With Jordan Peele's alien invasion film, Nope, finally released on July 22, all eyes look to see how the deeply-shrouded sci-fi mystery will unfold. Aside from Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer, the film stars Steven Yeun as Ricky "Jupe" Park, who joins his first real horror project since departing from The Walking Dead in 2016.
For looking to check out Yeun in this exciting new role may wish to see how Letterboxd voters rank the finest cinematic moments of his career thus far, including collaborations with Bong Joon Ho, Boots Riley, Lee Isaac Chung, and many more.
Like A French Film (2016) - 3/5
Although it doesn't appear on his IMDb page, Yeun played a character named Steve in the Korean movie Like a French Film, in which various characters adhere to a distinct Francophilic lifestyle. Written and directed by Yeon-Shick Shin, the interwoven anthology has been praised most for its final chapter, starring Yeun, who plays the partner of a woman who has 100 days left to live.
Almost all of the Letterboxd supporters of the film single out Yeun's terrific performance, with Lessream stating, "Steven is a whole mood in this one" and Noe Castillo adding, "He (Steven) is also great in Like a French Film being extremely cute in a very cute film. His story and the first one were my favorites but they're all special." Even Heeymart agrees, saying, "The best part is the one with Steven Yeun."
Trollhunters: Rise Of The Titans (2021) - 3.1/5
Steven Yeun voiced the role of Steve Palchuck in Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans, the final entry in the Tales of Arcadia animated film franchise. The story finds the ragtag band of troll hunters taking on the dark magical Arcane Order for galactic supremacy. For his part, Yeun plays against type as Steve, a high school bully and star quarterback who begins to protect Arcadia from extraterrestrial forces.
While many on Letterboxd were quick to pan the disappointing ending of the film, Tessa Smith notes that overall, it's "a story of standing up against evil, no matter how scared you are, and about coming together to do the right thing." Josh Simpson adds, "I was extremely hyped and it lived up big time. I have one issue and it's that I didn't like what they did with Steve but otherwise I loved it."
Jerry (2009) - 3.2/5
Also known as My Name Is Jerry, Jerry is an indie comedy that stars Doug Jones as the titular book salesman whose midlife crisis takes a turn for the better upon meeting Jordan, a young punk rocker who is friends with his estranged daughter. In his feature film debut, Yeun plays Chaz, a flirtatious hipster who works at a record store.
With just a few Letterboxd comments to reinforce IMDb's ranking of Yeun's best movies so far, CalvinLaw notes, "As feature film debuts, this isn't a bad one for Yeun! Not a huge role but (he) does a nice little endearing sidekick bit that would kind of become his thing for the next half-decade or so before he started branching off into other kinds of roles."
Mayhem (2021) - 3.2/5
Joe Lynch's action horror-comedy Mayhem finds Yeun in the lead role as Derek Cho, an office worker who leads the resistance when a virus called ID-7 Red Eye spreads and turns his coworkers into kill-crazy miscreants who act on their most violent impulses. Fun, fast, and ferocious, Mayhem was lauded for Yeun's performance and for subverting the viral horror film away from the zombie subgenre.
Letterboxd user Deckk applauds the film, saying "Mayhem is a pure balls-to-the-wall gory action-horror-comedy that with whimsical narration, blustering violence, and its repulsively corporate setting manages to deliver exactly what its title promises." As for Yeun's role, Rafael Jovine notes that he and the popular movie star, Samara Weaving, have "chemistry and antics" that "are among the best of the entire picture and one of the main reasons why the movie works."
The Humans (2021) - 3.4/5
Based on Stephen Karam's Tony-winning stage play, The Humans is a quietly affecting meditation on a family unit spending their final Thanksgiving together before a cataclysmic event strikes New York City. Yeun plays Richard, the boyfriend of Brigid (Beanie Feldstein), who hosts her family for dinner as the dreadful atmospheric paranoia escalates.
With several plaudits for the film on Letterboxd, Anna Kendrick Lamar articulates the sentiment best, saying "Deceptively mundane until the quiet despair of existence slowly creeps its way into full-blown horror, The Humans is atypical for holiday dramas in that its emotional crescendos (are) more of a whisper than a shout."
I Origins (2014) - 3.7/5
Mike Cahill's romantic mystery film, I Origins, stars Yeun as Kenny, a Ph.D. researcher studying the evolution of the human eye with his partner, Ian Gray (Michael Pitt). As Gray delves deeper into the origins of human sight, he helps a woman named Sofi (Astrid Berges-Frisbey), who leads him on a worldly quest for answers.
Despite earning mixed reviews on Letterboxd, Ruslan Mavrodinov makes a good point, stating "Vaguely reminiscent of The Fountain in its romanticized exploration of science, faith, and metaphysics, I Origins is a daring, absorbing, and thought-provoking sci-fi romantic drama."
Okja (2017) - 3.7/5
Master film director Bong Joon Ho's critically adored environmental creature feature, Okja, follows young Mija (An Seo Hyun), who takes on the corporate and industrial establishment to save the life of a biological curio called Okja, a pet pig wanted for monetary gain. Yeun plays K, an animal rights activist who helps translate for Mija and the Animal Liberation Front (ALF).
While plenty of Letterboxd plaudits for the film can be found, Evan says it best, adding, "This is the closest thing we'll ever get to a live-action Hayao Miyazaki film. Sweet, heartwarming, and adventurous, Okja is easily Netflix's best film so far."
Sorry To Bother You (2018) - 3.8/5
Steven Yeun plays a union organizer named Squeeze in Boots Riley's venerated surrealist dark comedy, Sorry To Bother You. The story tracks Cash Green (LaKeith Stanfield in one of his best movie roles), a telemarketer in an alternate reality in Oakland who finds success by channeling his "white voice" and building a new clientele.
Praised for its zany ingenuity and original premise, the effusive Letterboxd praise doesn't get more encouraging than fellow filmmaker Sean Baker saying of the film: "Loved it. So inventive and refreshing. Great cutting, music, cinematography, and performances. Looking forward to revisiting at some point. I'm sure a second viewing will be rewarding."
Burning (2018) - 4/5
With a 90 Metascore and 95% Certified Fresh Rotten Tomatoes score, Letterboxd fans see eye to eye with most critics regarding Burning, Lee Chang-dong's riveting psychological drama loaded with subtle Hitchcockian flourishes. The story traces Jong-yu (Yoo Ah-in), a delivery man who slips into a paranoid descent when he meets a mysterious man named Ben (Yeun) and thinks he's out to harm his friend Hae-mi (Jeon Jong-Seo).
While famed IndieWire film critic, David Ehrlich, earned over 2,400 likes for simply stating "masterpiece" on Letterboxd, Aki Menzies adds more substance, saying "Lee Chang-dong's skill and versatility finds a perfect match in Steven Yeun. Burning is an unsettling "love triangle" movie that delivers chills in every single scene, and keeps you guessing until the very end. Is there anything Steven Yeun can't beast?"
Minari (2020) - 4.1/5
It's heartening to see Letterboxd users support Yeun's finest film performance as his overall best movie as well. Indeed, Yeun gives a soulful, heart-shattering turn in the acclaimed drama Minari as Jacob Yi, the proud patriarch of a Korean family who painfully does everything he can to realize their American dream by relocating and raising a farm in 1980s Arkansas.
The emotionally fraught tear-jerker has no shortage of praise on Letterboxd, with none more salient than Aneesh Changanty, who writes "I saw my dad. I saw my mom. I saw my grandma. I saw my brother. I saw me. 100," indicating the appetite and need for realistic representations of Asian characters in high-caliber big-screen movies.