See where The Fabelmans ranks among the legendary filmmaker’s other works.
So, without further ado, our totally subjective ranking of Spielberg’s films from worst to best.
But therewasone thing: comedy.
David James/Dreamworks; Jaap Buitendijk/Warner Bros.; ILM/Universal; Amblin/Universal/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock; Lucasfilm Ltd.; Everett Collection (2)
But that sense of wonder somehow never made the leap from the page to the screen.
It’s a CG magic trick without the magic.
But it’s lifeless and toothless.
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It taxis on the runway for two hours and never takes off.
32.The Adventures of Tintin(2011)
I know that this one has its admirers.
I’m not one of them.
Disney
It’s eye candy without the sugar rush.
It’s sweet, but so slight it seems to dissolve before it’s even over.
But 1990’sGhost, which is barely half-good, pulls this sort of New Age hooey better.
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29.Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull(2008)
One word: Mutt.
And that regrettable San Diego business.
And…you get the idea.
Merrick Morton/Dreamworks
26.Amistad(1997)
Is it long?
But, also, a pretty gripping piece of history stirringly told.
A warm-up of sorts for the far-betterLincoln.
WETA
But this feels right for the time being.
24.War of the Worlds(2005)
Or, what if aliens don’t come in peace?
Spielberg’s darker take on visitors from beyond has aged better than I’d expected.
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Its post-9/11 vision of the apocalypse is still full of sensational shock and awe.
Plus,Tom Cruiseis good in it.
If it came on TV right now, I wouldn’t be able to turn it off.
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21.Catch Me If you might(2002)
Come forLeoand Hanks.
The closest Spielberg will ever come to makingCharadeorTo Catch a Thief.
I hated it when it first came out, but its sadness and weirdness have grown on me.
David James/Lucasfilm Ltd.
If you think this is ranked too high, go back and watch it again, too.
19.Empire of the Sun(1987)
Christian Baleissooogood in this.
I know that Spielberg himself slags on this film.
Andrew Cooper/Disney
And, you know what, he’s wrong.
He’s apologizing for its darkness because he thinks that’s what people want him to do.
And maybe they do.
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Plus, this film introduced the world toKe Huy Quan.
It’s actually a pretty good one.
AndGoldie Hawn’s great in it.
Andrew Cooper/Dreamworks
But I’m glad he followed his gut and went toward the light instead of the dark afterward.
Crowdpleasers are nothing to be ashamed of.
But peoplehave been debating for yearswhether Spielberg really was the one calling the shots on the set.
Jaap Buitendijk/Warner Bros.
I love Tobe Hooper.
But this just feels like a Spielberg auteur film to me.
Twelve-year-old me didn’t care either way, though.
Frank Masi/Paramount
All that kid knew was it scared the crap out of him.
This is a movie for 12-year-olds made by someone who was deep down still a 12-year-old.
Sorry, I can’t do better than that.
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Go back and rewatch how meticulously and artfully Spielberg introducesMark Rylance’s character at the beginning of the film.
It’s a master class in table setting.
Set in 1971, about 2017.
Lucasfilm Ltd.
That’s good company.
No one has in the decades since, either.
Some dismissRyan’s talkier stretches as Greatest Generation veneration.
Leonardo DiCaprio in ‘Catch Me If You Can’.Andrew Cooper/Dreamworks
This is, hands down, the best WWII movie ever made.
And Spielberg cements his reputation on the back nine of his career as Hollywood’s most compelling historian.
Bleary-eyed and funky, I was not disappointed.
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For me, this was as close to a religious experience as pop culture can deliver.
The rest ain’t bad either.
Spielberg’s most essential, mature, and important film.
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1.Jaws(1975)
Where to begin?
The moonlight skinny-dip that sets the Great White smorgasbord in motion?
The zoom-in/dolly-out shot ofRoy Scheider’s Brody as he sits on the beach staring out at the lethal ocean?
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“You’re gonna need a bigger boat”?
Quint (Robert Shaw) and Hooper’s (Richard Dreyfuss) scar competition?
“He can’t stay down with three barrels…not with three barrels, he can’t”?
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“Smile, you son of a…”?
Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion that’s what makes lists like this fun.
Paul Dano and Michelle Williams in ‘The Fabelmans’.Universal
Ariana DeBose in ‘West Side Story’.Niko Tavernise/20th Century Studios
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Henry Thomas as Elliott in ‘E.T.'.Everett Collection
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Jaap Buitendijk/Disney
Niko Tavernise/Fox
David James/20th Century Fox
Tom Sizemore and Tom Hanks in ‘Saving Private Ryan’.David James/Dreamworks
20th Century Studios
Karen Ballard/Universal
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