Every David Leitch Movie, Ranked

While superhero movies have long ruled the box office (and that dynamic is changing), it’s safe to say that action movies are making a major comeback. Certain franchises like Mission: Impossible, Bourne, and the James Band saga will always be successful, but in the past two decades, there’s been an influx of exciting new voices within the action genre.

One of the foremost voices leading the charge for great action movies is the former stuntman David Leitch, who co-directed the first installment in the highly popular John Wick saga alongside fellow performer Chad Stahelski. His latest film is The Fall Guy, a critically well-received love letter to the stunt community starring Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt. Here is every David Leitch movie, ranked worst to best.

6 'Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw' (2019)

Starring Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham and Idris Elba

The evolution of The Fast and the Furious franchise has been fascinating. The saga that began as a street racing series became an action saga in the vein of Mission: Impossible; this was exciting for a short time, but unfortunately, the convoluted story and ever-changing mythology of the Fast and Furious universe made the franchise just as impenetrable as one of the connected comic book universes.

Even if it lacked the involvement of Vin Diesel, Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw felt the constraints of the core series and simply tried too hard to be tongue-in-cheek. The one-liners between Jason Statham and Dwayne Johnson felt less like the fun banter of a 1980s action movie, and more like an escalation of the genuine behind-the-scenes drama of the Fast and Furious series. What should have been a fun throwback to Lethal Weapon ends up becoming a 137-minute blast of increasingly incomprehensible action scenes fueled by computer-generated imagery; even Idris Elba’s attempt to be a fun, over-the-top villain falls flat on its face due to his completely ridiculous motivations.

Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw

The film centers around Luke Hobbs, a loyal agent of America's Diplomatic Security Service, and Deckard Shaw, a former British military elite operative, as they form an unlikely alliance when a cyber-genetically enhanced villain threatens the future of humanity.

5 'Deadpool 2' (2018)

Starring Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin and Josh Brolin

Deadpool 2 is certainly bigger, funnier, and more action-packed than its predecessor, but it lacks the heartfelt nature that made the first installment so unique. Even though Tim Miller’s film featured the same amount of crass humor, it was the genuinely sincere relationship between Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) and Vanessa (Morena Baccarin) that grounded the characters in legitimate stakes.

However, for everything that it lacks in characterization, Deadpool 2 makes up for in absurd action sequences. While the film introduces a ton of new characters to Deadpool’s team like Cable (Josh Brolin), Domino (Zazie Beetz), and the powerless new recruit Peter (Rob Delaney), it doesn’t feel overstuffed with mythology. There’s a sense that Leitch just enjoys playing within the Marvel sandbox. The final standoff featuring the unification of the X-Force team is a hyper-violent, ridiculous bloodbath that feels like a live-action episode of South Park.

Deadpool 2

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Foul-mouthed mutant mercenary Wade Wilson (a.k.a. Deadpool) assembles a team of fellow mutant rogues to protect a young boy with supernatural abilities from the brutal, time-traveling cyborg Cable.

4 'Bullet Train' (2022)

Starring Brad Pitt, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Joey King

Bullet Train saw Leitch evolving his style into a different subgenre of action altogether. While the film had no shortage of great scenes of hand-to-hand combat (including a particularly memorable brawl in a bar between Brad Pitt and Aaron Taylor-Johnson), the film’s strengths were its neo-noir elements and revolving cast of characters.

Trying to keep track of which character was on what side and who is being double-crossed may drive the viewer into madness, but the benefit of having such a convoluted story is that a lot of great actors get to show up to do brief comedy bits. Who doesn’t want Brian Tyree Henry comparing life philosophy to the characters on Thomas the Tank Engine?

Bullet Train

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Packing a stellar cast with the likes of Brad Pitt, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, and Zazie Beetz, David Leitch's Bullet Train tells the story of an assassin for hire who bumps into multiple dangerous criminals aboard a high-speed Shinkansen trip from Tokyo to Kyoto. The 2022 action comedy is an adaptation of Kōtarō Isaka's novel "Maria Beetle".

3 'The Fall Guy' (2024)

Starring Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt and Aaron Taylor-Johnson

Oddly enough for a tribute to action filmmaking, The Fall Guy doesn't match John Wick or Atomic Blonde for the escapist envelope-pushing that made Leitch a name. And even though it sometimes feels like one big industry inside joke, in a way that could temper its crossover appeal in comparison to those outright genre classics, it's altogether effective, endearing and exciting.

It's not news to report Gosling and Blunt are flawless across the board, in the fights, slapstick and banter. They're supported by scene-stealing turns from Hannah Waddingham, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Stephanie Hsu, though it's certainly worth mentioning the ever-underrated and underutilized Teresa Palmer could have used more screen time. Perhaps most notably, Leitch proves he's about as deft with romance and comedy as he is with action—and he remains one of the greatest action directors alive.

The Fall Guy

Colt Seavers is a stuntman who left the business a year earlier to focus on both his physical and mental health. He's drafted back into service when the star of a mega-budget studio movie, which is being directed by his ex, goes missing.

2 'Atomic Blonde' (2017)

Starring Charlize Theron, Sofia Boutella, and James McAvoy

Although some marketing campaigns attempted to market it as “the female John Wick,” Atomic Blonde is far more than another revenge thriller. In fact, the film’s period setting and neo-noir influences have more in common with the cinema of Alan J. Pakula and Michael Mann than the more straightforward action narratives of the John Wick films.

Atomic Blonde is a Cold War mystery first and foremost, but that doesn’t mean it lacks any of the outstanding set pieces that Leitch is known for. Charlize Theron proved that she was a force of nature in Mad Max: Fury Road, but the character of Lorraine Broughton is unlike anything she’s done before. She can stomach any wound and charm any enemy; essentially, Lorraine is an edgier version of 007.

Atomic Blonde

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An undercover MI6 agent is sent to Berlin during the Cold War to investigate the murder of a fellow agent and recover a missing list of double agents.

1 'John Wick' (2014)

Starring Keanu Reeves, Michael Nyqvist and Lance Reddick

It’s hard to tell at the moment what films will go on to become classics, but in less than a decade, John Wick has had a sizable impact on the development of action cinema. In the same way that countless action movies have been referred to as “Die Hard in a __” after the release of John McTiernan’s 1988 action classic, John Wick has spawned a new wave of older actors returning to the action genre for a revenge mission.

While John Wick’s influence is evident, the film certainly pays tribute to the other titans of action cinema that it is clearly inspired by. Between the practical martial arts, creative gunplay, thrilling car chases, and neo-noir elements, John Wick (co-directed with credited Stahelski) felt like an extended love letter to the genre itself.

John Wick

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An ex-hitman comes out of retirement to track down the gangsters who killed his dog and stole his car.

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