John Travolta has had one of the most interesting Hollywood careers in recent memory. He burst onto the screen in the 70s and quickly became one of the hottest actors around. However, his career eventually began to fade until he made one of the most spectacular comebacks in the business. Sadly, his recent filmography shows he may need a new comeback.
Regardless of what stage his career might be in, Travolta has been in some all-time great movies and giving some amazing performances over the years. Of course, he's also appeared in more than a few stinkers and given some less-than-stellar performances. The ebbs and flows of his career are always interesting to watch. Here are John Travolta's best and worst movies, according to IMDb.
Best: Face/Off (7.3)
Following his 90s comeback, Travolta reinvented himself as an unexpected action star and one of his most successful action vehicles was Face/Off. Travolta stars as an FBI agent who, in order to stop an attack, assumes the identity of a terrorist (Nicholas Cage) by swapping faces with him. However, things go awry when the terrorist assumes Travolta's identity in return.
The two lead actors fully embrace the insanity of the premise, which is what makes this such a fun ride. Seeing Travolta imitate Cage and vice versa is a real treat and there are some wild action sequences thrown in for good measure.
Worst: Perfect (4.5)
Travolta's A-lister status was in trouble of fading away in the late-80s due to some poorly received films, and Perfect was the beginning of that downward spiral. The movie stars Travolta as a reporter seeking to do a story on a hard-working but closed-off aerobic instructor (Jamie Lee Curtis).
Despite the star-power of the two leads at the time, the movie was a huge failure. Perhaps the subject matter of exercise classes did not pique the interest of audiences. Indeed, looking back on the film, it can be intuitionally hilarious at times.
Best: Blow Out (7.4)
While Travolta's early success is mostly attributed to films like Saturday Night Fever and Grease, there are a few underappreciated works that allowed Travolta to play against type and show new sides of his talent. Blow Out is one of those films.
The incredibly suspenseful thriller comes from the great Brian De Palma and stars Travolta as a movie sound recordist who accidentally records proof of a murder which puts him in danger. It is a Hitchcockian, edge-of-your-seat thrill ride with a stellar performance from Travolta.
Worst: Look Who's Talking Now (4.4)
The Look Who's Talking series seems to be the perfect example of how far Travolta's career was in decline in the late 80s and early 90s. The series started with the silly but harmless comedy about a romance between John Travolta and Kristie Alley seen through the point-of-view of their baby (voiced by Bruce Willis).
Look Who's Talking Now was the third film and final film in the trilogy which introduces talking dogs to the family. At this point, the whole thing just got embarrassing and it's likely when Travolta realizes it was time for a change.
Best: Carrie (7.4)
It's not uncommon for actors to star in horror films early in their careers, but it is uncommon for them to be as good as Carrie. The Brian De Palma adaptation of the Stephen King story served as Travolta's feature film debut which is quite an introduction to the film world.
The movie stars Sissy Spacek as a tormented high school girl who uses her telekinetic powers to get revenge on the people who wronged her. Travolta plays one of the bullies in the complex, disturbing and brilliant horror classic.
Worst: Speed Kills (4.1)
The more recent stage of Travolta's career seems to be largely filled with lackluster direct-to-video action films that don't allow Travolta to display that old charisma of his. Speed Kills is a good example of these recent films that come and go without much notice at all.
Travolta plays a billionaire speed boat racer who also moonlights as a drug smuggler. Travolta might have reached an age where he's not as believable as the roguish playboy type but the dull story is what really sinks this movie.
Best: The Thin Red Line (7.6)
Terrence Malick is one of the most renowned filmmakers of all-time and many A-list actors have jumped at the opportunity to work with him. The Thin Red Line is his acclaimed World War II epic which examines the war from multiple points of view.
The movie is packed with stars like John Cusack, Woody Harrelson, and George Clooney among many others. Given Malick's shooting style, many of these actors have had larger roles edited down while other A-listers were cut from the movie altogether. Nevertheless, it is a powerful and beautiful war film unlike any other.
Worst: Moment By Moment (2.9)
While Travolta's film career took off with immense success, not all those early films landed so well. Just one year after his breakout role in Saturday Night Fever, Travolta starred alongside Lily Tomlin in this romance film, Moment by Moment.
Tomlin plays a lonely socialite who begins an affair with a younger drifter played by Travolta. Though the May-December romance is interesting, the movie was dismissed as boring with even the two talented actors unable to bring a spark to the story.
Best: Pulp Fiction (8.9)
When Travolta's career seemed to be on its way out, the film that brought him back into the A-list was Pulp Fiction. Thanks to Travolta superfan Quentin Tarantino, the actor was cast against type as a heroin-addicted hitman in this wild and ground-breaking crime saga.
It's hard to remember just how much Pulp Fiction served as a shot of adrenaline for Hollywood. Tarantino's sharp dialogue, wild energy, and memorable characters created a new style of film that was copied but never duplicated.
Worst: Battlefield Earth (2.5)
Battlefield Earth serves as a cautionary tale in Hollywood for just how wrong a passion project can go. Travolta spearheaded this science fiction film based on the novel by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard and also stars as a giant alien commander leading an invasion of Earth.
The movie was one of the most embarrassing flops in movie history. The visual effects are weak, the character designs are laughable, the story is dull, and Travolta's performance is so bad it's good. It may have also been the beginning of the second decline of his career.