Every Kathryn Bigelow Film Ranked Worst To Best

Writer, director, and producer Kathryn Bigelow may be best known for her Oscar-winning action drama "The Hurt Locker," but her career is longer and more varied than many fans realize. Over the last 40 years, Bigelow has only released 10 feature films, but she has also worked in television and made a number of short films, resulting in a diverse and fascinating filmography. Despite early success with the surfer thriller "Point Break," Bigelow has maintained an independent filmmakers' sensibility, working in genres as diverse as horror and historical drama. 

While Bigelow's visual style and thematic interests have shifted throughout her career, what unites all of Bigelow's films is an interest in masculinity and patriarchy, along with a mastery of action and suspense. With two Oscars, two BAFTAs, and many other accolades under her belt, Bigelow has cemented herself as one of the most respected directors in modern Hollywood, particularly when it comes to thrillers. When you look at the full extent of her work, it's easy to see why.

Generally regarded as the weakest entry on Bigelow's filmography, "The Weight of Water" tells two stories across two timelines. Jean (Catherine McCormack) is a photojournalist who travels to a remote island to research a violent murder that took place in 1873. Jean brings along her husband, Thomas (Sean Penn), his brother Rich (Josh Lucas), and Rich's girlfriend, Adaline (Elizabeth Hurley). After finding letters from Maren (Sarah Polley), who survived the attack, Jean becomes absorbed in the crime of passion, while also finding herself growing jealous of Adaline. 

As it flips between the two stories, "The Weight of Water" struggles to anchor itself fully in either. Bigelow tries to use the past to draw parallels with the present, but the storytelling is hamfisted, and neither plot is allowed to stand on its own. Unfortunately, "The Weight of Water" was also the biggest flop of Bigelow's career, grossing just over $320,000 worldwide.

"K-19: The Widowmaker" is a bit of a transitional low point for Bigelow. After the commercial failure of "The Weight of Water," Bigelow's follow up seems like a safer choice, with proven star Harrison Ford leading a blockbuster submarine action-drama. 

Amid the high tensions of the Cold War, the Soviets are eager to launch their latest submarine, the K-19, despite the fact that it's untested. Ford's Captain Vostrikov commands the mission over the objections of the ship's leader, Captain Polenin (Liam Neesen). However, when a nuclear reactor leak threatens the safety of the submarine's crew, the two men have to set aside their differences and their ideas of what loyalty to their country means in order to find a way out. 

"K-19" is far from the best of Bigelow's films. While it's technically competent, the film lacks both Bigelow's personal touches as well as original characters. However, it does showcase the realism that Bigelow would perfect in her later career. Though the film was far from Bigelow's biggest flop, it was still a financial disappointment, leading to a six-year gap between "K-19" and Bigelow's return with the tour-de-force triumph of "The Hurt Locker."

Bigelow's most recent feature is a historical drama that examines the Algiers Motel incident, in which police assaulted a group of unarmed Black people in a hotel, murdering three individuals. Amid the roiling racial tension of the 1967 Detroit riot, when police and National Guard troops patrolled the city, officers raided the Algiers Motel, allegedly hunting for a sniper who was shooting at police. However, no gun was found at the scene. The details of the incident have been disputed, leaving screenwriter and frequent Bigelow collaborator Mark Boal to take some liberties with the facts. 

As a historical artifact and piece of political commentary, "Detroit" is a mixed bag. Bigelow is at her best when directing the action itself. The second act is intense, thrilling, and terrifying, feeling like something more akin to a horror movie than a historical reenactment. However, as a result, Bigelow loses sight of the film's purpose. Instead of addressing racism head-on, "Detroit" replicates it in brutal and exploitative fashion. By the end of the film, the viewer is left wondering what Bigelow and Boal have to say about the events depicted in their film, not to mention the real people who survived these harrowing events.

Bigelow's debut feature, co-directed and co-written with Monty Montgomery, is fascinating, if only because of how it contrasts with her later films and hints at the subject matter she'd later tackle as director. "The Loveless" follows Vance (a young Willem Dafoe, making his feature debut), the leader of a 1950s biker gang that takes up residence in a small town on its way to a race. 

While it's similar to "The Wild One," "The Loveless" is less interested in plot and structure than motif and mood. Where "The Wild One" used biker gangs as a lens for discussing socialism and McCarthyism, "The Loveless" has no specific politics. Instead, Bigelow is more concerned with the style of the era, and, as in all of her work, how it's expressed through male power. Masculinity is evoked through the lingering shots of the bikers, not any specific story arcs. Though Dafoe doesn't have much to work with, he carries the film on his shoulders, leaving viewers to wonder why he and Bigelow never collaborated again.

"Zero Dark Thirty" tells the sprawling story of how the United States military methodically tracked, captured, and assassinated Osama bin Laden over the course of a decade. Maya (Jessica Chastain) is a CIA operative with limited field experience. When she is assigned to Pakistan after the September 11th attacks, Maya's commitment to the work is quickly put to the test as she is introduced to the U.S. military's violent interrogation tactics. Though she doesn't agree with the methods, she comes to believe they are necessary. 

While her colleagues change assignments, Maya's singular focus on finding bin Laden and taking down Al Qaeda transforms her into a shell of a person. However, that dedication is what ultimately leads to the conclusion of the bin Laden mission. Chastain's performance is powerful and believable, resulting in some of the best scenes in the film and earning her an Oscar nomination for best actress. Yet, while "The Hurt Locker" succeeds because of its narrow, character-centric focus, "Zero Dark Thirty" is a wide-ranging, bloated film. Regardless, it was still critically acclaimed, receiving nominations for best picture at the Oscars and Golden Globes and earning a best director nod for Bigelow at the BAFTAs.

Bigelow's mastery of suspense coalesced with "Near Dark," her entry into the 1980s vampire canon. Caleb (Adrian Pasdar) is a quiet cowboy who meets a drifter named Mae (Jenny Wright) one night. She bites him, and he turns into a vampire. Over the course of one whirlwind week, Caleb is tested by Mae's nest to see whether or not he's meant to be one of them. But when his family crosses paths with the vampires while attempting to bring him home, Caleb makes a shocking choice about his future that leads to a bloodbath. 

There are more famous and probably better vampire films out there than "Near Dark," but as one of Bigelow's few departures from contemporary takes on militarized masculinity, it's a fascinating member of her filmography. "Near Dark" is an impressive follow up to "The Loveless," utilizing a similar moody aesthetic while showcasing Bigelow's ability to weave tension and plot throughout a story. It also features a stunning supporting performance from Bill Paxton. While the film is more about the romance between Mae and Caleb than vampirism, the film's final act drives home Bigelow's ability to tell a story through action.

"Strange Days," based on a screenplay by Bigelow's ex-husband, James Cameron, is another unique experiment for the director. Following the success of "Point Break," Bigelow had the freedom to make any film she wanted. She took a risk with a sci-fi thriller that many fans love despite numerous plot holes and some gritty violence. The film takes place in the dystopian future of 1999, when devices known as SQUIDs allow users to hijack other people's bodies and live vicariously through their experiences. 

Lenny Nero (Ralph Fiennes) is a former cop who hawks SQUIDs, and who uses them to relive happier moments from his own past. After a high-profile rapper is mysteriously murdered, Lenny is pulled into a dark and insidious mystery. The film a twisty neo-noir that was ahead of its time in terms of examining the implications of virtual reality. In fact, it may have been too ahead of its time; the film predates "The Matrix," with which it shares many themes and a general aesthetic, by four years, but didn't find the same commercial success.

The first of Bigelow's three collaborations with screenwriter Mark Boal, "The Hurt Locker" follows Staff Sergeant William James (Jeremy Renner), who detonates bombs and improvised explosive devices. James is new to the squadron, and soon butts heads with Sergeant J.T. Sanborn (Anthony Mackie), who is mourning the loss of his friend from a recent explosion. James is naturally impulsive, growing more reckless with each mission. Yet, even though Sanborn disagrees with his methods, James continually delivers results. 

"The Hurt Locker" represents a significant shift in Bigelow's career. While all of Bigelow's films deal with violence and masculinity, her latter films turn that focus not-so-subtly on the military and the police state, some to better effect than others. 

"The Hurt Locker" doesn't have much to say about the Iraq War or the people it impacted. Instead, the film works best as a character study; James was drawn to enlist after the September 11th attacks and to channel his own innate desire for chaos. The film's final moments drive this theme home in wrenching and memorable ways. "The Hurt Locker" also catapulted Bigelow onto an entirely different level career-wise, making her the first woman to win the Oscar for best directing (the film also won best picture).

Bigelow's third feature follows Megan Turner (Jamie Lee Curtis), a rookie cop who's immediately suspended after she takes down a shooter in a grocery store — only to discover that there's no gun at the scene of the crime. After a chance meeting in a rainstorm, she begins to date Eugene (Ron Silver), a charismatic and handsome man who says and does all the right things. What she doesn't know, however, is that he's been stalking her the whole time. As Megan works to solve the case of what happened in the grocery store, more mysterious incidents unfold, with Eugene pulling the strings. 

Bigelow threads the tension through every scene, including the one in which Megan visits her parents and channels her own growing power and frustration into a near-arrest of her father for domestic abuse. However, viewers should approach the film with caution:  There are aspects that are incredibly dated, including the film's portrayal of a female police officer. Worse yet, "Blue Steel" employs sexual assault as a plot device, cutting Megan's autonomy off at the knees. Nonetheless, "Blue Steel" is still an entertaining psychosexual game of cat and mouse that a fierce Curtis, who plays one of Bigelow's only female protagonists, carries with ease.

"Point Break" sounds ridiculous based on its premise, but thanks to Bigelow's direction it coalesces into a larger meditation on masculinity. Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves) is a rookie FBI agent who's determined to prove his mettle, seizing the opportunity to go undercover among a circle of surfers suspected of a string of armed robberies. Soon, Johnny finds himself taken in by Bodhi (Patrick Swayze), the charismatic leader of the crew. As he gets closer to figuring out the truth behind Bodhi's crimes, they bond on the beach, enjoying surfing and bonfires. As the lines blur between the case and Johnny's cover, the officer risks losing it all in this thrilling action caper. 

Bigelow builds suspense and mood throughout while never losing sight of Johnny and Bodhi's relationship. The film largely avoids stereotypical masculine posturing, instead making it clear that the two men's fates are tied to each other through a subtle homoerotic bond. While it's not a comedy, Bigelow also finds moments of levity in the action scenes, which showcase the characters' flaws and strengths. "Point Break" is the sharpest refinement of the themes that have shaped Bigelow's career — it's no wonder this film was an instant classic.