Every Cate Blanchett Movie Ranked Worst To Best

Cate Blanchett has the uncanny ability to steal the entire movie. Sometimes, she openly swipes it from her fellow actors, while other times she's more sneaky about it, but at the end of the day, says The Vulture, "every Cate Blanchett movie has been A Cate Blanchett Movie." Even in a terrible film, Blanchett somehow always manages to be the highlight and the saving grace.

Blanchett's favorite word is "fluidity," according to The New Yorker, and her filmography makes this apparent. She's played just about every type of role imaginable. Evil stepmother? Check. Katharine Hepburn? Check. She's even delivered an incredible turn as Bob Dylan.

We're going to examine each one of Cate's roles, ranking them from worst to best. Of course, we're going to be excluding Blanchett's documentaries, as well as any project where she plays herself. We won't include any of her voice-over roles, except for the "How to Train Your Dragon" movies, which are among some of Blanchett's best-rated films. Even without the titles mentioned above, Blanchett still stars in no fewer than 50 movies.

"The Monuments Men" had so much potential: a compelling premise drawn from real-life events, an all-star cast that included George Clooney and Bill Murray, promising themes about how crucial art is to the survival of civilization. So what went wrong?

Part of the problem, according to the Los Angeles Times, is that this film is too ambitious. It can't decide what genre it wants to be: a moving war drama about some untrained civilians rescuing beloved classic artwork from the Nazis or a buddy comedy about a team of bantering Monuments Men. The Arts Fuse adds that the film doesn't give much thought to why it's so important to save the artwork, which only serves as a MacGuffin to drive the plot forward.

Naturally, Cate Blanchett's scenes rise head and shoulderms above the rest of the film. She plays Claire Simone, the museum curator who risks her life to keep tabs on the Nazis. IGN goes so far as to say that it might have been ore interesting to see an entire movie about Blanchett's character.

Terrence Malick's "Knight of Cups" doesn't have an official plot, per se, but focuses on an aimless screenwriter (Christian Bale) who bounces from woman to woman and grasps for some kind of meaning in his life. Even that description "makes it sound much more understandable than it is," according to Kenneth Turan from The Baltimore Sun; the fragmented non-narrative borders on the incomprehensible. The cinematography is inventive, says Turan, but that's about all that can be said for this film that seems painfully unaware of its self-important smugness.

The Guardian points out that "Knight of Cups" objectifies the female body in certain scenes, adding that "Cate Blanchett alone manages to deliver something more nuanced" than the rest of the film. According to The Atlantic, "Knight of Cups" succeeds in conveying the takeaway that the debauched life of Hollywood can be a soulless void–but it treats this rather obvious epiphany as though it's completely groundbreaking.

In this 2010 origin-story film that most critics agree that we didn't need, Robin Hood (Russell Crowe) is a soldier serving King Richard (Danny Huston). After Richard is killed, Robin Hood must form a grudging alliance with King John (Oscar Isaac) to keep out French invaders. According to The Independent Critic, the film "emphasizes action over humanity" and tries too hard to be dramatic, especially when showing off Robin Hood's talent for archery. Meanwhile, Roger Ebert wrote like this version of Robin Hood saps all the fun out of the original legend. What little humor there is in the film feels forced, says Neil Miller from Film School Rejects.

Miller adds that Blanchett portrays Marion Loxley with "simultaneous strength and grace," but it seems like her character was only thrown into the final battle as an afterthought, in a lazy attempt to convince viewers that Marion is "tough."

Believe it or not, Cate Blanchett does not play the most interesting character in this Australian comedy, which is pretty rare for her, especially in movies with poor reviews. That honor actually goes to Frances O'Connor, who completely "steals the film," according to Variety.

The plot: as Guy (Richard Roxburgh) prepares for his wedding with Lizzie (Cate Blanchett), he reflects on his passionate but short-lived relationship with Jenny (Frances O'Connor) and realizes that he's marrying the wrong woman.

The problem with "Thank God He Met Lizzie" (retitled "The Wedding Party" for its U.S. release) is that Guy and Lizzie's relationship is hardly explored, even though it's supposed to be the central through-line of the movie, says Cinephilia. Instead, all the development is given to Jenny via flashbacks, making it hard for viewers to buy that Guy and Lizzie are in love. Which, to be fair, might be the point, but if Jenny was the actual heart of the story, then why did the movie spend so much time on the wedding?

Based on the 1973 children's novel, "The House With a Clock in Its Walls" follows a 10-year-old orphan Lewis (Owen Vaccaro) as he moves in with his peculiar Uncle Jonathan (Jack Black), who is actually a warlock. Together Lewis, Jonathan, and their neighbor Florence (Blanchett) must find and destroy the cursed clock buried in the walls of his house.

The Guardian was unimpressed, insisting the movie "looks as if it was produced by some computer [program], devised by accountants and market researchers" hoping to cash in on the next "Harry Potter." Soren Anderson from The Seattle Times says it was a strange choice to select Eli Roth (best known for gory horror films like "The Green Inferno") to direct a tame and kid-friendly movie. The result is "a movie at war with itself." Anderson adds that there's nothing particularly wrong with the character of Florence (this is Cate Blanchett, after all), but we have seen far better from Cate.

In "Ocean's 11," criminal mastermind Danny Ocean (George Clooney) pulled off an impossible heist with a team of 11 men. In this sequel, Danny's sister Debbie (Sandra Bullock) attempts an equally impossible job with a team of 8 women. It's gratifying to see a female-led action flick, but unfortunately "Ocean's 8" suffers some of the same flaws as its male-dominated predecessors, says Observer.

There are plenty of disappointing movies where it's easy to say that Cate Blanchett is the best part. Alas, not this one. "Blanchett gets so little to actually do in the movie, it's almost shocking," says The Decider. According to Kate Taylor from The Globe and Mail, Cate Blanchett's talent is wasted on a largely one-note character. In fact, Taylor adds, the mere fact that it's a fast-paced ensemble film means that most of its heroines don't get nearly enough development as they should.

To be fair, the heist is still loads of fun, says Indiewire, especially when these girls (who don't have the same budget Danny Ocean had) need to be resourceful.

After winning an Oscar for "A Beautiful Mind," Ron Howard went on to direct an underwhelming Western called "The Missing." Frontierswoman Magdalena Gilkeson (Cate Blanchett) forms a grudging alliance with the father who abandoned her (Tommy Lee Jones) to track down the Apache witch (Eric Schweig) who kidnapped her daughter.

Most critics agree the movie is way longer than it needs to be, with "gunfights so prolonged that our attention drifts," according to Roger Ebert. Plus, Rolling Stone insists that the film lifts its basic premise and even some dialogue from the 1956 Western "The Searchers."

Yet "the usually delicate-looking Blanchett" does a convincing job as a tough and hardened settler, says Robin from Reeling Reviews. Val Kilmer, another actor who worked on "The Missing," tweeted that he remembered Blanchett put so much care into the simple gesture of picking up a shovel. "I was so dazzled by HOW she picked it up I forgot my line."

In 2001, Cate Blanchett stepped outside her comfort zone by playing a shamelessly badass character, and she "positively sizzles," says Robin from Reeling Reviews.

Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, "The Shipping News" is about a man named Quoyle (Kevin Spacey) who feels adrift after his not-particularly-loyal wife Petal (Blanchett) dies in an accident, but he is able to reclaim his life after moving to Newfoundland, where he is placed in charge of the local newspaper.

In the role of Petal, Blanchett is "amazingly unrecognizable," said Roger Ebert. However, he felt that Quoyle's romance with Wavey (Julianne Moore) was predictable and that the quirks of the townsfolk could be too much at times. Still, most critics, including The Washington Post, loved the colorful characters on the newspaper team. Slant Magazine describes the film as "quaint and evocative" but "glacial" in pacing.

Based on a true story, "Veronica Guerin" follows the titular journalist (Cate Blanchett) as she attempts to expose Irish drug dealers, despite constant death threats from an organized crime ring and the insistence of her loved ones (who are also being threatened) that maybe she should just let it go.

Robin from Reeling Reviews says this biopic is "well told," even if it's a little "by the numbers." While the real Veronica Guerlin was definitely a hero, says Moira McDonald from The Seattle Times, director Joel Schumacher might be trying too hard to elevate her to martyrdom. "We rarely get to see below the surface and into Veronica's mind to see what motivated her in this pursuit," according to Three Movie Buffs.

Nevertheless, says McDonald, Blanchett's portrayal of this journalist "breathes with vitality." Cole Smithey agrees, saying that Blanchett expertly explores "every thread of selfish and selfless motivation" behind Veronica's choices.

Released almost 20 years after the last installment, the fourth "Indiana Jones" movie was awaited with bated breath. Most fans agreed it didn't live up to the originals, but at least it doesn't try to hide the fact that Indy is 20 years older. Instead, it incorporates his age (and the jadedness that comes with it) into the story, and "it's a far better movie for it," says Den of Geek.

In 1957, a middle-aged Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) and his son Mutt (Shia LaBeouf) attempt to return a powerful crystal skull to a temple in the South American jungle before Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett) and her Soviet forces get their hands on it. Critics were torn on Blanchett's portrayal of Irina. Rolling Stone felt that Blanchett's talent was wasted in a "one-note-villain role," while Screenrant loved her "deliciously campy performance." Screenrant pointed out quite a few problems with the movie, like its confusing plot and unconvincing CGI–and then there's the notorious scene involving an atomic bomb and a refrigerator that asks us to suspend our disbelief too much.

Once again, Cate Blanchett is the best part of an otherwise mediocre film. Based on a true story, "Truth" follows journalists Mary Mapes (Blanchett) and Dan Rather (Robert Redford) as they try to expose a secret about George W. Bush's military service. Mapes and Rather come under fire for not sufficiently investigating their sources.

Critics agree that the film raises some fascinating questions about how the media can become so preoccupied with trivialities that the truth gets completely overshadowed. "As a case study in journalism and ethics, the film is intriguing," says The Independent. "As drama, it stutters."

NME felt like the heroine's backstory was shoehorned into the story and not even necessary, insisting that Blanchett was such a great actress that she could carry the film without them even needing to show her character's backstory. According to The Seattle Times, she can convey wonders with a single facial expression.

Bilbo Baggins is perfectly content to stay at home, thank you very much, but the wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) and a bunch of dwarves rope him into joining them on a quest to reclaim the dwarves' stolen treasure. Of course, since this is only Part 1 of the "Hobbit" trilogy, the characters don't actually reach the treasure by the end, but they do need to face trolls, orcs, and Gollum (Andy Serkis). Cate Blanchett returns in the role of Galadriel, "doing her creepy telepathic thing" (Wired).

In order to split a single book (Tolkien's "The Hobbit") into an entire trilogy, Peter Jackson needed to expand. The problem is, says Wired, the film expanded on all the wrong things. Rather than spending more time on Bilbo and Gandalf or developing the dwarves (who are interchangeable except for Thorin and Balin), Jackson has the characters discuss the looming threat of Sauron (even though he never appears in this film), and spends 15 minutes on the absent-minded wizard Radagast, who seems more like "the mascot of some kind of sugary cereal" than a Tolkien character, according to The Hobbit: Book and Film Differences blog.

The production design, score, and cinematography are still up to par with the "Lord of the Rings" movies, says The Hollywood Reporter. The story, alas, is not.

In Wes Anderson's "The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou," oceanographer Steve Zissou (Bill Murray) leads an expedition to track down the rare Jaguar Shark that ate his friend (chewed him, that is, not swallowed whole).

Peter Bradshaw from The Guardian called the design of Zissou's ship (which was built so it could be filmed in cross-section) "a work of art in its own right," even if he felt that the film's jokes sometimes fall flat. Meanwhile, Roger Ebert was torn on this weird and whimsical film, saying, "I can't recommend it, but I would not for one second discourage you from seeing it."

Blanchett plays Jane Winslett-Richardson, the pregnant journalist covering the expedition. In a behind-the-scenes featurette, Wes Anderson described Blanchett as extremely dedicated to the role, always preparing in advance. Funnily enough, after she was cast as Jane, Blanchett discovered that she was pregnant herself. She joked that "Wes [accused] me of being a method actor."

A web of interconnected stories that ripple outward to affect characters in four different countries begins when two young Moroccan boys (Boubker Ait El Caid and Said Tarchani) playing with a gun accidentally shoot a bus full of American tourists, injuring a woman named Susan (Cate Blanchett) and sending her husband Richard (Brad Pitt) into a panic. Unfortunately, we don't get to see much of Cate in this film. "Blanchett has nothing much to do other than lie on the floor whimpering," says The Guardian.

According to The Boston Globe, there are a lot of moments in "Babel" that "dazzle the mind and the senses," but the movie comes off as a little pretentious; at times it's hard to connect with the characters, even though most of them end up crying onscreen at some point during the film.

Still, Roger Ebert wrote that the power of this film comes from the fact that nobody is the bad guy. Instead, it all boils down to a misunderstanding of global proportions, where none of the characters (literally and figuratively) speak the same language.

The titular Hanna (Saoirse Ronan) has been raised by her father (Eric Bana) in the Finnish wilderness, where he has been training her as an assassin so she can take out government agent Marissa Wiegler (Blanchett) – the woman who killed Hanna's mother. But, as it turns out, Hanna's father isn't telling her the whole story ...

This revenge thriller stands out from most films of the genre "because the action is part of the narrative rather than the narrative being a part of the action," says In Their Own League. Ronan captures the perfect blend of innocent teenager and ruthless assassin, says Collider.

She Knows says "Cate Blanchett is at her steely best" in the role of "Marissa," even if Marissa's dark secret turns out to be actually quite "humdrum," in the words of NPR. The best part is when Blanchett makes an awesome dramatic entrance later in the film, emerging from a giant wolf's mouth at a long-abandoned, fairy-tale-themed amusement park. 

A movie with one Cate Blanchett is nice, but a movie with 13 of her is even better. "Manifesto" is a collection of 13 short films, each starring Blanchett as a different character. Each character gives a monologue that represents the manifesto of a certain artistic or philosophical movement. We get to see what ideologies like Marxism or Dadaism would look like if they were an actual person, and that person is Cate.

What could have been a pretentious lecture is actually quite "smart and sassy," says The Wrap. The elevated language and complicated philosophical concepts in this film can be hard for viewers to wrap their minds around, but Blanchett makes the texts much more accessible. (Indiewire compares it to reading Shakespeare versus watching it performed onstage.) The director creates an interesting and often contradictory juxtaposition between Blanchett's words and her performance; for instance, a tearful widow solemnly announces she intends to "sh** in different colors." Blanchett deftly switches between these 13 drastically different characters, who run the gamut from a ballet instructor to a homeless man. This is only a testament to her sheer talent as an actress, says Get Reel Movies.

In this adaptation of a Scott Fitzgerald story by the same name, Benjamin Button (Brad Pitt) is born an old man and begins aging in reverse. This later complicates things between him and his lover Daisy (Cate Blanchett), who wonders what she is going to do when her husband becomes a little boy. Empire loved the film's wistful mood, pointing out that even the scenes where Benjamin and Daisy are happy together (and both the same age) are tainted with the knowledge that it can't last.

The makeup and effects here were obviously quite a challenge, but this movie "makes it look easy" (Collider). We can almost forget that Benjamin Button's face is actually animated in certain scenes, or that Cate Blanchett is buried under layers of prosthetic makeup when we see Daisy on her deathbed.

Brendan Hodges from Keeping It Reel describes Blanchett as "extraordinary, playing the many shades of Daisy with effortless grace." Hodges adds that the movie's script can be "rambling" and "mawkish," but the film is still powerful thanks to the contributions of the actors and director David Fincher. It's effective, even if it does take "two hours and 40 minutes to get across what Fitzgerald chewed over in just a few pages" (Orlando Sentinel).

Adapted from the Oscar Wilde play, "An Ideal Husband" focuses on 19th-century playboy Lord Goring (Rupert Everett), who insists that he only discusses serious subjects once a month and refuses to get married despite his father's urging. Meanwhile, Mrs. Cheveley (Julianne Moore) blackmails the respected Sir Robert (Jeremy Northam) by threatening to expose a secret that would deeply upset his wife Lady Gertrude (Blanchett). This Wilde adaptation took some creative liberties, changing the order of some scenes and adding others. However, The Washington Post assures us that the movie preserves Wilde's razor-sharp dialogue and moral complexity.

Critics loved the actors in this film, especially Minnie Driver as Lord Goring's love interest. Driver can say much with a single facial expression, says ReelViews. According to Rolling Stone, Blanchett "manages the neat trick of making virtue seem enticing." Angelfire adds that Blanchett does a wonderful job portraying Gertrude's hero-worship of her (supposedly) ideal husband.

The second "Hobbit" movie follows Bilbo and the dwarves as they journey through Mirkwood in hopes of reclaiming the dwarves' kingdom from the dragon Smaug (Benedict Cumberbatch). It's definitely better than the first "Hobbit" film. "There's a far more present sense of danger here," says Den of Geek, and the movie is "rich in Jackson's usual detail."

Germain Lussier from /Film argues "The Desolation of Smaug" might be overcompensating for the first "Hobbit" movie's flaws. Perhaps in response to criticisms that "An Unexpected Journey" drew out events from the book for way too long, Jackson moves through the first hour of the film at a rapid pace. Unfortunately, as a result, he doesn't do justice to some of the book's most memorable scenes. After the heroes get to Lake Town, the movie goes right back to dragging its feet.

Blanchett gets just a tiny cameo as Galadriel, but she almost played another character in one of the "Hobbit" movies. In an interview with WTF (via Indiewire), Blanchett asked Jackson to let her play a male dwarf in the background of a banquet scene. Alas, it never came to be due to scheduling issues.

Queen Elizabeth I (Cate Blanchett) inherits the throne of an England in turmoil. Religious schisms have divided the country, while potential invaders are eyeing England hungrily. All of Elizabeth's advisors (save Geoffrey Rush's Sir Walsingham) think she isn't cut out for the job because she's a woman.

ReelViews observes that the film contains some significant historical inaccuracies, but adds that this may be beside the point, since this film's primary purpose is to create a compelling and human drama. According to Brain Eggert of Deep Focus Review, the movie hits a sweet spot between "Hollywood [glamor] and the dusty reality" of Elizabethan England. Eggert adds that Blanchett is perfect for the part, insisting, "I can't see another actress giving her part such humanity." As one of Cate Blanchett's earliest films, "Elizabeth" was the film that drew American viewers' attention to this hitherto unknown Australian actress; it "cemented her reputation as somebody to watch" (Sundays with Cate).

In "Notes on a Scandal," no-nonsense teacher Barbara (Judi Dench) catches fellow teacher Sheba (Cate Blanchett) having an affair with a 15-year-old student (Andrew Simpson). Yet Barbara decides to keep Sheba's secret, hoping instead to use this information to blackmail Sheba and perhaps even coerce Sheba into becoming her lover.

Blanchett does a masterful job showing the humanity in Sheba, who at first is so pleased to see a student actually interested in listening to her lessons that she embraces Steven's advances. Sheba trusts Barbara completely up until the final 10 minutes, whenever Blanchett delivers a convincing and unsettling public breakdown. Her performance may even rival that of Judi Dench, who slips effortlessly into the role of a seemingly righteous teacher with a dark secret of her own. Barbara's voiceover diary entries are tonally inconsistent and not nearly as subtle as Dench's onscreen performance, according to Slate. Still, Matthew Lucas from The Dispatch describes the film as "pure, ruthless poetry."

If you or someone you know may be the victim of child abuse, please contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453) or contact their live chat services.

The iconic Australian actress took on the challenge of playing an even more iconic actress in "The Aviator." Perhaps Cate Blanchett's Oscar-winning turn as Katharine Hepburn is "nothing more than an impersonation," says The Guardian, "but what an impersonation!" The Guardian especially loved when Blanchett's Hepburn "raises her prominent nose and chin like medieval weapons" to show her disappointment in Howard Hughes (Leonardo DiCaprio) after he embarrasses himself in front of her parents.

This Martin Scorsese film is based on the real-life story of Howard Hughes, a pilot and Hollywood star whose innovations in aviation made him a billionaire but whose stubbornness (along with the obsessive-compulsive disorder he had since childhood) pulled his career into a nosedive.

According to Josh Spiegel from /Film, "The Aviator" marked Leonardo DiCaprio's shift toward taking on more mature roles. Spiegel praised the film's ending note, which involves Hughes talking about his new aircraft and constantly repeating the phrase "the way of the future"–an ominous indicator that Hughes' mental health would continue in its downward spiral.

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.

After "Thor: The Dark World" (which for a time was the lowest-rated movie in the MCU), director Taika Waititi decided to put his own screwball spin on the world of Thor. After the goddess Hela (Cate Blanchett) destroys the hammer of Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and steals his throne, Thor is exiled to a distant planet where he must fight in gladiator games to survive.

Viewers don't need to have seen the previous Thor movies to appreciate "Thor: Ragnarok," which is almost gleeful in its rejection of the self-seriousness of the first two. This threequel knows exactly when to poke fun at superhero tropes and sometimes even itself, says Alonso Duralde from The Wrap. Duralde loved Blanchett's over-the-top turn as Hela, which "she plays like Dame Diana Rigg channeling both Joan Crawford and Eve Arden."

There are a few story beats that could have been handled with a bit more gravitas, says Forbes, but "Thor: Ragnarok" is so much fun that this minor flaw is easy to forgive.

Finding the perfect way to end a beloved trilogy means catching lightning in a bottle not once, but three times. Peter Jackson is buzzing with electricity in "The Return of the King." In the final chapter of "The Lord of the Rings," Frodo, Sam, Gandalf (Ian McKellen), and Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) have reached the end of their journey to destroy the Ring.

Decent Films describes "The Return of the King" as a near-flawless adaptation. Even when Peter Jackson adds his own directorial spin, it still perfectly expresses the very essence of Tolkien. "The films will never replace the books," Decent Films writes, "but the films are also irreplaceable." The last 20 minutes of falling action in particular are "sublime," according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Galadriel (Blanchett) only appears once before the movie's climax, but the story hinges on her. Glimpsed in a vision by Frodo when he has lost all hope, Galadriel offers Frodo exactly the gentle nudge he needs. It speaks wonders about Blanchett's talent that she can leave such an impression in only 30 seconds.

As far as high fantasy movies go, "The Fellowship of the Ring" is the film to rule them all. In the first film of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, Frodo accepts the burden of the Ring. With the other members of the Fellowship by his side, he sets off on a quest to destroy it.

In a brilliant move, Jackson gives the film a two-part climax. First, we get to see Aragorn and most of the Fellowship in an intense battle to satisfy viewers who loved the action from Tolkien's books. Then, Jackson delivers a quiet but poignant climax between Frodo and Sam, who aren't even present during the battle but face an equally important test.

While most of the elven characters come off as merely elegant and refined, Blanchett's Galadriel is positively otherworldly. She walks on a knife's edge, ensuring you can never be sure whose side she's really on. Galadriel is even present in the movie's prologue, giving what The Guardian calls a "seductively knowing voiceover." Cate Blanchett holds the honor of being the first voice you hear in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.