Angela Bassett has recently responded to the Oscar buzz that she's receiving for her outstanding performance in the recent Black Panther sequel, with many audiences believing that her emotional turn is fully deserving of awards recognition next year.
Of course, Wakanda Forever obviously isn't the first successful project in the actress' repertoire. Bassett has been involved in several popular movies over the year, developing a name for herself as one of the industry's most talented and reliable veterans.
10 Strange Days (1995) - 3.7/5
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Angela Bassett stars opposite Ralph Fiennes in this captivating '90s thriller, which tells the story of an ex-cop who finds himself pulled into a suspicious murder investigation that brings nothing but danger. The film is brimming with style and grittiness, which makes it stand out from the extensive competition in the genre.
Strange Days might be fairly traditional in its story, but the filmmaking prowess displayed by Kathryn Bigelow is what really makes it shine. Fiennes and Bassett both make the most of their complex roles, elevating Strange Days way beyond its surface story.
9 Contact (1997) - 3.7/5
Available To Stream On Pluto TV
Robert Zemeckis' Contact is one of the greatest sci-fi flicks of the 1990s, though it remains somewhat underrated in the director's filmography. Contact follows a struggling scientist who finds herself forced to reevaluate life as she knows it when alien lifeforms make contact with planet Earth.
Contact is filled with loads of interesting ideas surrounding science, space travel, and the place of mankind in our universe - and whilst Angela Bassett's character doesn't play a huge role, her performance is an incredibly memorable one that really helps highlight the film's key themes.
8 City Of Hope (1991) - 3.7/5
Available To Stream On Tubi TV
City of Hope goes one step further than most social dramas, focusing closely on their characters as it paints a vivid and troubling portrait of their lives while also condemning the society and environment that makes the story so relevant in the first place.
Angela Bassett's role in City of Hope might only be a small one, but the film actually features one of her most compelling and powerful performances to date. Her character serves as a representation of a very specific corner of society, and she encapsulates this brilliantly.
7 Black Panther (2018) - 3.7/5
Available To Stream On Disney+
Black Panther is filled with some of the greatest action sequences of the MCU's third phase, but the real highlight of this story is the emotional transparency and vulnerability at its core. It's much more than most superhero movies, presenting a powerful story about family and identity.
Angela Bassett makes her first MCU appearance as Queen Ramonda, the mother of the titular Black Panther. It's because of her powerful performance that Black Panther's poetic ideas shine as brightly as they do, as she navigates this maternal role in a constantly engaging way.
6 Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) - 3.8/5
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Angela Bassett returns as the late T'Challa's mother in Black Panther's sequel, and if you were moved by her performance in the original film, the level of pain and vulnerability that she displays in Wakanda Forever is sure to have an even stronger impact.
The untimely death of lead actor Chadwick Boseman was a real-life tragedy in itself, and Wakanda Forever makes no attempts to brush over this event. Ramonda spends much of the film in a state of grief and suffering, which makes her character much more compelling and authentic.
5 Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018) - 3.9/5
Available To Stream On Paramount Plus
Ethan Hunt is one of cinema's greatest fictional spies, and Fallout might just be the most exciting and engaging installment in his journey to date. It's an espionage story of epic proportions, bringing together characters from all throughout the series in a thrilling celebration of the franchise.
Bassett makes her debut as Erika Sloane (the new director of IMF) and immediately proves that she should've been in this series from the start. Her on-screen dynamic with Cruise and his co-stars is always fun to watch, and it's nice to see her in a more lighthearted role for once.
4 Avengers: Endgame (2019) - 3.9/5
Available To Stream On Disney+
There's an unbelievably large number of actors in Avengers: Endgame, so Bassett unfortunately doesn't have much screen time in the film, but she definitely makes her brief arrival memorable. She was the only surviving member of Wakandan royalty following the Snap, leaving her alone to lead the nation.
Avengers: Endgame is famous for its genre-defining story and historic box office performance, but what's even more surprising is that it managed to handle such a large cast of characters without leaving anybody excluded. Even though Ramonda is hardly the star of the film, she's still given brief moments to shine and develop.
3 Boyz N The Hood (1991) - 4.0/5
Available To Stream On Starz
Boyz n the Hood is yet another of Angela Bassett's social dramas, exploring the poor conditions of South Central Los Angeles and analyzing their effects on gang violence and drug abuse through the troubled lives of three young men.
Bassett's character is one of the film's most important - she serves as a beacon of hope and power in a story that's filled with negativity and pessimism. Without her in the film, the message would be completely different. The story is one that will stick with audiences long after the credits roll, which is exactly what it aims to do.
2 Soul (2020) - 4.0/5
Available To Stream On Disney+
Soul is potentially Pixar's best movie yet for adults, telling a story that resonates with all audiences across the world, regardless of age or experience. It's a powerful meditation on life, death, and the purpose of existence - much more philosophical than the average Pixar project.
Bassett plays the character of Dorothea in Soul, and although it's only a supporting role, the character is hugely important to the film's themes of making the most out of every single day. Every single actor makes the most of their eccentric characters, but Bassett's heartfelt turn is one of the more memorable.
1 Malcolm X (1992) - 4.1/5
Available To Stream On HBO Max
Malcolm X was one of the most influential and important figures of the 20th Century, whose political activism paved the way for the world that we live in today - and Spike Lee's cinematic tribute to the leader is just as powerful and moving as he would have hoped for.
Angela Bassett plays the role of Betty Shabazz, the wife of Malcolm X and a fellow activist for racial change. Her inclusion in the film allows Spike Lee to give the film a much more personal and intimate aspect that makes Malcolm X feel much more human and displays his story as much more tragic.