Ang Lee: 5 Best & 5 Worst Films, According To Rotten Tomatoes

Ang Lee is one of the most versatile directors of all time. He seems to always be trying something new and reinventing himself with each new film. He is also one of the most acclaimed directors of all-time, winning two Oscars for Best Director. Yet he doesn’t seem to get the same recognition as some other more celebrated filmmakers.

Perhaps Lee’s status suffers slightly from those ambitious movies that don’t necessarily work out. It’s true that Lee has made some genuine masterpieces, but he has made a few lackluster films too. While he is always an interesting director, his track record isn’t always perfect. Here are Ang Lee’s best and worst films, according to Rotten Tomatoes.

10 Best: Brokeback Mountain (87%)

Lee has always had a beautiful way of telling love stories, so in many ways, he was the ideal director for Brokeback Mountain. The film starts out in the early 60s as two young men (Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal) work as sheepherders together for a summer. The two men fall in love and maintain a passionate affair for years while hiding it from the world.

The movie remains one of the most important cinematic romances of all time and Lee brings so much beauty to it. The performances by the two leads are staggering throughout the heartbreaking story.

9 Worst: Ride With The Devil (63%)

As Lee’s reputation in Hollywood continued to rise, he took directing duties in the epic Civil War drama Ride with the Devil. The film stars Tobey Maguire and Skeet Ulrich as two friends who join the Bushwackers, a band of militia soldiers loyal to the South. As the toll of war weighs on them, they begin to question what they are fighting for.

Critics were quick to praise Lee’s direction and stunning visuals as the highlight of the film. However, the story seemed to be the biggest source of complaints as many found it bland and hard to become invested in.

8 Best: Eat Drink Man Woman (91%)

It is amazing how effective Lee can be with the grand scale filmmaking while being equally talented with more intimate stories. Eat Drink Man Woman is a Chinese romantic comedy about a renowned chef living with his three adult daughters who are each dealing with their own love lives.

The generational story provides plenty of touching and funny moments. Lee shows that he has always had a talent for comedy even if he doesn’t show it off too often. The charming story is easy to fall in love with and the elaborate cooking scenes are engrossing.

7 Worst: Hulk (62%)

The idea of Ang Lee taking on a superhero movie sounded like such an exciting idea when it was first announced, but the results were less exciting. Hulk was the first big-screen story of Bruce Banner (played by Eric Bana this time) suffering an accident with gamma radiation and becoming a giant green monster.

It can’t be said that Lee’s film is not interesting, at least in some ways. He took unique inspiration form the comics in styling the look of the film, but the film was filled with bigger hurdles to overcome. A messy script, some ridiculous sequences and weak digital effects made this potentially awesome movie a disappointing dud.

6 Best: The Wedding Banquet (96%)

Even with his first feature film, Lee won the favor of critics worldwide. The Wedding Banquet is another romantic comedy from Lee about a gay landlord and his female tenet who agree to marry each other to please his parents and allow her to stay in the country.

The movie is a perfect example of how effortlessly Lee’s talents translate across all types of genres. The movie is a funny broad comedy at times while also being quite moving at other times. It was quite a debut film for the director.

5 Worst: Taking Woodstock (48%)

The Woodstock festival is one of the biggest events in music history and its backstory is a pretty fascinating one. Sadly, Lee didn’t seem like the right guy to pull it off. The comedy follows a young man trying to save his parents’ struggling motel when he hears about a music festival in need of a new venue.

While the film had a light and fun feel to it, the comedy and hippie clichés just didn’t make for an interesting enough movie for critics. The small scale of the film failed to do justice to the festival while the lack of music was just baffling.

4 Best: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (97%)

Even after Lee found great success working on American films, he still occasionally returns to his roots of Chinese filmmaking. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was one film that bridged that gap. The story, set in ancient China is an epic love story surrounding a thief who steals the sword of a renowned warrior.

The film’s story is as expansive as Lee’s filmography, telling a beautiful romance, a fairy tale-esque adventure, and showcasing some amazing fight sequences. The result is a mesmerizing film that broke new ground for foreign films.

3 Worst: Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk (44%)

Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk is another of Lee’s films that seemed like it had so much potential but just didn’t work out. Based on the best-selling novel, it tells the story of a young soldier who comes home from Iraq on a “victory tour” while dealing with his experiences at war.

Despite an impressive cast that included Vin Diesel, Kristen Stewart, and Steve Martin, the film disappointed many critics. The story didn’t seem like it had enough while Lee’s experimentation with a high frame rate received a mixed response.

2 Best: Sense And Sensibility (98%)

The fact that Lee’s first Hollywood film was an English period costume drama speaks to his amazing versatility. Sense and Sensibility is based on the famous novel by Jane Austen and stars Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet as sisters whose father dies leaving them nothing.

The film is a charming period story with a witty script from Thompson herself. It is a beautiful looking film as well with a wonderful cast and a light, alluring feel to it that is hard to resist.

1 Worst: Gemini Man (26%)

Once again, Lee teaming up with Will Smith for a futuristic action film seems like a no-brainer, but Gemini Man was one of 2019 biggest disappointments. Smith stars as an aging assassin who finds himself being hunted by a deadly rival who is a younger clone of himself.

The digital de-aging technology used on Smith in the film worked for some better than others. Some critics even found a few sequences worth praising. But the ludicrous script and mismatched tone just made the whole thing into a big silly mess.

About The Author

Colin McCormick
(2045 Articles Published)

Colin McCormick is a Senior Writer with Screen Rant and has been a proud member of the team since 2019. In addition to his work as Screen Rant, Colin is also a writer of News, Feature and Review pieces at Game Rant. Colin has had a long passion and obsession with movies going back to the first time he saw The Lion King in theaters. Along with movies, Colin stays up-to-date on the latest must-see TV shows. While he loves to find interesting projects in any kind of genre, he has a special movie of crime stories that are infused with a little dark humor much like the work of his favorite author, Elmore Leonard.

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