responsible for his father's death, his loyalties are tested against his thirst for revenge.

"A Dark Truth," written and directed by Damian Lee, had plenty to say, but didn't quite get its message across. The film explores how corporate corruption can damage lives and even cause death, but that exploration is overpowered by a poor script and tired action tropes. The critical consensus on Rotten Tomatoes is just 8%, and though audiences disagreed with that supremely low score, they still didn't give it a positive approval rating.

Morgan Swinton (Deborah Kara Unger) works for Clearbec, a multinational corporation that's covered up a massacre in a village in Ecuador. With the help of talk show host Jack Begosian (Andy Garcia), she aims to reveal what her company did. Francisco Francis (Forest Whitaker) and his family were in the village during the massacre, and he also wants to reveal Clearbec's wrongdoing, but the company will stop at nothing to keep the story under wraps.

"Diary of a Hitman" told the classic story of a hired killer attempting to get out of the business, but the film didn't add many innovations to the typical plot. Roy London directed the film, which writer Kenneth Pressman adapted from his own play "Insider's Price." The story follows the last job of a hitman known as Dekker (Forest Whitaker). Zidzyck (Lewis Smith) hires Dekker to kill his wife Jain (Sherilyn Fenn), but when what should be a simple job turns out to be quite complicated, Dekker's shot at retirement is at risk.

London's film didn't make a big splash at the box office. "Diary of a Hitman" left theaters with only about $32,000 worth of earnings and no critical acclaim to speak of. In the years since, it hasn't turned out to be a sleeper hit, but according to Rotten Tomatoes, a little over a third of its viewers find themselves entertained enough.

"Our Family Wedding" is another film that performed well at the box office despite being ripped apart by critics. The film earned over $21 million during its run. That's quite a showing for a romantic comedy that critics called "a mirthless, contrived affair." Undoubtedly, "Our Family Wedding" can credit its relative success to its talented cast, which included Forest Whitaker, America Ferrera, Carlos Mencia, Lance Gross, and Regina King.

Marcus Boyd (Gross) is a young medical school graduate. He and volunteer English teacher Lucia Ramirez (Ferrera) fall in love, but getting their families to tolerate one another in the lead up to their wedding becomes a major challenge. The family feud is primarily fueled by Marcus's father Brad (Whitaker) and Lucia's father Miguel (Mencia). Cultures and sensibilities clash as the two fathers struggle to make peace with one another. "Our Family Wedding" doesn't offer anything new to the romantic comedy genre, but at 90 minutes, it also doesn't have too much to complain about.

Set during the Paris Fashion Week, "Ready to Wear" takes a satirical look at the fashion industry. The film, which was directed by Robert Altman and written by Altman and Barbara Shulgasser, was originally released under the title "Prêt-à-Porter." It stars Kim Basinger, Julia Roberts, Tim Robbins, and Sophia Loren. Forest Whitaker had only a small supporting part in the film, but that may have been for the best. The film was largely hated by 1994's fashion community, and film critic Roger Ebert compared it to a home movie, saying the film is, "somewhat rambling, and overly dependent on knowing the names of all the players."

More than 20 years after its release, the film holds little lasting appeal. Connoisseurs of '90s fashion might have a passing interest in the setting, but the satire left plenty to be desired even upon release. Rotten Tomatoes wisely gives "Ready to Wear" a 24%.

Released in 2007, "Ripple Effect" is the second feature film from writer/director Philippe Caland after 2003's "Hollywood Buddha." As he did in his first film, Caland focused on the story of one man's spiritual journey. Fashion designer Amer Atrash (Caland) came from Lebanon to America looking for fame and success. Instead, he's had one failure after another, and his marriage is on the brink of collapse. Amer blames the misfortune on bad karma from a violent interaction with a man named Phillip (Forest Whitaker) that happened over a decade ago. His attempt to fix one mistake will end up transforming his entire life. 

Once again, Whitaker found himself in a film that couldn't match up to his skills. IMDb users give the film a 4.9 rating. Rotten Tomatoes gave it just 29% approval. Though critics disliked the film as a whole, some praised Whitaker contributions to it. One reviewer for the Austin Chronicle wrote, "thank God Whitaker is here to bring a bit of real pathos and ambiguity to his role" and said that without his talent, the film's "exercise in pop mysticism would have been too painful to bear." 

This 2006 horror film written by Michael Stokes was the second feature to be directed by Jordan Barker. It stars Gabrielle Anwar as children's author Claire Holloway. Suffering from horrible nightmares, Claire decides to take a vacation in the country, but when she starts seeing the ghost of a little girl, she calls in historian Noah Pitney (Justin Louis) and paranormal investigator Geoffrey Hunt (Forest Whitaker) to help her find out what's really happening.

"The Marsh" doesn't contain any surprises for anyone who's heard a ghost story or two. That's probably why the film failed to take off at the box office and received mostly negative reviews from critics and audiences. There aren't many reasons to circle back to this forgotten movie, but if you're in need of an uncomplicated, low-stakes horror flick with Whitaker in a starring role, "The Marsh" will do the trick.

Sometimes critics and audiences disagree wildly on films. "The Air I Breathe" marks one of those times. The film's critical score on Rotten Tomatoes is just 10%, and the consensus says the film "accomplishes little save for the squandering of a talented cast." If that's the case, audiences were definitely blinded by the stars on the screen. They gave the film a 60% approval rating, and IMDb users were also moderately impressed with the film, giving it a rating of 6.8.

"The Air I Breathe" was the debut feature for Jieho Lee, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Bob DeRosa. Each of the film's four main characters represents a facet of life: Happiness (Forest Whitaker), Sorrow (Sarah Michelle Gellar), Pleasure (Brendan Fraser), and Love (Kevin Bacon). Their lives are connected, and their individual struggles illuminate their shared humanity. The high concept weighs down the film, but the stars' performances still manage to bubble up to the surface.

Forest Whitaker plays a priest who's lost his faith and is on the verge of suicide in this 2009 film directed by Timothy Linh Bui, who co-wrote the screenplay with Stephane Gauger. Ex-priest Charlie's life crosses paths with other down-and-out characters living in Los Angeles around Christmas. Velvet Larry (Patrick Swayze, in his final role) is a corrupt strip club owner. Rose-Johnny (Jessica Biel) works at his club to pay for her comatose son's medical treatment. Qwerty Doolittle (Eddie Redmayne) is a mortician who falls in love with her, and disgruntled club employee Jack Doheny (Ray Liotta) is secretly her father.

"Powder Blue" was criticized for its many contrivances and overwrought sentimentality of its script (via Variety). While some praise was given to the film's cast, the consensus was that their talents were poorly used in this attempt at inspirational storytelling. Rotten Tomatoes gives "Powder Blue" just a 25% approval rating. Audiences enjoyed the film more, but even they weren't blown away by Bui's work.

Would you sacrifice your life to save your best friends? That's the question at the heart of this far-fetched film from director Paul Rachman and screenwriters Shawn David Thompson and William Quist. A group of friends attempts to steal a valuable piece from an art collector, but their robbery doesn't go at all as planned. When the dealer catches them, he threatens to kill them all if they don't pay him $1 million in a week. Without any other ideas for getting the money, the group decides to take out a life insurance policy on one member and sacrifice them for the sake of the rest, but the question of who dies isn't easy to answer.

Forest Whitaker has just a small role to play in the film but he shares the screen with notable costars Tim Curry and Octavia Spencer. "Four Dogs Playing Poker" won Best Debut Film at the Rehoboth Beach Independent Film Festival in 2000, but it didn't get much acclaim upon its wider release. IMDb users give it a 5.5 out of 10.

This over-the-top action thriller stars Tommy Lee Jones as Ryan Gaerity, an IRA member who escapes from jail to pursue a vendetta against his former partner Liam McGivney (Jeff Bridges). McGivney now lives under the name Jimmy Dove and works on the Boston police department's bomb squad. Forest Whitaker plays Officer Anthony Franklin, who's caught in the crossfire while trying to help Liam.

"Blown Away" was nominated at the MTV Movie Awards for Best Villain and Best Action Sequence. Still, not everyone was as impressed with the film. Roger Ebert described it as "the kind of movie that people should be sentenced to see if they complain that 'Speed' is implausible." Rotten Tomatoes gives the film only a 38% approval rating, but it's still worth at least one watch, especially if campy '90s action flicks are something you return to over and over again.

Forest Whitaker apparently has a penchant for films with fragmented stories following disparate characters with a single common link. "Winged Creatures" is about another group of Los Angelinos. Carla (Kate Beckinsale), Charlie (Forest Whitaker), Bruce (Guy Pearce), Annie (Dakota Fanning), and Jimmy (Josh Hutchinson) are all survivors of a shooting that took place at a local diner. The film follows their lives after the shooting, as each of them undergoes personal changes in response to the trauma. 

According to Rotten Tomatoes, critics generally considered the movie "sensitive but not insightful." Opinions were more or less evenly split as to whether the fragmented storytelling of "Winged Creatures" helped or hindered the film's attempt at telling an emotional and deeply human story. Audiences were less conflicted in their opinions and gave the film just a 29% approval rating. With a slow pace and meandering narrative, there's not much to latch onto in "Winged Creatures" aside from some solid performances and familiar faces.

2013's "Pawn" is the debut film from director David A. Armstrong. The screenplay, written by Jay Anthony White, follows a predictable but mildly entertaining plot. Forest Whitaker, playing a cop named Will, once again finds himself on a corrupt police force. When a group of hired thugs is caught trying to steal a gangster's list of secret payments from his diner, a shootout quickly evolves into a dangerous hostage situation.

"Pawn" saw Whitaker working with some familiar faces like Ray Liotta and Nikki Reed. The film also cast Marton Csokas, Stephen Lang, Michael Chiklis, and Common. The talented cast helped raise the profile of the movie, but audiences didn't greet it all that enthusiastically. It has a 29% approval rating according to Rotten Tomatoes, but IMDb users gave it a more generous review of 5.7 stars.

1993's "Body Snatchers" is an adaptation of Jack Finney's 1995 science fiction novel "The Body Snatchers." The film, directed by Abel Ferrara, was the third onscreen adaptation of Finney's book. "Body Snatchers" created a divide between critics, who praised the film, and average moviegoers, who were more put off by its tone and distracted by some overwhelming similarities to previous iterations of the story (via Rotten Tomatoes).

The story follows EPA inspector Steve Malone (Terry Kinney) and his family. They relocate to a military base where Steve will be working, but not long after their arrival, they start to notice people on the base behaving strangely. Slowly Steve comes to realize that aliens are occupying the base and taking over the bodies of its inhabitants. Forest Whitaker plays Major Collins, who is finally overwhelmed by his fear of the alien invaders in one of the film's most unnerving scenes. It may not stand above its predecessors, but "Body Snatchers" definitely has moments that are worth watching.

Tim Story directed this sports movie, which is based on a true story. Set in New Orleans just one year after Hurricane Katrina, the film follows a high school basketball team on the path to glory. Coach Al Collins (Forest Whitaker) is in charge of a team of players from five different schools. His vision and their dedication will take their team from barely together to the Louisiana State Championship.

"Hurricane Season" is basically every inspirational sports movie that you've seen before. For fans of the genre and of Whitaker, the film is a real treat. That's probably why audiences give it a 69% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. For anyone not drawn to stories about underdogs, there's likely nothing in the film that will truly win them over. Unfortunately for "Hurricane Season" a troubled promotion and release process meant that the film never actually hit theaters and didn't get its chance to make a real impact.

This 2010 film is a remake of the 2001 German film "Das Expirement," which itself was based on the novel "Black Box" by Mario Giordano. Inspired by the Stanford prison experiment, the plot focuses on a group of men paid to participate by acting as guards and prisoners in a jail cell simulation. Travis (Adrian Brody) and Michael (Forest Whitaker) are among the participants confined to a cell block for two weeks. Not long into the experiment, the guards, led by Michael, become consumed by their roles. Violence breaks out among the participants.

"The Experiment" is a tense psychological thriller. The film pushes the boundaries of believability, but an interesting premise and powerful performances from the two leads pull everything together into an entertaining-enough experience. IMDb users have given the film 6.4 stars, and that's about in line with the critical reception. Metacritic currently gives it a 60 out of 100.

Ron Cutler wrote and Howard Deutch directed this comedy-drama that takes aim at the state of medical care for veterans in 1992. The film takes place at Monument Heights Veterans' Hospital in Washington, D.C., and stars Ray Liotta, Kiefer Sutherland, and Forest Whitaker as a group of caring doctors fighting against hospital administrators and legal policies that get in the way of giving veterans proper medical care. One such policy, called article 99, prevents veterans from receiving care for any injury or illness that is deemed not service-related.

It's difficult not to get behind the message that "Article 99" is pushing, but beyond that, the film isn't particularly enthralling. Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 43% approval rating, and audiences only give it a 54%. That might be why the film earned less than $7 million at the box office, but decades later it might be worth revisiting for some fun lead performances, a score by Danny Elfman, and a message that still maintains some relevance.

"Bloodsport" is a 1988 martial arts action film that's light on believability and heavy on amazing fight choreography. Jean-Claude Van Damme stars as Frank Dux, an Army captain who also trains in ninjutsu. He gets invited to a secret underground fighting competition in Hong Kong called Kumite, but his superior officers refuse his request for leave. Not one to let a fight go by the wayside, Captain Dux goes AWOL and takes the competition by storm. While he makes his way to Hong Kong, he's pursued by military officials, including Forest Whitaker's Agent Rawlins.

Here is yet another example of critics and audiences having vastly different opinions on a film. Critics called the film "a cliched, virtually plotless exercise in action movie recycling" (via Rotten Tomatoes). By contrast, 75% of audiences thoroughly enjoyed the film, and people came to the theatrical release of "Bloodsport" in droves. The film earned nearly eight times its budget in ticket sales alone. This was an early role for Van Damme, but it cemented his place as an action movie star, and there's a reason people come back to it all these years later.

Focusing on a post-apartheid South Africa, "The Forgiven" stars Forest Whitaker as Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Eric Bana as the fictional Piet Blomfield. The screenplay was co-written by director Roland Joffé and Michael Ashton, who based the story on Ashton's play "The Archbishop and the Antichrist." Blomfield is in prison for the murder of a young black girl, and Archbishop Tutu is tasked with determining his guilt and deciding whether or not he should be allowed to go free. The film grapples with the legacy of racism in the nation and how that impacts the lives of everyday people.

The best parts of "The Forgiven" come from Whitaker's and Bana's scenes together, with both performers doing wonders to improve what The Hollywood Reporter called an "overly talky" narrative. Unfortunately, those performances weren't enough to save a messy script that didn't manage to finely weave together its many different threads. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 50% approval rating, but "The Forgiven" satisfies a need for a film where Whitaker gets to be front and center.

"Finding Steve McQueen" follows Harry Barber (Travis Fimmel), who in 1972 robbed a California bank holding millions of dollars as part of Richard Nixon's secret slush fund. When the robbery becomes public knowledge, FBI agents Howard Lambert (Forest Whitaker) and Sharon Price (Lily Rabe) work to hunt down Harry and his conspirators. Harry manages to evade capture for eight years before he finally decides to quit spending his life on the run and turns himself in.

Fans of heist movies will likely have an enjoyable time with "Finding Steve McQueen," but they probably won't be blown away by what the film has to offer. The critics consensus on Rotten Tomatoes maligns the film for being "disappointingly thrill-deficient." While only 46% of critics gave the film a positive review, over 60% of general audiences approved of what they saw. There are definitely some pleasures to be found in this period piece/heist drama.

"Out of the Furnace" is not short on big names. Leonardo DiCaprio and Ridley Scott both worked as producers on the film. The cast includes Christian Bale, Casey Affleck, Zoe Saldana, Woody Harrelson, Willem Dafoe, and Forest Whitaker. Directed by Scott Cooper, the story follows Russell Blaze (Bale), an ex-convict whose brother Rodney (Affleck) gets kidnapped by crime boss Harlan DeGroat (Harrelson). When the police, led by Chief Wesley Barnes (Whitaker), fail to save Rodney, Russell decides to deal with the situation himself.

Star power alone wasn't enough to power "Out of the Furnace" to box office success. The film made just $15 million against its $22 million budget (via Box Office Mojo). The film didn't perform much better critically, with just over 50% positive reviews, according to Rotten Tomatoes. Not all crowds were that tough, though. IMDb users give the film 6.8 out of 10 stars.

Directed by Doug McHenry and written by Bobby Smith Jr., "Jason's Lyric" is a drama about family, love, and loyalty. Jason and Joshua (Allen Payne and Bokeem Woodbine) are brothers who have responded very differently to the abuse they received from their late father (Forest Whitaker). Jason is working toward a better life, but Joshua has fallen into a world of petty crime. When Jason falls in love with a woman named Lyric (Jada Pinkett Smith), his new feelings force him to reevaluate his current and past relationships in his family.

The critics consensus on Rotten Tomatoes says that "'Jason's Lyric' is a sexually charged film whose violent streak weakens or, depending on your perspective, supports the melodrama." Many critics saw the violence as a flaw in the film and responded likewise, but audiences were thrilled. While the film's critical approval rating is just 58%, audiences gave it a 91%.

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Forest Whitaker, and Johnny Knoxville all star in the 2013 action flick directed by Jee-woon Kim. Ray Owens (Schwarzenegger) was once an LAPD officer but is now the sheriff of a quiet small town on the US-Mexico border. When escaped drug lord Gabriel Cortez (Eduardo Noriega) tries to make his way through the town with an FBI agent as a hostage, Ray decides to mobilize his own response to stop Cortez in his tracks.

According to Rotten Tomatoes, 60% of critics and over 50% of audiences enjoyed "The Last Stand." The critics consensus hits the nail on the head by calling the film "perfectly undemanding entertainment." There aren't many surprises or innovations to be found throughout its 104-minute runtime, but "The Last Stand" succeeds in delivering fun alongside an interesting pairing of leads.

Released in 1989, "Johnny Handsome" was adapted from John Godey's novel "The Three Worlds of Johnny Handsome." Mickey Rourke plays the titular Johnny, a small-time criminal with a facial disfigurement who's sent to jail after being betrayed by his partners. While in prison, Johnny meets Dr. Fisher (Forest Whitaker) and receives an experimental facial surgery that completely changes his appearance. Now unrecognizable, Johnny leaves prison fully intending to get revenge on the men who sent him there. 

"Johnny Handsome" was moderately successful upon its release. Roger Ebert praised the film's take on noir storytelling and also said that it "benefits from strong supporting performances by an unusually distinguished cast." Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 60% approval rating among critics, but among audiences just 46% percent. The tone of the story won't sit right with everyone, but "Johnny Handsome" makes good use of its different elements. 

Jake Gyllenhaal stars in this 2015 sports film about a boxer turning his life around. Billy Hope (Gyllenhaal) has it all until he doesn't. He loses his wife in a fatal shooting, and his spiral into drugs and alcohol after the fact causes him to lose his daughter and his grip on boxing. When it looks like things can't get any worse, Billy meets Tick Wills (Forest Whitaker), a former boxer who helps Billy turn his life around.

"Southpaw" was a box office success that earned more than triple its budget during its theatrical runs. Critics were pleased with the film but not blown away by it, giving "Southpaw" a 60% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. As with many sports films, audiences were much more enthusiastic and gave the film a 75%. Strong performances from Gyllenhaal and Whitaker take an otherwise rote redemption story to another level.

Joel Schumacher directed this thriller written by Larry Cohen. Colin Ferrell stars as cocky publicist Stuart Shepard, who's cheating on his wife with a woman who doesn't know he's married. Stuart stops to use a phone booth, but the payphone receives a call. When Stuart answers, he's told by a mysterious voice (Keifer Sutherland) that a sniper is trained on him. Unless Stuart calls all the people he's wronged in his life and confesses his sins, he'll be shot dead. Forest Whitaker plays an NYPD captain who attempts to save Stuart.

"Phone Booth" takes its simple and intriguing premise to extreme heights and was a big success when it debuted in 2002. It earned over $94 million from a budget of just $13 million (via Box Office Mojo). Critics gave the film a 72% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and heaped praise upon Ferrell's performance. On IMDb, "Phone Booth" has a 7.1-star rating.

This 2018 crime thriller uses a split timeline to examine the events surrounding the murder of Biggie Smalls and Tupac Shakur. Forest Whitaker stars as Jack Jackson, a crime reporter assigned to write about the murders. Jack sits down with retired LAPD officer Russell Poole (Johnny Depp) who opens up about his time spent investigating both cases in the late '90s. Directed by Brad Furman, the film was adapted by Christian Contreras from Randall Sullivan's nonfiction book "LAbyrinth."

Reviewers weren't infatuated with "City of Lies," though one writer for the Chicago Sun-Times praised "the stellar work from Depp and Whitaker." Critics gave the film a 51% on Rotten Tomatoes, but their general lack of enthusiasm did nothing to lessen the excitement of general audiences. The film currently has an 80% audience approval rating, and over on IMDb it's received a respectable 6.5 stars. Fans of true crime, police procedurals, and great actors grappling with big emotions will find themselves entertained through the film's 112-minute runtime.

This historical drama directed by Lee Daniels was inspired by Wil Haygood's Washington Post article "A Butler Well Served by This Election," which told the real-life story of White House butler Eugene Allen. Forest Whitaker stars as Cecil Gaines, who serves over 30 years in the White House and witnesses all kinds of major historical events from his unique perspective. Star-studded doesn't feel like a sufficient description for "The Butler," which includes performances from Oprah Winfrey, John Cusack, Jane Fonda, Mariah Carey, Terrence Howard, Lenny Kravitz, Robin Williams, James Marsden, Alan Rickman, Liev Schreiber, and more.

By almost every metric, "The Butler" was a major success. The film grossed nearly $200 million at the box office compared to its relatively small budget of $30 million. On top of that, it earned 55 different awards nominations. According to Rotten Tomatoes, just about three-quarters of critics and audiences approved of the film. Despite that success and its plethora of star performers, "The Butler" was completely shut out of the 2014 Academy Awards (via Variety). If anything, "The Butler" deserved even more attention than it received. It remains one of Whitaker's strongest performances.

"Fast Times at Ridgemont High" is notable in several different ways. Released in 1982, the film marked the feature-length directorial debut of Amy Heckerling, and it was the first feature-length screenplay from Cameron Crowe to be put into production. "Fast Times" also gave the world its first appearances from Nicolas Cage and Eric Stoltz. It was only Forest Whitaker's second film role, and it remains one of his most popular films. The story centers on a group of high school students navigating sex, drugs, and coming of age in Southern California.

"Fast Times" is almost universally beloved. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has a critical approval rating of 78%, with critics calling Sean Penn's performance in the film "legendary" and praising the accuracy of the film's take on high school life in the early '80s. Audiences gave the film 80% approval and a 7.1 rating on IMDb. For a comedy that can be watched over and over again, look no further.

In 1999, writer/director Jim Jarmusch created a fantastic combination of hitman and samurai stories. Forest Whitaker stars as the titular Ghost Dog, a New York-based hitman who follows The Way of the Samurai, befriends a little girl and a non-English-speaking ice cream man, and communicates almost solely via carrier pigeon. Louie (John Tormey), a low-level mafia boss, saved Ghost Dog's life years ago, and now employs him on a regular basis. When the mob decides to turn on Ghost Dog, his loyalties are tested nearly as much as his samurai abilities while he fights for survival.

Roger Ebert called the film "weirdly intriguing" and praised "the touching Whitaker performance." Other reviewers were equally intrigued by the strangeness of "Ghost Dog," but they too walked away impressed with what they'd seen. The film has an 83% approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes and an 86% rating from audiences. "Ghost Dog" offers an incredibly entertaining hitman story that's so strange the world of "John Wick" makes perfect sense by comparison.

Released in 2016, "Rogue One" is one of the best-reviewed "Star Wars" films ever. Critics on Rotten Tomatoes give the film an 84% approval rating, and audiences go even farther with an 86% rating. Unsurprisingly, the film was a box office smash, but it likely exceeded even Disney's highest ambitions when it grossed over a billion dollars during its theatrical run. "Rogue One" made the world hopeful for more great "Star Wars" spin-off films until "Solo" mostly dashed those hopes two years later.

"Rogue One" tells the story of the rebel soldiers who secured the plans for the Death Star that eventually allowed Luke Skywalker and his friends to take the Empire down a peg. Forest Whitaker plays a supporting role in the film as an unorthodox rebellion leader called Saw Gerrera. He might not survive to the end of the film, but then again, neither do the main characters. For "Star Wars" fans, "Rogue One" is a must-watch.

Forest Whitaker stars alongside Charlie Sheen, Willem Dafoe, and Johnny Depp in this 1986 war movie directed by Oliver Stone. The film is set in the midst of the Vietnam War and takes a detailed and nuanced view of the experience shared by soldiers fighting on the ground. "Platoon" dramatizes infighting between soldiers as they struggle to differentiate between real and perceived threats during the war.

"Platoon" is without a doubt one of the best war movies ever put to film. Luckily, the movie was also a massive success. It was made with a budget of roughly $6 million, but the film earned over $138 million during its theatrical run (via Box Office Mojo). On top of being a major financial success, "Platoon" also blew away critics and general audiences. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an 87% approval rating among critics, with the consensus praising both the film's grounded focus and the "no-holds-barred performances" of its leads. "Platoon" is a classic for a reason.

Richard Dreyfuss and Emilio Estevez star as Detectives Chris Lecce and Bill Reimers in this 1987 action-comedy. The detectives are assigned to stake out the home of Maria McGuire after her ex-boyfriend "Stick" escapes from prison. Their assignment gets complicated when Detective Lecce finds himself falling in love with Maria. He's forced to balance his budding feelings with his commitment to catching a criminal, and Detective Reimers finds himself in a much more dangerous assignment than he'd intended thanks to his partner.

"Stakeout" marked another early film role for Forest Whitaker, who played a fellow officer on the force with Lecce and Reimers. "Stakeout" was well-received all around. The film made over $65 million during its theatrical run. It also thoroughly impressed critics, at least according to Rotten Tomatoes, where it has an 89% approval rating. Audiences had mixed feelings about the film. The audience score on Rotten Tomatoes is just 56%, but over on IMDb, the film is ranked at a nice 6.7 stars.

Just a year after appearing in "Platoon," Forest Whitaker starred in another, much more lighthearted, movie about the Vietnam War. "Good Morning, Vietnam" is a comedy directed by Barry Levinson and starring Robin Williams as Adrian Cronauer, who's sent to Saigon to work as a radio DJ for the Armed Services. Forest Whitaker plays a soldier assigned to be Adrian's driver and guide to Saigon, who often finds himself defending the DJ's irreverent approach to programming. 

"Good Morning, Vietnam" may be just as good as "Platoon," but it takes a wildly different approach to its material. Williams' performance earned him an Oscar and BAFTA nomination for Best Actor and a win for the same category from the Golden Globes. It currently sits at a 91% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics calling the film "a well-calibrated blend of manic comedy and poignant drama" and heaping praise on Williams. This is a perfect war movie for a day when outright drama just seems like too much to bear. 

With stars like William Hurt, Giancarlo Esposito, and Forest Whitaker, along with a script from acclaimed novelist Paul Auster, "Smoke" had a lot going for it when it was released in 1995. This marks another time Whitaker joined the cast of a film concerned with following multiple characters and plot threads with unlikely connections, though "Smoke" was considerably more successful than some of the other ventures. Critics raved about the film, which is why it has a 93% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and it even managed an 89% rating from audiences.

The characters in "Smoke" are all connected by Brooklyn Cigar Co., a smoke shop run by Auggie Wren (Harvey Keitel). Rashid Cole (Harold Perrineau Jr.) saves Paul Benjamin (Hurt) from being hit by a bus just outside the shop. The near-death experience causes Paul to reevaluate his life, and he gets even more inspired by learning about Rashid's attempts to reconnect with his father (Whitaker). The stories in "Smoke" are deeply personal, interestingly woven together, and leave viewers with plenty to think about when credits roll.

"Black Panther" is actually the highest-rated film in Forest Whitaker's filmography, according to Rotten Tomatoes. It takes the penultimate spot in this list simply because Whitaker doesn't have a central role in the film's plot. He plays Zuri, a spiritual leader among the people of Wakanda. The film follows T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman), who takes the Wakandan throne and the role of Black Panther after his father is killed. T'Challa barely has time to get settled into his new position before he's facing threats from outside Wakanda that may destroy the nation forever.

The success of "Black Panther" can't be overstated. Directed by Ryan Coogler, the film was nominated for seven different Academy Awards (via IMDb). It was the first superhero movie to be nominated for Best Picture, and though it didn't win that category, the film still walked away with three Oscars—Best Original Score, Best Costume Design, and Best Production Design—making it the first Oscar-winning film in the MCU. In addition to its critical success, "Black Panther" also earned well over a billion dollars at the box office. A sequel has been imminent since the film's debut, but because Chadwick Boseman tragically died in 2020, no one knows what to expect from "Black Panther 2."