News Of The World: Ranking Paul Greengrass’ 10 Best Movies, According To IMDB

Following their collaboration on the 2013 film Captain Phillips, which earned four Golden Globe and six Academy Award nominations, Tom Hanks and director Paul Greengrass return to the big screen on Christmas Day with the Civil War western News of the World.

In addition to a handful of made-for-TV films produced in his homeland, News of the World marks the 11th theatrical feature directed by the English-born Greengrass since 1989. Up next for Greengrass is a possible date with George Orwell’s 1984, which he’s been attached to since 2014. Until News of the World hits, here is how Paul Greengrass’s filmography stacks up to date.

10 Jason Bourne (2016) 6.6/10

Although Doug Liman directed the first entry in the series, The Bourne Identity, Paul Greengrass put his own directorial stamp on the franchise by helming three follow-up films, ending with Jason Bourne in 2016.

Jason Bourne marks the return of the titular CIA operative (Matt Damon) after events depicted in The Bourne Legacy. This time out, Bourne is pursued by the CIA when their entire covert operations are compromised by a whistle-blower they believe he’s in cahoots with.

9 The Murder Of Stephen Lawrence (1999) 6.7/10

The Murder of Stephen Lawrence is the fourth and final TV-movie Greengrass made in England from 1994 to 1999. Based on the real-life murder that took place in 1993, the film chronicles the aftermath of Stephen Lawrence’s death at the hands of racist white men.

Following Lawrence’s egregious death, the film charts Stephen’s (Leon Black) parents Neville (Hugh Quarshie) and Doreen (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) as they work to find justice for their slain son. Through an unfair trial and halfhearted investigation, the film underscores systemic racism.

8 July 22 (2018) 6.8/10

Never one to shy away from challenging material, Greengrass’ most recent release belongs to July 22, a harrowing portrait of the most lethal terrorist attack in Norwegian history.

Told in three parts from various perspectives, the movie recreates the most infamous date in Norway’s history when a psychotic maniac shot and killed 77 people at a youth camp outside of Oslo. The film is seen through the eyes of the victims, the city’s politicians, and the various litigators involved in the case.

7 Green Zone (2010) 6.8/10

In their third collaboration together, Greengrass and Matt Damon took on the ever-difficult topic of the Iraq war in Green Zone, based on the Rajiv Chandrasekaran book.

Damon plays Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller in the film, a soldier tasked with finding WMDs in Iraq. However, when he’s is told there are no such weapons and that the mission is a ploy to install a leader the U.S. can puppeteer, Miller sets out to find the truth at all costs.

6 The Fix (1997) 7.1/10

Starring a young Steve Coogan and Jason Isaacs, the little-known TV-movie The Fix follows the notorious real-life British football scandal during the 1960s. The story centers on Jimmy Gauld (Christopher Fulford), a former soccer player who ran a lucrative match-throwing operation.

After convincing several players throughout the UK to throw competitive matches for monetary gain, Gauld’s ruse is eventually discovered by an unwitting journalist. For his crimes, Gauld was sentenced to a four-year prison sentence.

5 United 93 (2006) 7.5/10

To critical praise across the board, Greengrass took on the challenging taboo topic of 9/11 in the sobering historical drama United 93, for which he earned his one and only Oscar nomination for Best Director.

With talented unknown actors to preserve the sense of realism, the film is a real-time thriller that recreates the fateful date on which a group of brave passengers risked their lives to prevent further damage at the hands of international terrorists. Plummeting to their certain death, the heroic passengers of United Flight 93 fought to save their fellow Americans.

4 Bloody Sunday (2002) 7.6/10

After cutting his teeth on television for nearly a decade, Greengrass first rose to international prominence following his sublime 2002 feature Bloody Sunday, which recounts the violent bloodshed of the Irish Revolution in 1972.

In particular, the movie traces the massive protest led by Ivan Cooper (James Nesbitt), an Irish revolutionary who fought for civil rights in the town of Derry. The violence incited during the march led to the death of 13 protestors.

3 The Bourne Supremacy (2004) 7.7/10

Greengrass’s first Bourne attempt still ranks as his third-best feature film to date, according to IMDB. In The Bourne Supremacy, Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) reverts to his hitman skillset when he is framed and blamed for a failed CIA mission.

Along with his close confidant Marie (Franka Potente), Bourne slinks across Europe until he can no longer keep a low profile. As he tries to learn more of his muddied past, the amnesiac uncovers a vast conspiracy that once again he proves he has only himself to trust.

2 Captain Phillips (2013) 7.8/10

Hanks and Greengrass first collaborated in the riveting real-life thriller Captain Phillips, for which both were nominated for Golden Globe Awards. The film tells of the terrifying true account of Richard Phillips, a captain who showed tremendous poise under pressure when his ship was hijacked by Somali pirates in 2009.

Phillips’ life is endangered most when encountering Muse (Barkhad Abdi in a star-making turn), the leader of the Somali pirates who shows no fear in overtaking Phillip’s Maersk Alabama shipping vessel.

1 The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) 8.0/10

According to IMDB, The Bourne Ultimatum currently ranks as the best movie Paul Greengrass has directed to date. The film won three technical Oscars, including Best Film Editing, Sound Mixing, and Sound Editing.

Story-wise, the third entry in the franchise finds Jason Bourne in an existential quandary. As he evades a top-secret assassination program, Bourne struggles to piece together his cryptic past as a professional killer-for-hire. In addition to being the best-reviewed film of the franchise, The Bourne Ultimatum is also the highest-grossing franchise entry thus far.