John Krasinski's Best Movies, Ranked by Metacritic
John Krasinski
Mike Coppola / Getty ImagesJohn Krasinski is an American actor and filmmaker, best known for his work in comedy and television with a notable recent emergence in the horror genre.
From 2005 through 2013, Krasinski iconized the goofy salesman Jim Halpert in the American version of The Office, for which he also served as producer and occasional director. At a grand total of 201 episodes, The Office featured Krasinski as Jim in every episode but one.Over the course of the series, Krasinski, along with the rest of the ensemble cast, was nominated seven Screen Actors Guild Awards. (The series also earned a number of Emmy nominations, including six consecutive nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series.)
In 2018, Krasinski tackled the world of action television, taking on the role of the title character in the Amazon spy series Jack Ryanon which he is also a co-producer. For this performance, he was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series.
In 2009, Krasinski directed his first feature in which he also starred titled Brief Interviews with Hideous Men. He then went on to direct the 2016 dramedy The Hollars. In 2018, Krasinski co-wrote, directed, and starred in the horror thriller film A Quiet Place, for which he was nominated for the Critics' Choice Movie Award and Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay. His wife and British actor Emily Blunt starred alongside him in the film. In 2020, Krasinski directed, co-produced and wrote the sequel A Quiet Place Part II which won him the Critics' Choice Award for Best Horror Movie.
Here, Metacritic highlights the top 10 movies Krasinski has acted in, ranked by Metascore.
The Wind Rises
Metascore: 83
Best for: Fans of Hayao Miyazaki and airplanes
Where to watch:
Runtime: 126 minutes
The Wind Rises is a fictionalized biographical film of Jiro Horikoshi (voiced by Hideaki Anno in the original Japanese version and Joseph Gordon-Levitt in English), the designer of the Mitsubishi A5M fighter aircraft as well as the Mitsubishi A6M Zero which was used by Japan during World War II. This film was the last Miyazaki directed before his retirement in 2013. Critically acclaimed, the filmwas the highest-grossing Japanese film in Japan in 2013 and was nominated for several awards including the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. Krasinski voices Jiro's friend and colleague and Mitsubishi, Kiro Honjo in the English-language version, which also features the voices of Blut and Martin Short.
"Mr. Miyazaki renders Jiro's life and dreams with lyrical elegance and aching poignancy." — Nicolas Rapold, The New York Times
A Quiet Place
Metascore: 82
Best for: Fans of sci-fi horror and sound design
Where to watch:
Runtime: 90 minutes
A Quiet Place tells the story of a father (played by Krasinski) and a mother (played by Blunt) who will do whatever it takes to protect their two children in a post-apocalyptic world that is threatened by deadly aliens with an acute sense of hearing. In the weeks following the initial invasion, the parents develop a system of quiet living on their remote farm as they search via radio channels for any other survivors. The film was nominated for several awards including a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score and an Academy Award for Best Sound Editing. Blunt also received a SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role.
"The movie suffers from having no obvious endgame, and it's not as fun as the recent, less tony shut-the-hell-up horror movie Don't Breathe. But it's aggressively scary." — David Edelstein, Vulture
Kinsey
Metascore: 79
Best for: Fans of biographical dramas and sexology
Where to watch:
Runtime: 118 minutes
Kinsey explores the life of Alfred Charles Kinsey (Liam Neeson), a scientific researcher who pioneered the study of sex. His 1948 published work "Sexual Behavior in the Human Male" was one of the first recorded studies that tried to scientifically explore sexual behavior in humans. The film portrays the titular researcher's life starting from his childhood to young-adulthood through a series of flashbacks and interviews as Kinsey attempts to teach others as well as himself about love, sex, and history. The film also stars Laura Linney as Clara McMillen, the role for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Krasinski has a small role as a man named Ben who comes to Alfred for advice on sexual inadequacies.
"If it lacks a certain fuzzy warmth, Kinsey makes up for the shortfall with spirited and (for a commercial movie) amazingly candid vigor." — Desson Thomson, The Washington Post
Detroit
Metascore: 77
Best for: Fans of historical dramas and Kathryn Bigelow
Where to watch:
Runtime: 143 minutes
Detroit is a 2017 crime drama based on the Algiers Motel incident during Detroit's 1967 12th Street Riot during which three Black teenagers were killed and nine other civilians were abused by a task force composed of the Detroit Police Department, the Michigan State Police, and the Michigan Army National Guard. The film's release commemorated the 50th anniversary of the event. The film features an ensemble cast that includes John Boyega, Will Poulter, Algee Smith, Jacob Latimore, Jason Mitchell, Hannah Murray, Kaitlyn Dever, Jack Reynor, Ben O'Toole, Nathan Davis Jr., Peyton Alex Smith, Malcolm David Kelley, Joseph David-Jones, Anthony Mackie, and Krasinski, who plays an attorney based on the real-life Norman Lippitt.
"Detroit is extremely powerful when its wandering eye is trained on the moment at hand, when it's performing a bracingly direct meditation on white violence and black fear. The film only runs into trouble when it clumsily attempts to contextualize the events of its horrific second act." — David Ehrlich, IndieWire
Dreamgirls
Metascore: 76
Best for: Fans of movie musicals and Jennifer Hudson
Where to watch:
Runtime: 130 minutes
Dreamgirls is a 2006 musical drama adapted from the 1981 Broadway musical of the same name. Though it is a work of fiction, the story is inspired from the history of the Motown record label and one of its acts, The Supremes. The story follows a Detroit girl group known as "The Dreams" and their manipulative manager as they rise to fame during the evolution of American R&B music from the 60s through the 70s. The film stars Jamie Foxx, Beyoncé Knowles, and Eddie Murphy as well as Hudson, Danny Glover, Anika Noni Rose, and Keith Robinson. Krasinski plays writer-director Sam Walsh.
"Jennifer Hudson is the heart and soul of Dreamgirls. When she's on the screen, the movie shines. When she's not, the whole endeavor suffers." — Claudia Puig, USA Today
The Muppets
Metascore: 75
Best for: Fans of musical comedies and celebrity cameos
Where to watch:
Runtime: 98 minutes
This 2011 musical comedy brings the Muppet gang back together and follows Walter (Peter Linz), a muppet born in Smalltown and a lifelong fan of The Muppet Show. When his human brother Gary (Jason Segel) makes plans to take his girlfriend Mary (Amy Adams) on a vacation to Los Angeles, Walter tags along in hopes of meeting the Muppets. The trio soon discovers that the Muppet Theatre is at risk of being shut down and destroyed for oil drilling. In order to save the historic theater, the three find Kermit (Steve Whitmire), who launches a plan to reunite the Muppets in order to raise money and buy their theater back. The film features many Hollywood personalities making appearances as themselves, including Krasinski.
"The beloved gang's sweet reunion will melt nostalgic adults into laughter and tears, and maybe kids won't mind drippy new Muppet Walter so much." — Bill Weber, Slant
State and Main
Metascore: 75
Best for: Fans of misadventures and David Mamet
Where to watch:
Runtime: 105 minutes
State and Main is a 2000 comedy that centers on the chaos that ensues when a troubled film production is banished from its initial location and is left to finish shooting in a small Vermont town. The film they're shooting titled The Old Mill requires a mill to be present. However, when the crew learns that the mill they thought they were shooting has in fact burned down decades ago, the director leaves it up to the first-time screenwriter Joseph Turner White (Philip Seymour Hoffman) to alter the script. Joseph's crippling writer's block is only the beginning of what becomes a very long list of road blocks the crew must maneuver through as they attempt to finish shooting the film. Krasinski has a quick and uncredited appearance as an assistant in the movie.
"It's Mamet in a lighthearted mood, playing with dialogue, repeating phrases just because he likes them, and supplying us with a closing line that achieves, I think, a kind of greatness." — Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
A Quiet Place Part II
Metascore: 71
Best for: Fans of sci-fi horror and Blunt
Where to watch:
Runtime: 97 minutes
A Quiet Place Part II is the 2020 sequel to Krasinski's 2018 film A Quiet Place. The sequel follows the family from the first film as they continue to navigate the post-apocalyptic world now without their father. (Krasinski only appears in the opening sequence of the film, which showcases the invasion that occurs the middle of a little league game, with the family only narrowly escaping the monsters.) Then film then skips ahead to see how the remaining family members are continuing to survive amid the chaos. Now with even more tools, tricks, and knowledge at their disposal, the family continues to search for other survivors in this quiet world.
"This follow-up offers the solid satisfactions of suspense and intensity without the delight of discovery." — Joe Morgenstern, The Wall Street Journal
Smiley Face
Metascore: 71
Best for: Fans of comedy films and marijuana
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Runtime: 88 minutes
Smiley Face follows the story of a young actress named Jane F. (Anna Faris) who likes to smoke weed and lives in Los Angeles with her roommate Steve (Danny Masterson). One day, after eating a plate of cupcakes left out by Steve, she soon realizes that they were laced with marijuana. A series of misadventures follows as Jane attempts to go about her day, some of her errands including making it to an audition and paying off her upset drug dealer (Adam Brody). The supporting cast includes Jayma Mays, Jane Lynch, Roscoe Lee Browne, and Krasinski, who plays Brevin, a friend of Steve who has a crush on her.
"This movie is all over the place. One giant discombobulated stoner trip that goes from one obscure adventure to another. And you know what? It is quite a fun, odd journey." — Zach Haddad, Film Threat
For Your Consideration
Metascore: 68
Best for: Fans of film production processes and awards season, as well as Christopher Guest
Where to watch:
Runtime: 86 minutes
For Your Consideration follows the production of an upcoming film and the impact and absurdity of the film awards season. The fictional film being made is titled Home for Purim and isa low-budget drama about a Jewish family in the U.S. south set in the 1940s. Though a majority of the crew struggle with their individual roles ranging from directing to producing to screenwriting, rumors begin to spread that some of the actors are to receive Oscar nominations. As that buzz intensifies, Guest's 2006 film follows each of the actors as the obsession for the award begins to take over their lives. While the cast of the movie-within-the-movie includes Catherine O'Hara and Parker Posey, Krasinski has a small role as an actor in another fictional project within the film (a cop drama).
"The movie does have its flashes of genius. Home for Purim, the movie, is set in the Deep South, where Yiddish is spoken with a drawl." — Carina Chocano, Los Angeles Times