With Ryan Reynolds’ popularity continuing to skyrocket, the Deadpool actor has been in numerous new movies in the last few years. But which are the best and actually worth seeing?
RELATED: James Gunn Shuts Down Talk About Ryan Reynolds As Green Lantern In The DCU
Ryan Rodney Reynolds, crowned the sexiest man alive in 2010, has become one of Hollywood’s favourite celebrities to follow. A family man with a personality comparable to that of Wade Wilson from one of his most well-known movies, Deadpool, Ryan Reynolds has an impressive track record in the industry. Arguably, he gained more exposure (and success) after releasing the first Deadpool film in 2016. So naturally, this has increased interest in the celebrity and his beautiful wife, Blake Lively. But what makes the star so enticing? What does he bring to films that other actors cannot?
Ryan Reynolds had some impressive movies hit cinemas before Deadpool. Some of these include Adventureland (2009), Buried (2009), Definitely, Maybe (2008) and Mississippi Grind (2015). And some not-so-great films like Green Lantern (2011).
However, are any new movies starring Reynolds just as good, if not better? The answer is yes, and this list will detail the latest movies starring Reynolds that have done well at the box office, have good Rotten Tomatoes scores, and prove why he is one of the biggest stars of this generation. And surprisingly enough, there is a wide array of genres that this list will cover, from Christmas movies to sci-fi flicks; there is something for everyone.
Here’s a list of the best new movies with Ryan Reynolds.
10. 6 Underground (2019)
Although Scott Stuber, film chief at Netflix, felt this particular movie was a failure, it ended up being quite successful. Directed by Micheal Bay, the film follows the lives of six individuals (and experts) from different parts of the world. They are brought together as vigilantes to take down global threats that the rest of the world cannot pursue on their own. This was one of the most expensive original films produced by Netflix and one of Micheal Bay’s most action-packed movies to date.
At the forefront of the cast and leader of the group of vigilantes is Ryan Reynolds, who did a fantastic job. Although the film received a low score on Rotten Tomatoes, it was heavily praised for Reynold’s performance as One. Furthermore, the first weekend after the film hit the streaming service, and it gained over 83 million views. Other cast members include Dave Franco, Mélanie Laurent, Ben Hardy, and Adria Arjona. And while they did good jobs fulfilling their roles, it is true that Reynold’s skills carried the film and saved it from becoming a complete bust.
9. Life (2017)
This is a fantastic alien sci-fi film that did not receive enough traction when it was first released. However, with a tremendous A-list cast and a great payoff, the movie is a must-see for fans of this genre who have wanted to see Ryan Reynolds face off against aliens Ellen-Ripley style. Starring alongside Jake Gyllenhaal and Rebecca Ferguson in a film where they discover that the specimen of life they have collected from Mars is far more intelligent than they first thought.
This is the perfect film to watch if you are a fan of the Alien franchise. There is blood, gore and an unsettling amount of claustrophobia. Not to mention the well-executed body horror offered as a bonus to horror fans and the incredible on-screen chemistry between the actors. With 40 minutes of screen time, Reynolds plays a cocky mechanic, which is a perfect fit for the actor. Initially, Reynolds was supposed to play the lead role that was later given to Gyllenhaal because of a schedule clash with The Hitman’s Bodyguard, which he was also filming that year. This is a must-see film as it is one of Reynold’s more serious roles, but potential viewers are warned to avoid the official trailer as it contains significant spoilers for character deaths.
8. The Hitman’s Bodyguard (2017)
Have you ever wondered what a buddy movie would look like starring Samuel L. Jackson and Ryan Reynolds? That is precisely what you will find in this action-packed comedy film. Reynolds plays a protection agent, Michael Bryce, assigned with protecting Darius Kincaid (Samuel Jackson), who has to testify at the International Criminal Court. Kincaid is also a world-renowned assassin, making for an exciting turn of events. There are also outstanding performances by Salma Hayek and Gary Oldman.
This same trope being executed repeatedly in the action genre can become entirely redundant. So what does this film offer with the Bad Boy series, 21 Jump Street, Rush Hour, Ride Along, Die Hard, and even Zootopia already in existence? Even though the film is quite generic in terms of writing and plot, Reynolds does a fantastic job bringing his character to life with well-executed jokes and perfectly timed one-liners. Jackson doesn’t shy away, either, meeting Reynolds beat for beat with his comedic relief. The duo put a new spin on the genre and presented audiences with a fun film perfect for a Friday night watch.
7. Red Notice (2021)
What do you get when you put Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot in one film? The good kind of chaos. Based on the film’s official synopsis, the narrative follows Dwayne Johnson as Interpol agent John Hartley. He teams up with art thief Nolan Booth (Ryan Reynolds) to track down Sarah Black (Gal Gadot). While he successfully tracks her down, the film sets audiences up for one double-cross after another in this easy-to-follow action-comedy.
Written and directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber, the film had a budget of $200 million, replacing 6 Underground as Netflix’s most expensive original film. A good chunk of the budget was paid to the A-list cast, with Johnson, Reynolds and Gadot receiving $20 million each for their roles. In fact, Gal Gadot claimed the title of Third Highest Paid actress globally in 2020 because of this.
Upon release, the film became the most-watched movie on Netflix, gaining over 148 million hours of streams. This Ryan Reynolds movie was the most streamed movie on Netflix on its release date.
RELATED: Zack Snyder Had Big Plans for Ryan Reynolds’ Green Lantern
6. Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard (2021)
A sequel to 2017’s The Hitman’s Bodyguard, Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson’s duo becomes a trio, with Salma Hayek joining the gang. The movie follows the story of Hayek’s character, Sonia, the wife of Darius Kincaid, as she turns to Reynolds’ character, Michael Bryce, to rescue her husband from a group of mobsters. After doing so, the chaotic trio find themselves involved in a larger plot wherein they have to save Europe from a powerful madman villain played by Antonio Banderas. If that isn’t enough to convince you, throw Morgan Freeman into the mix, and it quickly becomes a movie you cannot miss.
With an array of A-List stars and an over-the-top plot line, this film takes everything up a notch from the last instalment. Hayek’s addition to the lead roles breaks the trope of two grown men doing the classic buddy-cop/film trope. Her being a female and matching their one-liners and comedic beats ideally is a bonus, as it breaks the mould for these types of action films. She has a lot to offer and compliments the cast beautifully with her performance, bringing something to the film that the previous one needed.
One of the better action flicks of the last year, and this Ryan Reynolds movie is a must-see.
5. The Adam Project (2022)
Directed by Shawn Levy and written by Jonathan Tropper, T.S. Nowlin, Jennifer Flackett and Mark Levin, this movie follows the story of a time-travelling fighter pilot from 2050, Adam Reed, who crash-lands back in 2022 after getting injured. He meets the 12-year-old version of himself, and they attempt to save the future together. Reynolds plays the adult version of Adam, and young Adam is played by Walker Scobell, who does a fantastic job of matching Reynolds’ acting beat by beat.
Zoe Saldana stars alongside Reynolds as his on-screen love interest and Mark Ruffalo as the late father of Adam Reed. The film received overall positive reviews, with Reynolds’ performance being praised despite the type-cast feel to the character of Adam Reed. Not to mention Scobell’s ability to portray a younger version of an inherently Reynolds-like character perfectly. The film also won The Comedy Movie of 2022 at the Dragon Awards, while Reynolds and Scobell got nominated for multiple other awards at the MTV Movie & TV Awards and The People’s Choice Awards.
Accolades aside, who wouldn’t want to see a sci-fi movie where Ryan Reynolds meets his younger self, and time travel is real?
4. Pokémon Detective Pikachu (2019)
This wholesome family comedy film sees Ryan Reynolds in his strangest and most unlikely role yet: a talking Pikachu. Following the story of Tim Goodman, he is played by Justice Smith, who travels to Ryme City, where Pokémon and humans live in harmony. He is a former trainer contacted by Ryme City police and told that his father, Harry, has died in a car crash. Tim then heads to the city to clear out the apartment of his dead father. Upon arrival, he meets a talking Pikachu (Ryan Reynolds) with amnesia, whom only he can understand. From here, they discover a more profound and disturbing plot that the pair need to team up to solve. The cast includes live-action roles by Omar Chaparro, Suki Waterhouse, Chris Geere, and Kathryn Newton.
This is an interesting film as it is loosely based on the video game of the same name and uses facial motion capture for the CGI Pokemon, specifically Pikachu. And while the film’s storyline was criticised, Reynolds’ performance as the talking Pokemon was praised. And although it is strange to picture Pikachu with the hallmark voice of Wayde Wilson, Reynolds’ brought a refreshing and hearty performance. Furthermore, this film grossed over $430 million worldwide and came in as the second highest-grossing video game adaptation, just losing to World of Warcraft.
RELATED: Deadpool 3: Ryan Reynolds’ MCU Debut Will Have Big Surprises
3. Spirited (2022)
This is the most surprising of all the Ryan Reynolds movies on this list. A musical comedy of Charles Dickens’s novella A Christmas Carol that is only available to stream on Apple tv+. Writer and director Sean Anders from Daddy’s Home brought a refreshing take on the classic Dickens tale featuring Will Ferrell, Ryan Reynolds, Octavia Spencer, Sunita Mani, and Patrick Page. The musical is shot from the perspective of the ghosts as fans are shown attempting to redeem the soul of one inherently bad person each year. The film stars Ferrell as the Ghost of Christmas Present and Reynolds as the not-so-great Clint Briggs, the ghosts’ target. Ferrell is the perfect match for all the co-stars Ryan has had on screen thus far, and the film is praised for its overall wholesome theme.
The film sees Sunita Mani as the Ghost of Christmas Past (who does a fantastic job). Still, it brings the story of Ferrell’s character to the forefront, making it as much about the ghost who wants to become human again as it is about Clint’s redemption. In addition, the film features original songs and one hilarious musical twist after the next. And although the film is missing some elements regarding the directing and production value, the effort and overall message are still made clear. This is an extremely wholesome movie worth seeing, especially if you want to see Reynolds in his version of The Greatest Showman. This is one new movie that you want to take advantage of.
2. Free Guy (2021)
Director Shawn Levy surprised fans with a meta film starring Ryan Reynolds, Jodie Comer, Dwayne Johnson, Taiki Waititti, and John Krasinski in a classic Truman Show-esqe film. The movie follows the narrative of a bank teller named Guy who discovers that he is an NPC (non-playable character) inside an open-world online game called Free City. He decides that he would like to become the hero of his own story and rewrite it to the beat of his drum. With just the right amount of comedy and action and the slightest dash of romance thrown into the mix, Free Guy offers a fresh take on the classic self-aware and meta film tropes.
The film was praised for its self-aware humour and light-hearted nature compared to movies like The Matrix. Grossing over $330 million worldwide, the film rightfully earned its score of 84% on Rotten Tomatoes. Furthermore, with the effort put into advertising the film, it is no surprise that it won Best Viral Campaign for a Feature Film at the Golden Trailer Awards. It also won The Comedy Movie of 2021 at the People’s Choice Awards, and Reynolds received Best Comedic Performance at the MTV Movie & TV Awards. The film and cast were also nominated for multiple other awards, which proves that the film is worth a watch.
1. Deadpool (2016) & Deadpool 2 (2018)
It is no surprise that the Deadpool films are number one on this list as it is arguably Reynolds’ most successful film to date. It received critical acclaim and broke various records on its opening weekend. It claimed its place as the ninth highest-grossing film for 2016 and the highest-grossing R-rate film globally, bringing in over $780 million worldwide. It also became the highest-grossing X-Men film of all time. The film also went on to win and be nominated for multiple awards, such as two Golden Globe Awards and Critics’ Choice Movie Awards. The film won two of the latter awards and many more (in fact, too many to list). The film changed the reception of R-rated comic book films for good. The film was also a redemption for Reynolds in terms of superhero films after Green Lantern and his previous (and admittedly terrible) portrayal of Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine in 2009.
So, what is the movie about? If you haven’t heard of Deadpool, it follows the storyline of Wade Wilson (played by Ryan Reynolds) as he meets the love of his life, Vanessa (played by Morena Baccarin). He discovers that he has cancer and turns to experimental treatment to help cure his terminal illness. This leads to him being taken to a lab where he is experimented on and given a serum meant to awaken mutant genes within his body. The treatment works, but at a cost, and he is cured. He also receives some impressive abilities, such as accelerated healing abilities. He becomes an anti-hero and tries to get revenge on Ajax for turning him into the disfigured person he now is. The story is based on the comic book character, and while it isn’t the most original plot, Reynolds breathes life into the character. Some fans even theorise that Reynolds is actually Deadpool in real life because of how perfectly he portrays the character on screen.
The second film involves time travel and Deadpool temporarily being thrown into prison. The film is just as highly rated and praised as the first, with a better budget and overall production. While Tim Miller directed the first film, this one was directed by David Leitch. It brought in over $785 million at the box office and even saw a cameo by Brad Pitt. In addition, the film set up the possibility of a third instalment which was confirmed earlier this year through Reynolds’ social media platforms. Fans are even more excited to see how this will go, especially with the introduction of the multiverse in the MCU timeline and Hugh Jackman reprising his role as Wolverine for the last time for Deadpool 3. With no official date, the third film is said to be released in November 2024, directed by Shawn Levy and produced by Kevin Feige.
RELATED: Hugh Jackman Says He’d Love To Do A Face/Off Remake With Ryan Reynolds
