by Released : 2023-12-07
8. The Martian (2015)
After years of mediocrity and the huge failure of Exodus Gods and Kings (2014), Scott came back roaring to life. Despite being nominated for Best Picture, Scott was snubbed of a best director nod. One of the best Space movies of all time the Martian shows Scott knows more about Space than just the Alien franchise. After this film Scott had his choice between an Alien sequel or Blade runner, begrudgingly admitting he “shouldn't have had to make that decision” Although he did admit that most of Blade Runner 2049’s script was his ideas.
9. Black Rain (1989)
The film had a 30 million dollar budget and made only 46 million in America, perhaps why its reputation here also critically is not great. Although it was a huge hit internationally unlike The Yakuza (1974) or Year of the Dragon (1985). However, besides Matchstick Men this might be Scott’s most underrated film; it was a huge smash at the foreign box office making 88 million overseas. Douglas and Andy Garcia make a fun cop duo and legendary actor Ken Takakura gives a strong performance. The film has a cool style and great action scenes, although the story might be familiar.
10. Napoleon (2002)
With only a 59% on rotten tomatoes many have considered Napoleon to be a disappointment and the film has yet to crack 200 million dollars at the box office, despite a heft budget. Joaquin Phoenix and Vanessa Kirby give excellent performance, but the rest of the characters are barely developed. However, the film has beautifully filmed battle sequences and is filmed on a huge scale. Like Kingdom of Heaven, the director cut of this film I believe will fix the film's reputation. It’s just a shame they couldn't have released the director cut instead of a cut down version into theaters.
11. Kingdom of heaven Director's Cut (2005)
Much mangled upon its release the film’s director cut has brought new fans- much like Napoleon’s anticipated director cut. Although Orlando Bloom might have been miscast, the film has excellent battle scenes and strong supporting performances from Edward Norton and Liam Neeson. The film flopped making 218 million to a 130 million dollar budget. With the release of Alexander the year before, both films' financial failures caused holywood to stop making historical epics.
Honarable mentions
