(Photo by Universal/courtesy Everett Collectio)
Crooklyn celebrates its 30th anniversary!
Since making his feature debut with She’s Gotta Have It in 1986, Spike Lee has blazed a trail for himself as one of Hollywood’s most vibrant — and defiantly original — filmmakers. Lee has challenged audiences to confront their expectations, assumptions, and prejudices while delivering some of the most memorable films of the last several decades. Even when critics don’t warm to his movies, they still acknowledge his work is thoughtful, ambitious, and bold. With comedies (Do the Right Thing), dramas (Malcolm X), and documentaries (When the Levees Broke) to choose from, there’s something for everybody here, especially if you like your pictures full of energy and attitude. His latest films (BlacKkKlansman, Da 5 Bloods, David Byrne’s American Utopia) are among his most vital and celebrated, and he most recently helmed his TV adaptation of She’s Gotta Have It. We’re ranking them all with Spike Lee movies and series by Tomatometer!
#1
Adjusted Score: 104732%
Critics Consensus: Helmed in elegant and exhilarating style by Spike Lee, David Byrne’s American Utopia is a concert film that doubles as a joyously cathartic celebration.
#2
Adjusted Score: 121306%
Critics Consensus: BlacKkKlansman uses history to offer bitingly trenchant commentary on current events — and brings out some of Spike Lee’s hardest-hitting work in decades along the way.
#3
Adjusted Score: 110234%
Critics Consensus: Fierce energy and ambition course through Da 5 Bloods, coming together to fuel one of Spike Lee’s most urgent and impactful films.
#4
Adjusted Score: 102037%
Critics Consensus: Smart, vibrant, and urgent without being didactic, Do the Right Thing is one of Spike Lee’s most fully realized efforts — and one of the most important films of the 1980s.
#5
Adjusted Score: 91554%
Critics Consensus: Get on the Bus finds Spike Lee pulling a page from history with fervor and flair, offering a strong, stirring fact-based drama further elevated by an array of solid performances.
#6
Adjusted Score: 94645%
Critics Consensus: Anchored by a powerful performance from Denzel Washington, Spike Lee’s biopic of legendary civil rights leader Malcolm X brings his autobiography to life with an epic sweep and a nuanced message.
#7
Adjusted Score: 94530%
Critics Consensus: Spike Lee’s energetic and clever bank-heist thriller is a smart genre film that is not only rewarding on its own terms, but manages to subvert its pulpy trappings with wit and skill.
#8
Adjusted Score: 88877%
Critics Consensus: Chi-Raq is as urgently topical and satisfyingly ambitious as it is wildly uneven — and it contains some of Spike Lee’s smartest, sharpest, and all-around entertaining late-period work.
#9
Adjusted Score: 83555%
Critics Consensus: Though not without its flaws, He Got Game finds Spike Lee near the top of his game, combining trenchant commentary with his signature visuals and a strong performance from Denzel Washington.
#10
Adjusted Score: 84054%
Critics Consensus: Jungle Fever finds Spike Lee tackling timely sociopolitical themes in typically provocative style, even if the result is sometimes ambitious to a fault.
#11
Adjusted Score: 84746%
Critics Consensus: An intelligent and well-acted film despite the usual Spike Lee excesses.
#12
Adjusted Score: 101074%
Critics Consensus: 4 Little Girls finds Spike Lee moving into documentary filmmaking with his signature style intact — and all the palpable fury the subject requires.
#13
Adjusted Score: 36886%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#14
Adjusted Score: 94588%
Critics Consensus: When the Levees Broke offers a heart-rending elegy for an American city overflowing with culture, beset by natural disaster, and betrayed by institutional indifference.
#15
Adjusted Score: 96773%
Critics Consensus: With She’s Gotta Have It, Spike Lee delivered his bracing first shot across Hollywood’s bow — and set the template for the groundbreaking act to follow.
#16
Adjusted Score: 76281%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#17
Adjusted Score: 66409%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#18
Adjusted Score: 56675%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#19
Adjusted Score: 80802%
Critics Consensus: A personal project that warmly reflects on director Spike Lee’s childhood, Crooklyn is an episodic celebration of family and the indelible facets of one’s hometown.
#21
Adjusted Score: 78438%
Critics Consensus: A work of mournful maturity that sacrifices little of its director’s signature energy, Clockers is an admittedly flawed drama with a powerfully urgent message.
#22
Adjusted Score: 73163%
Critics Consensus: Mo’ Better Blues is rich with vibrant hues and Denzel Washington’s impassioned performance, although its straightforward telling lacks the political punch fans expect from a Spike Lee joint.
#23
Adjusted Score: 59337%
Critics Consensus: Red Hook Summer is just as bold and energetic as Spike Lee’s best work, but its story is undermined by a jarring plot twist in the final act.
#24
Adjusted Score: 59014%
Critics Consensus: School Daze is undeniably messy, but thought-provoking themes, strong performances, and Spike Lee’s ingratiating energy help tie it all together.
#25
Adjusted Score: 30761%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#26
Adjusted Score: 56785%
Critics Consensus: Bamboozled is too heavy-handed in its satire and comes across as more messy and overwrought than biting.
#27
Adjusted Score: 54864%
Critics Consensus: Spike Lee offers intense visuals but his storytelling feels crowded and overambitious.
#28
Adjusted Score: 49154%
Critics Consensus: Da Sweet Blood of Jesus has no shortage of style, but it isn’t enough to make this horror-tinged Spike Lee joint one of his best — or worth recommending.
#29
Adjusted Score: 45569%
Critics Consensus: Suitably grim and bloody yet disappointingly safe and shallow, Spike Lee’s Oldboy remake neither surpasses the original nor adds anything new to its impressive legacy.
#30
Adjusted Score: 40843%
Critics Consensus: Girl 6 has a compelling star, a Prince soundtrack, and Spike Lee’s vivid style – and, unfortunately, a story that’s never as compelling or insightful as it needs to be.
#31
Adjusted Score: 37404%
Critics Consensus: Miracle at St. Anna is a well-intentioned but overlong, disjointed affair that hits few of the right notes.
#32
Adjusted Score: 21858%
Critics Consensus: She Hate Me can’t decide if it wants to be a commentary on corporate greed or a sex farce.