Will Smith’s 10 Worst Roles (According to Rotten Tomatoes)

Will Smith started off as the Fresh Prince before becoming one of the world’s most iconic actors. However, he’s had some less-than-stellar roles.

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Will Smith’s main claim to fame is probably the well-known 90s television series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, which featured him as a character based on his rap persona. However, he’s also enjoyed a massive amount of success in the years since his rapping career was put on hold, as one of Hollywood’s most personable, versatile actors.

Obviously, it’s not a surprise that he’s been in several hit films – Men in Black and Ali, in particular, come to mind – but no successful actor has a filmography that lacks the occasional poor decision or phoned-in performance. So, today we’ll be looking at the 10 biggest missteps Smith took over the course of his acting career, based on the critical consensus scores from review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes.

10 Made in America (1993) – 31%

Will Smith was given a supporting role in the Whoopi-Goldberg-driven 1993 comedy Made in America, which follows Zora Matthews, an African-American woman who discovers her sperm-donor father was actually a white, egotistical used-car salesman all along – greatly distressing her mother Sarah, who insists that she specifically requested that the donor be black; hilarity is intended to ensue.

While this film helped to launch Smith’s film career, many critics claimed it didn’t really work as a comedy, although it has become something of a cult classic in the years since its release.

9 Bright (2017) – 28%

The 2017 Netflix fantasy cop film Bright takes place in a modern-day alternate universe where humans co-exist with several fairy-tale species, such as orcs and elves, as two LAPD police officers (one human, played by Smith, and one orc, played by Joel Edgerton) have to keep the hands of evildoers off of a magic wand that only rare individuals, known as “Brights”, can bear without consequence.

The film’s detractors cut its core issues down to poor writing and direction combined with an often overbearing preoccupation with social commentary, and it received very little critical or audience praise – although it still netted nearly eleven million views in just its first three days on Netflix.

8 Suicide Squad (2016) – 27%

Smith enjoyed a little bit of a career boost thanks to his starring role in the commercially successfully DCEU film Suicide Squad, which follows the titular group of imprisoned supervillains recruited by the government to stop a superhuman force in exchange for time off their sentences. Smith’s portrayal of skilled assassin Deadshot was definitely a scene-stealer, and because of this, the character became so popular that he’ll be getting his own spin-off film.

However, even Smith couldn’t convince critics to appreciate DC’s latest effort (despite the mostly positive audience reviews the film got), with many review outlets condemning what they perceived as a cramped, predictable plot that’s directed in a very loose, by-the-numbers kind of way.

7 Seven Pounds (2008) – 26%

Several films on this list have become audience favorites while still attracting mostly negative attention from critics worldwide, and no clearer case can be presented than 2008’s Seven Pounds. The drama stars Smith as a man who wishes to atone for a tragedy he caused long ago by changing the lives of seven people he deems worthy – in a remarkably self-sacrificial way.

While the grim but remarkably human picture was given negative reviews by critics, many of whom said that the film’s plot doesn’t hold up because of poor writing, audience reviewers on IMDb gave the film a remarkable 7.6/10, praising its characters, story, and ending.

6 Gemini Man (2019) – 26%

The action thriller Gemini Man stars Will Smith as a hitman who’s forced to defend himself against a technologically advanced, nearly perfect clone of himself at a younger age (also played by Smith). The film was overshadowed at the box office by Joker and became a commercial failure, and it wasn’t particularly successful with critics either.

Many reviewers pointed out that, despite its unique visual effect, the film’s story was disappointingly uninteresting and many of its better elements were lifted from a separate sci-fi film, Looper, while the performances, cinematography, direction, and writing were also for the most part below average.

5 Bad Boys II (2003) – 23%

Smith’s breakout film performance was arguably in the 1995 buddy cop film Bad Boys – and as the film was a huge success commercially, director Michael Bay brought back Smith and his co-star Martin Lawrence for a 2003 sequel, which, like the original, follows the two MPD detectives, narcotics division, as they investigate drug-related crimes. This time, however, they’re trying to put an end to an ecstasy smuggling scheme that’s quickly taking over Miami.

Even critics who liked the original felt led to speak out against number two, and several described it (using similar terms) as mindless, inhuman, and disheartening. The franchise still has a steady viewer base, however, and a third film in the series, Bad Boys for Life, has been given a 2020 release date.

4 Wild Wild West (1999) – 17%

Wild Wild West was released during what was perhaps the peak decade for Smith’s popularity, as he was constantly being offered roles – such as that of Neo in The Matrix, which he turned it down in favor of acting in this film. A raunchy western steampunk comedy, loosely based on the 1960s television series of the same name, it takes place four years after the Civil War and follows a decorated war hero (Smith) who teams up with a gun-toting U.S. Marshall to track down a Confederate scientist with plans to assassinate the president.

It received poor reviews for its plot and humor, and despite some high-quality special effects was a disappointing misfire of an actioner that has become a permanent blemish upon Smith’s career.

3 Collateral Beauty (2016) – 14%

The 2016 film Collateral Beauty follows Smith as an advertising executive going through a period of depression and isolation as a result of the death of his young daughter. He writes letters to the Universe’s various elements (such as Time, Death, and Love) in order to cope with his loss, as he slowly learns to look for the simple beauties of existence, even in tragedy.

While the film was primarily well-received by filmgoers, critics accused it of trying unsuccessfully to be poignant and moving while forgetting to give its characters human characteristics, discrediting it as pointless and contrived.

2 Winter’s Tale (2014) – 13%

The 2014 romantic drama film Winter’s Tale follows Peter, a young man raised by a demon to become a gang member, but later leaves the gang; as he falls in love with Beverly, a sickly young woman who despite her illness still strives to see the beauty of the universe. The pair is star-crossed, however, as demons relentlessly hunt for them; Will Smith plays Lucifer, king of the demons and the film’s overarching antagonist.

This original but poorly-executed love story was a major critical and commercial failure, receiving criticism for throwing together various genre elements, often at the cost of coherence.

1 After Earth (2013) – 11%

Will Smith and M. Night Shyamalan had long planned to do a film together, but the best time for their collaboration to be released was probably not immediately after Shyamalan had suffered from a stream of creative, critical and commercial flops. After Earth only added to that list, following human civilization more than a millennium after they abandoned their titular home planet, departing for another habitable planet with a stable ecosystem, Nova Prime.

A famed army general and his son (Smith and his real-life son Jaden) must fight to survive after crash-landing on a fragile, alien planet – Earth itself. Various outlets gave the film a heaping dose of pointed criticism, with several mentioning what they believed to be an almost soulless lack of care in terms of direction, acting, and writing.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/will-smith-worst-roles-rotten-tomatoes/