TheRusso brothersare some of the most successful blockbuster doctors of the modern era, with an interesting cinematic track record that invites discussion. Joe and Anthony Russo are sibling filmmakers renowned for their contributions to themovies of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, penning and directing some of their most successful entries. However, the Russo brothers didn’t rise to this lofty position overnight, and have a wide variety of other movies making up their filmography.
Recently, the Russos have updated their accolades withThe Electric State, one of themost expensive Netflix original moviesever made. It says a lot about the Russos' ability to pilot blockbuster hits that they’re continuously entrusted with such weighty risks, even if they don’t always pay off. From minor league, obscure hits to some of the most popular films ever made, the Russo brothers' catalog of films is worthy of appraisal.
9You, Me, And Dupree
Revolves around a single contentious joke
Their second feature film after gaining some notoriety in Hollywood,You, Me and Dupreeis an awkward stumbling block in the Russo brothers' career. The romantic comedy stars Kate Hudson and Matt Dillon as a couple whose relationship is threatened by third wheel Randy Dupree, played by Owen Wilson. An obnoxious roommate that Matt Dillon’s Carl sings off on moving in after he runs into some financial woes, Dupree is truly the centerpiece of the film, for better or for worse.
How wellYou, Me, and Dupreeworks as a comedy is reliant entirely on how funny a viewer might find Owen Wilson’s antics as the titular man-child. Tragically, his performance leaves something to be desired, reveling in the kind of rote, low-brow humor that the early 2000s was awash with. With funnier versions of thecharacter played by Owen Wilsonalready appearing earlier in his filmography, such asZoolander,You, Me, and Dupreedoesn’t even benefit the most from its central gimmick, already obsolete upon release.
Image via Netflix
Sadly, the Russo brothers' post-Avengers: Endgamework has been divisive at best, as proven by their latest cinematic achievement,The Electric State.Based on an illustrated science fiction novel of the same name,The Electric Statestars Millie Bobby Brown as a girl living in a dystopian future in which robots have become the target of human hatred, hoping to find her long-lost brother in a dangerous land awash with cybernetic creations. To do so, she enlists the help of Chris Pratt’s Keats, a smuggler typical of the actor’s standard Hollywood hero archetype.
Reliant on dazzling CGI creations, 90s nostalgia, and the visages of over-exposed blockbuster stars,The Electric Statepaints a cynical picture for the modern age of moviemaking. While there is some fun to be had in the mechanical designs that hearken back to the retrofuture aesthetic of the book, Bobby Brown and Pratt deliver boring, clichéd performances that aren’t good enough to mask the cheap pandering to 90s phenomena, thinking simply referencing such antiquated ideas like “The Clapper” light system is enough to illicit a reaction.The Electric Stateis concerning for the future of Hollywood industry.
7Cherry
A unique, but flawed story
WhileCherryis far from a perfect movie, it ekes out overThe Electric Stateby at least having some interesting ideas to explore on paper, even if the execution leaves much to be desired. Establishing the proven record of the Russos working with MCU stars outside of the hallowed franchise, the film posits Tom Holland as the eponymous Cherry, a young man whose life is followed from college to his time in the military to his rough re-integration to civilian life. Soon, Cherry turns to crime to support a nasty drug habit resulting from his PTSD.
Cherryis by far the Russo brothers' most niche and unapologetically dark film, and deserves to be commended for being the furthest the directorial duo have stepped outside their comfort zone of safe popcorn fare. The movie is also quite visually stunning, even if some of the unsavory camera movements are perhaps a bit more creative than they need to be. Sadly, the effort is all weighed down by aperformance from Tom Hollandthat betrays his acting skills, rounding out an overall stiff cast of characters that can’t quite rise to the film’s needs.
6The Gray Man
A stock-standard espionage thriller
IfCherrytook some big swings and ultimately missed,The Gray Manis, aptly enough, the most aggressively “okay” film in the Russo brothers' catalog. Ryan Gosling stars as CIA agent Court Gentry, a.k.a. “Sierra Six”, whose life is put in jeopardy when he’s burned by the intelligence agency for discovering an alarming secret about his superiors. On the run and in grave danger thanks to what he knows, Gentry is hunted down by Chris Evans' Lloyd Hansen, a former CIA Agent himself who now works as a gun-for-hire.
The Gray Manis about as bog standard as spy thrillers come, following some predictable beats punctuated with brilliant action scenes. This painful refusal to break any sort of established convention may be an overreaction on the Russo brothers' part after the divisive reaction toCherry, The Gray Manis at least a better showcase in their ability to direct an MCU veteran, with Chris Evans stealing every scene he’s in. Formulaic but inoffensive,The Gray Manis painfully average.
5Welcome To Collinwood
A strong start that gave the brothers' earned notoriety
Curiously, the Russo brothers' very first feature film still easily remains their best outside of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The sibling filmmakers came onto the scene withWelcome to Collinwood, which hearkens back to the Russo’s Northeast Ohio roots in Cleveland by centering on a small-time gang of thieves hailing from the lakeside city. The action-comedy sees the troupe embark on a heist, led byOcean’s 11star George Clooney, to steal the contents of a valuable safe owned by a prolific jeweler.
Clooney has the privilege of being surrounded by a standout supporting cast, including William H. Macy, Sam Rockwell, Luis Guzman, Pateicia Clarkson, Jennifer Esposito, and Gabrielle Union. All of the cartoonishly over-the-top characters they get to embody embellish the crime tale with uproarious laughter, making for a quirky good time. Even if it isn’t the most realistic or groundbreaking piece of cinema,Welcome to Collinwoodput the Russo brothers, and Cleveland, on the map of cinema for good reason.
4Captain America: Civil War
An astonishing middle to an amazing saga
In truth, none of the Russo brothers' other work can hold a candle to what they were able to achieve with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While their MCU films stand above the rest, if there was one entry slightly weaker than the others, it would have to beCaptain America: Civil War.The finale to Chris Evans' Captain America trilogy pulls double duty as a mini Avengers film, with almost all of the most prolific Marvel heroes coming back together to duke it out over ideological differences in the wake of Ultron’s attack on Sokovia.
It’s remarkable just how wellCaptain America: Civil Waris able to balance so many characters, giving them all enough respect and screentime as necessary, including the introduction of Black Panther and Spider-Man for the first time. The film’s worst sin is being impossible to appreciate in a vacuum, needing the context of the previous MCU phases to make any sense of perhaps more so than any other Russo Marvel movie. For how many moving pieces it has, the finale of the initial Captain America trilogy is still able to culminate in a bitterly emotional action climax.
3Avengers: Infinity War
Shocked the moviegoing world
Demonstrating they were more than capable of neatly tying together the dozens of diverging plotlines that is the MCU, the Russo brothers were entrusted with one of the franchise’s most important films ever,Avengers: Infinity War.With the threat of Thanos and the Infinity Stones looming in the franchise’s future since almost its inception,Avengers: Infinity Warwas the result of almost a decade of serialized filmmaking. Thanos invades Earth in search of the final Infinity Stones he needs to complete his collection, allowing him to reshape the universe as he sees fit.
Not only wasAvengers: Infinity Warable to bring together so many loose ends in a satisfying manner, but it was also able to break franchise convention by essentially using the villain as the primary perspective character.Avengers: Infinity Waris very much Thanos' movie, and benefits from it, even if it’s still hard to leave atop the pinnacle of MCU films due to its notorious cliffhanger ending.Avengers: Infinity Warisn’t a perfect movie, but it’s no wonder the MCU got theRusso brothers back for the upcomingAvengers: Doomsdayand Avengers: Secret Wars.
2Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Nearly a perfect comic book movie
Massive crossover events that tie together far corners of the MCU are all well and good, but the Russos are arguably at their strongest when they’re allowed to hone in on a particular character’s story. Such was proven withCaptain America: The Winter Soldier, the sequel toCaptain America: The First Avengerand still considered to be one of the best Marvel movies ever made. Here, Bucky’s return as the deadly Winter Soldier comes back to haunt Steve Rogers just as he uncovers a sinister conspiracy within S.H.I.E.L.D., putting him at odds with the government.
Captain America: The Winter Soldieris such a critical success for a wide variety of different reasons. Steve Rogers' personal journey and challenged beliefs here have massive implications for the franchise as a whole, but also work just as well in isolation as a self-contained story. The action sequences are top-notch thanks to some of the best fight choreography in the entire series, and even if the film’s winding plot might just be the tiniest smidge overrated, it’s a testament ot the Russo brothers' skill at crafting worthy comic book adaptations.
1Avengers: Endgame
Arguably one of the most important films ever made
Shattering audience expectations with the fearsome downer ending ofAvengers: Infinity Waris one thing, but actually bringing a long-running chapter of such a hallowed franchise to a worthy close is a monumental achievement. InAvengers: Endgame, the heroes of the MCU are picked back up after five years, still reeling from Thanos' snap, and given the chance to rectify their past mistakes. Possibly the biggest cinematic event of the century,Avengers: Endgameshattered records as the secondhighest-grossing film of all time, only losing the number one spot due to a Chinese re-release of James Cameron’sAvatar.
Avengers: Endgameisn’t just impressive for its scale and spectacle, but a genuinely great story about sacrifice, true heroism, and forging victory from defeat. Even those totally unfamiliar with the MCU are often able to find something to enjoy aboutAvengers: Endgame, which slithers through far-reaching corners of the series' canon to tremendous effect. Only filmmakers as talented as theRusso brotherscould have ever been able to pull of such an ambitious finale, marking the crossover event as their greatest film by far.
