John Travolta's career has lasted over 40 years. It all started with is role as "Vinnie Barbarino" on ABC's Welcome Back Kotter, which spring-boarded his film career and led to smash hits such as Saturday Night Fever and Grease.
Due to many bad career choices and a trail of box-office duds, Travolta fell out of favor with the movie-going public in the 80s and early 90s until his critically lauded comeback in Quentin Tarantino's 1994 Oscar winner, Pulp Fiction. This led the star to a rare second chance in Hollywood. Here are Travolta's 5 best and 5 worst roles since his Pulp Fiction comeback.
Best: "Dennis" In Savages
Oliver Stone's 2012 adaptation of Don Winslow's novel, Savages, about two 20-something pot farmers who run afoul of the Mexican drug cartel, was a success with critics.
Travolta's role as the vulgar and constantly annoyed Federal Agent "Dennis" garnered the highest praise. The actor loses all swagger and appears on screen without his toupee for the first time. "Dennis" goes from pseudo tough guy to a manic pile of foul-mouthed nervousness once he discovers that his case has spun out of control and he is now being used as a pawn. Travolta's performance is widely considered one of the best of his later career.
Worst: "Howard Saint" In The Punisher
What fans and critics didn't care for was the overwrought performance from John Travolta as the villain. You can almost see the actor trying too hard to run down the checklist of bad guy mannerisms. All were in agreement that his performance was amateurish at best and lacked any signs of the actor's skill for character portrayals.
Best: "Jan Schlichtmann" In A Civil Action
When John Travolta digs into a character role, he can find magic. In Steve Zaillian's 1998 courtroom drama A Civil Action, the actor found a role that brought him much critical acclaim.
A small-time lawyer who only cares about money, "Jan Schlichtmann" has his eyes and soul opened when he takes the case of a town being poisoned by a contaminated water supply. Travolta's performance was praised for its soulfulness and lack of grandstanding.
Worst: "John Gotti" In Gotti
John Gotti is one of the most recognizable figures in organized crime history. Actors, such as Armand Assante and Tom Sizemore, have played him successfully. When word came that John Travolta was to play the infamous crime boss, expectations were high.
Kevin Connolly's 2018 Gotti crushed any and all high expectations. The film had disastrous press screenings and ended up with a week-long run in cinemas then quickly disappearing. Critics took note of Travolta's lackluster performance as Gotti with many citing his shameless mugging and lack of insight into the character.
Best: "Sean Archer" In Face/Off
John Woo's 1997 action hit Face/Off starred John Travolta as a Federal Agent Sean Archer on the trail of murderous criminal Castor Troy, played by Nic Cage. In a sci-fi twist, Troy is able to remove Archer's face and exchange it with his own, ensuring that Archer will be locked in prison for the rest of his life.
Critics and audiences hailed both Cage and Travolta's performances. The two actors had to, literally, become the other and both Travolta and Cage expertly mimicked one another's diction and mannerisms without ever sliding into parody.
Worst: "Emil Kovac" In The Killing Season
Sporting overly darkened facial hair, John Travolta co-starred with Robert DeNiro in the lifeless thriller The Killing Time. The film features the actor as a Serbian man seeking revenge on DeNiro's American former soldier.
The film was marred by bad press and went straight-to-video. The few critics who were allowed to see it gave it negative reviews and mentioned Travolta's strange appearance and awful Serbian accent. It seemed as if the actor was trying too hard to steal the spotlight from his legendary co-star.
Best: "Governor Jack Stanton" In Primary Colors
1998's Primary Colors paired John Travolta with legendary director Mike Nichols. This was a fruitful pairing, as the film received much critical praise and was a financial success.
Travolta's portrayal of Stanton, who was a fictional version of Bill Clinton during his time as Governor of Arkansas, was praised for being much more than an impression. The actor got to the heart of his character through sharp wit and an expert physical transformation.
Worst: "Terl" In Battlefield Earth
From idea to execution, this film was a complete mess. Based on a novel from L. Ron Hubbard, Battlefield Earth received unanimously horrible reviews and went down in film history as one of the biggest financial losers of the 1990s.
Travolta starred as the leader of an alien race bent on enslaving humans. Outfitted with dreadlocks, yellow eyes, and a strange costume, Travolta's hammy performance was ripe for ridicule and led to him to be nominated for the dreaded Razzie award for Worst Actor.
Best: "Chili Palmer" In Get Shorty
One year after Pulp Fiction, John Travolta scored another big success as Elmore Leonard's ultra-cool creation, "Chili Palmer" in 1995's Get Shorty.
Critics and audiences were in agreement on the pure entertainment value of the comedic crime film. Travolta received some of the best notices of his career for his expertly nuanced performance. The actor used his eyes and slight gestures to convey a cool reserve and exudes a perfectly subtle comic timing.
Worst: "Moose" In The Fanatic
A film directed by Fred Durst of the group Limp Bizkit about a celebrity stalker played by John Travolta. What could go wrong?
Travolta received the worst reviews of his career for The Fantic. With a strange haircut and a loose grip on how to play a borderline autistic man, the actor stumbled with a character, film, and performance that is too mannered and bizarre for anyone to have enjoyed.