Top 10 Chris Evans Movies Of The 2010s NOT From The MCU (According To Rotten Tomatoes)

Even though Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), was the fifth entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it was not the first time that Chris Evans had played a Marvel hero. Before becoming known around the world as Captain America, Evans was first recognizable to audiences as Johnny Storm, a.k.a The Human Torch, in The Fantastic Four (2005). As a result of the fame brought on by these superhero movies, Chris Evans went from exclusively being recognized as one iconic character, to another.

But like his other peers in the MCU, Evans has range and talent as an actor that goes beyond just playing superheroes. While most of his films throughout the 2010s were overshadowed by his Marvel entries, he still appeared in many films across multiple genres, showing promise for the actor’s future outside of the MCU. Here are his top 10 non-MCU films of the 2010s ranked by Rotten Tomatoes.

10 Before We Go (27%)

Chris Evans didn’t just star in Before We Go (2014); it was also his directorial debut. Before We Go follows Nick (Evans) a busker, who meets Brooke (Alice Eve) at Grand Central Terminal. The two set out on a night of misadventures to retrieve Brooke’s stolen purse and learn more about each other along the way.

While critics didn’t give the film good reviews, it’s worth noting that audiences gave it a score of 56%, which is not bad for a first-time director. Evans has not directed another film since then but told Scarlett Johansson in their Variety Studio: Actors on Actors interview that he will once he “finds a good script.”

9 The Red Sea Diving Resort (30%)

Based on a true story, The Red Sea Diving Resort (2019) follows an Ethiopian Jew (Michael K. Williams) joining forces with an Israeli Mossad agent (Evans) who use a hotel as a front to smuggle Ethiopian refugees to Israel during the 1980s.

Most film critics took issue with the “white savior” elements of the film, but other reviews took note of Chris Evans’ strong performance in his role as agent Ari Levinson. While the film itself may not have been perfect, it served as proof that Evans had the chops to lead grittier, dramatic films shortly after his exit from The MCU.

8 The Losers (48%)

Like the movies of the MCU, The Losers (2010) was adapted from a cult-classic comic book series of the same name. It follows a group of black-ops from the United States special forces as they go on a search-and-destroy mission in Bolivia. Chris Evans plays Jensen and is joined by co-stars Jeffrey Dean Morgan and fellow MCU peers Zoe Saldana and Idris Elba.

Despite boasting a stacked cast and receiving mixed reviews, The Losers never gained enough traction to become a popular franchise in its own right. However, Evans, Saldana, and Elba would find franchise success in the MCU while Jeffrey Dean Morgan became a mainstay in the popular AMC series The Walking Dead.

7 Puncture (52%)

Before The Red Sea Diving Resort, Chris Evans starred in Puncture (2011), the second film on this list based on a true story. Evans plays Mike Weiss, a drug-addicted lawyer who pursues a class action suit against a hospital when a nurse (Vinessa Shaw) contracts AIDs after accidentally being pricked by a contaminated needle.

The moving story appealed to Chris Evans the moment he read the script. He said in an interview with Collider, “It was one of those scripts that, right away, I got on my feet and started trying to play him. When that happens, I just think, ‘Man, I’ve got to play this guy.‘”

6 The Iceman (63%)

The third “based on a true story” film on this list, The Iceman (2012), is not centered on the actions of well-meaning protagonists. Instead, it tells the story of Richard Kuklinski (Michael Shannon), a hitman who murdered over 100 people over the course of his career. Evans has a supporting role as fellow hitman Robert “Mr. Freezy” Pronge.

While most reviews of the movie attribute its success to Michael Shannon’s performance, Chris Evan’s performance was also positively highlighted as an extreme departure from his role as Captain America.

5 Gifted (73%)

In Gifted (2017), Chris Evans plays Frank, who is the guardian of his math prodigy niece, Mary (Mckenna Grace). The film follows an emotional custody battle over Mary between him and his mother, Evelyn (Lindsay Duncan). It was not a blockbuster, grossing only 43 million dollars worldwide, but Gifted received good reviews and once again gave Chris Evans an opportunity to show off his range- this time in a family drama.

While the story is not one that would be covered in the MCU, Evans didn’t prepare for this role any differently. He told azcentral, “It’s all just a character. Just because one has a cape and has special powers doesn’t mean you can phone it in. You still have to have the same type of approach of exploring who the person is and why they are that way.“

4 Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (81%)

Chris Evans seems to have a penchant for acting in comic book adaptations and true stories…or at least the scripts that he’s been offered in those genres have been very, very enticing. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010) is based on the comic book series of the same name and follows Scott (Michael Cera) as he defeats the seven evil exes (one of whom is played by Evans) of his love interest, Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead).

Around the time of the film’s release, Chris Evans was unable to attend Comic-Con to promote it due to commitments related to the upcoming Captain America film. Michael Cera attended the Scott Pilgrim panel in a Captain America costume in reference to this.

3 Snowpiercer (94%)

Bong Joon-Ho is now best known for his Academy Award-winning film Parasite (2019). While that film is entirely in Korean, Bong has also released two English language films, the first being Snowpiercer (2013).

Chris Evans stars in Snowpiercer as Curtis Everett, a member of the lower class tail-end section of the Snowpiercer, a train carrying the last of humanity after attempts to stop global warming failed. Curtis attempts to lead a revolution to overthrow the elite members of the front of the train. The surprise popularity of the film inspired a TNT series that is set to premiere in May- two weeks earlier than originally announced.

2 Knives Out (97%)

Knives Out (2019) was another surprise hit, and Evan’s role as Hugh “Ransom” Drysdale will likely go down as one of the most memorable of his career. Knives Out is an ensemble murder mystery-comedy that follows Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) as he attempts to solve the murder of the Thrombey family patriarch, Harlan (Christopher Plummer).

Ransom is Harlan’s spoiled but sharp-witted grandson, who Chris Evans portrays with comedic zeal. He holds his own with the rest of the family, played by acting heavyweights such as Jamie Lee Curtis, Toni Collette, and Michael Shannon. A sequel is in the works; however, it will feature a whole new cast aside from Craig.

1 Superpower Dogs (100%)

The highest-rated Chris Evans film of the 2010s was more likely to be playing at a local science center than a movie theater. Superpower Dogs (2019) is an IMAX documentary film that follows four dogs who have been trained to help humans by stopping crime and saving lives.

The documentary features Chris Evans, who is a proud dog owner himself, as the film’s narrator. Upon the trailer’s release, he tweeted about how proud he was of his involvement with the film. Chris Evans AND dogs?! Sounds likes the perfect formula for a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score!

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