He may be most recognized for his work on the Fast & Furious franchise today, but Vin Diesel’s Hollywood portfolio goes way beyond that. A man that came from humble beginnings—he once had a gig selling street sharks—Diesel has managed to become a respected actor and producer. Recently, he’s taken an interest in music, too, having released two singles so far.
While we wait for his new movie—and now music—releases, we thought we’d check out which of his films received the highest ratings on Rotten Tomatoes, along with the ones that got the lowest scores.
Best: Avengers: Infinity War, 85%
This Marvel Cinematic Universe film marks the first time that the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy had ever encountered each other. By then, Diesel had already portrayed Groot in two MCU films.
Unlike in the character’s previous story arcs, however, Groot undergoes more pronounced changes here. Diesel teased as much when posted a photo of a teenage Groot on Instagram. While the film is highly praised, one of the things it got wrong is that it killed off characters after various sequels have been announced, and this includes one for Groot and the rest of the Guardians.
Worst: The Pacifier, 21%
Given his badass action hero veneer, it's tough to imagine Vin Diesel starring in a Disney movie, but he did, and there was no CGI or any type of special effects involved. In the film, Diesel plays a Navy SEAL tasked with protecting five children.
For the actor, taking on something like this was a real challenge. “I tell you, that was a source of anxiety for me, initially, because it is an all-out comedy,” Diesel told Film Monthly. “What's difficult about comedy is making sure that each of the jokes pay off.”
Best: Guardians of the Galaxy, 91%
Especially if you didn’t read the Marvel comics, it’s hard to imagine how he could be one of the characters with the most screen time in the film. After all, Groot is only capable of saying three words. But, it seems Diesel saw a worthy challenge.
“It appealed to the thespian in me. You're talking about a very challenging character to pull off,” Diesel explained while speaking with The Guardian. “How could you really create a whole character with three words?” As it turns out, you can. Meanwhile, Groot has since become one of Diesel’s most iconic roles.
Worst: Knockaround Guys, 21%
For directors Brian Koppelman and David Levien, this film was quite personal. After all, it was based on guys they knew. “We grew up knowing some kids of some wiseguys and were fascinated by the lifestyle they were able to live at a young age,” Levien told Spliced Wire. “But we ran into them again later in life and saw that in their mid-20s that sense of entitlement they had was being chipped away at.”
In the film, Diesel and co-star Seth Green are part of a group of friends belonging to mobster families or “wiseguys.”
Best: Saving Private Ryan, 93%
We can think of at least five reasons why Saving Private Ryan is the greatest war movie ever made. Among them is its ensemble of cast, led by award-winning actor Tom Hanks. In the film, Diesel stars as Private Caparzo.
Originally, the character didn’t exist. However, Steven Spielberg saw Diesel’s short film, Multi-Facial, and, after that, he knew the actor had to be in his movie. While speaking with Yahoo Entertainment, Diesel recalled, “and [my agent] said, ‘No, wait a minute, there’s more. He’s writing a role for you.’”
Worst: The Last Witch Hunter, 18%
In this 2015 fantasy film, Diesel stars as Kaulder, a witch hunter who is cursed with immortality after he slays the Witch Queen. As far as the fight scenes go, Diesel nails it here although, his casting is among the most controversial in movies. Meanwhile, critics find the plot confusing, not to mention rather bland. It’s just too bad, as well, as the film also includes actors such as Michael Cane and Elijah Wood.
Despite the poor reviews, though, it seems a follow-up to this film is currently in the works. In fact, Diesel told Collider that Lionsgate is “actively creating the sequel…”
Best: Avengers: Endgame, 94%
Avengers: Endgame is undoubtedly the biggest movie that Diesel has ever done. We’re talking about the film that is the current record holder for the highest-grossing movie at the box office of all time. Ironically, however, Diesel’s Groot only appears towards the end of the film. After all, the character disintegrated soon after Thanos’ snap.
One of the things we’ve learned from the Russo brothers’ watch party is that Alan Silvestri’s music score entitled Portals was the last one to be added to the film. This was also the scene where we see Groot enter to return to life.
Worst: A Man Apart, 11%
In this 2003 action film, Diesel portrays a DEA operative named Agent Sean Vetter. Sean’s job is to deal with the drug wars along the US/Mexican border. After a major figure in the Cartel gets imprisoned and Sean’s wife is suddenly murdered, Sean decides to partner up with the jailed Cartel boss to go after a new, powerful boss named Diablo.
As you can expect, Diesel nails the action part of the film quite easily. However, critics have noted that the film is just full of clichés, making the plot uninteresting.
Best: The Iron Giant, 96%
In this 1999 animated film, Diesel provided the voice for an alien robot who crash lands near a small town called Rockwell where a young boy named Hogarth resides. Eventually, the two strike an unlikely friendship.
Aside from Diesel, the cast also includes Jennifer Aniston, Christopher McDonald, and Harry Connick Jr. Critics went on to praise the film. Unfortunately, however, it flopped at the box office, earning a gross of $31.3 million, which didn’t even cover the film’s estimated cost of $48 million. Nonetheless, it’s recognized as one of the best animated movies from the 90s.
Worst: Babylon A.D., 6%
Set in a post-apocalyptic world, the film stars Diesel as Toorop, a mercenary who has been tasked to escort a woman and her guardian from Kazakhstan to New York. At some point, he comes to realize that the woman he was hired to protect is mankind’s last hope for survival.
The plot may sound interesting, but it seems that critics had a big problem with the way it was executed for the big screen. It’s a pity, as this film didn’t skimp on talent, casting Gérard Depardieu and Michelle Yeoh alongside Diesel.