John Singleton: Ranking Every Movie He Directed (According To Rotten Tomatoes)

When director John  Singleton passed away as a result of stroke-related complications on April 28th, 2019, many movie lovers were left sad. Singleton was a man of many achievements. In 1991, he became the youngest person to receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Director. He was only 24 at the time.

Most recently, Singleton co-created the FX drug drama Snowfall, which received excellent reviews. He also directed single episodes of Billions, Empire and American Crime Story. John Singleton directed 9 films in total. We’ve taken the liberty of ranking them from the least impressive to the best, according to their Rotten Tomatoes scores.

9 Abduction (2011) – 5%

Singleton stepped out of his comfort zone with this conspiracy thriller but the results weren’t satisfactory. In Abduction, Taylor Lautner (known for the Twilight saga) stars as Nathan Hapner, a young man who has an eerie feeling that he’s living a different person’s life. He finds a picture of himself as a little kid on a website that lists missing people and this confirms his fears to him.

He realizes that his guardians aren’t his biological parents and there’s a dangerous plot to cover up something big. Soon, he is targeted by assassins who force him to go on the run with his friendly neighbor, Karen. Critics were mainly displeased with the screenplay, which wasn’t written by Singleton himself.

8 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) – 36%

We might not have had any more movies like Hobbs & Shaw and the upcoming Fast 9 if the studio had given up on the franchise after Vin Diesel refused to appear in this sequel. With Diesel’s character Dominic Torretto out, Singleton brought in Tyrese as ex-con Roman Pierce (Tyrese) to act as Brian O’Connor’s partner.

In this film, O’Connor is now an undercover cop in Miami who is looking to take down some criminal petrol heads. He enlists Roman Pierce to help him locate criminal mastermind Verone and this sets the pace for the action. The film also has cameos from rappers Ludacris and Fabolous. Ludacris went on to remain in the franchise as Tej Parker.

7 Poetic Justice (1993) – 37%

Singleton had a penchant for casting actors who were also in the music world. In Poetic Justice, Janet Jackson made her on-screen debut as Justice, a hairdresser in South Central Los Angeles, a favorite setting of Singleton’s. Controversial rapper Tupac Shakur also starred as a postman called Lucky.

The story revolves around Justice, who also happens to be a poet. After her boyfriend is killed in a shootout, she uses her poetry to relieve her grief. Soon, she finds herself falling for Lucky. Interestingly, Justice’s touching pieces of poetry were penned by the great Maya Angelou, who also makes a cameo. Jackson received a Best Original Song nomination in that year’s Oscars. She composed Again for the film’s soundtrack.

6 Higher Learning (1994) – 45%

Higher Learning explores the themes of politics and race. In it, a freshman is experiencing various challenges in his first semester. Malik, who doesn’t fancy academics, hopes to rely on his athletic prowess to get through college. Fudge, who has overstayed in the university, becomes friends with Malik and challenges him to look at life differently. Laurence Fishburne plays Professor Phipps, a strict lecturer who wants Malik to do well in class. Supermodel and talk show host Tyra Banks also stars as Malik’s girlfriend Deja.

For his role as Fudge, Ice Cube received an NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture. Fishburne was also nominated for the same award and ended up winning it. Singleton’s eye for detail was also praised by veteran film critic Roger Ebert.

5 Four Brothers (2005) – 52%

In Four Brothers, Singleton brought back Baby Boy leads Tyrese and Taraji P, Henson, though the latter had a minor role in the film. Four Brothers follows four men who come together to solve a murder case involving the woman who raised them. She was allegedly killed during a robbery at a grocery store but after doing some digging, they discover that everything isn’t as it seems.

A sequel for the film was planned but it never went into production. All in all, Four Brothers did well in the box office, grossing about $92 million against a budget of $30 million. Critics also praised the on-screen rapport between the four actors.

4 Shaft (2000) – 67%

Forget the 2019 film with the same title. There was another Shaft back in 2000 which also starred Samuel L. Jackson In the Singleton movie, Jackson stars as John Shaft, a detective trying to solve a murder. In the case, an African American college student is murdered right in front of an eatery owned by Walter (Christian Bale), who happens to be the son of a tycoon. Walter ends up leaving the country to avoid prosecution.

A waitress who saw the murder doesn’t want to testify, so two years later, Walter returns. However, when it appears that the waitress might cooperate, Walter’s goons begin hunting her down, forcing Shaft and his partner to act quickly before she ends up dead.

3 Baby Boy (2001) – 71%

Way before Tyrese acquired global fame for his role as Roman Pierce in the Fast & Furious franchise, he starred in iconic movies like this. Once again, Singleton set the movie in South Central Los Angeles. Baby Boy has a horde of stars including Snoop Dogg and Taraji P. Henson. It also marked the second time that Singleton collaborated with Ving Rhames.

In Baby Boy, Jody (Tyrese Gibson) is a young, jobless man who has already had two kids by different women. At a young age Jody, who is still living with his mother, is forced to struggle with many things. These include financial difficulties, parenting, complicated friendships, criminals who don’t like him, and his mother’s tough boyfriend Marvin who wants him to move out.

2 Rosewood (1997) – 86%

This film is loosely based on a true story and has a star-studded cast that includes Ving Rhames, John Voigt, and Don Cheadle.The premise? In the early 1920s, racial tensions are high. A small town in Florida, home to a number of African Americans, gets torched by white supremacists from a nearby town who believe that a black man attacked a white woman.

It turns out the woman is lying and she was actually beaten by the white man that she was cheating on her husband with. Both the perpetrators and the surviving victims remain quiet about the gruesome incident. However, decades later in 1983, a curious reporter comes across the story and begins digging into it.

1 Boyz n The Hood (1991) – 96%

Singleton’s directorial debut is also his highest-rated film. The film was developed by the late director while making his film school application. He later sold it to Columbia Pictures for an undisclosed amount. For his work, he received two Academy Award nominations for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay.

Boyz n The Hood follows the lives of three young African-American males in South Central Los Angeles. One is Tre (Cuba Gooding Jr.), who is sent to live with his no-nonsense father Furious Styles (Lawrence Fishbourne) by his struggling mother (Angela Basset) after he begins to demonstrate troubling behavior. He becomes friends with a rising football star called Ricky (Morris Chestnut) and a future gang member called Doughboy (Ice Cube). The three friends eventually choose different paths until the need for revenge brings them together one more time.

About The Author

Philip Etemesi
(1216 Articles Published)

Philip Etemesi is an author, journalist, screenwriter and film critic based in Nairobi. Kenya. As a child, he preferred watching movies like The Goodfellas instead of Home Alone. His girlfriend constantly has to pull him from the front of the TV but he just keeps returning. Stubborn dude! An animal lover, Philip also has a pet giraffe called Refu.

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