Wesley Snipes He has a huge variety of film genres under his belt, but the action genre is arguably where he has found the most success. It’s easy to see why Snipes felt so at home with the genre when looking at his education growing up. Snipes is known to have attended the High School of Performing Arts and spent years studying various forms of martial arts, notably earning black belts in Hapkido and Shotokan Karate. Here we’ll go over the most notable Wesley Snipes action films and rank them based on factors such as their commercial success, critical reception, and the legacy the films may have in Snipes’ career as well as the general entertainment of the films themselves.
9 Drop Zone (1994)
projection area (1994) follows Wesley Snipes as the main character of US Marshal Pete Nesipe, as he works to expose the criminals who carried out the airborne rescue operation that caused his brother’s death. After such an action-packed start to the film, viewers are treated to Snipes as he works hard as a detective to prove to his superiors that this is a case worth pursuing before eventually working with his team to take down the enemies. This movie will have an exciting start, but the lull in the action prevents it from being a full action epic. Commercially, the film grossed $62 million worldwide and was met with mixed reviews upon release. A sore note for Snipes is that he didn’t participate in some of the action sequences, because his insurance prevented him from participating in any scenes involving skydiving or skydiving.
8 Passengers 57 (1992)
Next on the list is another movie that depicts Wesley Snipes trying to stop criminals on a plane. Passenger 57 (1992) sees Snipes as Chief John Cutter trying to save the flight’s passengers from terrorist Charles Run, who devises a plan to have his team infiltrate the plane and escape conviction. The movie will only make $66 million, albeit from a $15 million budget. It would be panned by critics, with Snipes’ performance being one of the film’s few saving graces. While not looking back on the film fondly, it remains one of the first indications of Snipes’ success in the genre.
7 Money Train (1995)
After the success of the sports comedy White men can’t jump (1992), Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes teamed up again, this time appearing as brothers in the film money train (1995). The brothers work as transit police, but Charlie (Harrelson) is mired in gambling debts and growing despondent. Despite his frustration with his brother, John (Snipes) works to help his brother survive an attempted money train robbery as things get progressively worse during their escape.
The film would only earn $77.2 million overall and receive mixed reviews, with many stating that compared to the duo’s previous work, Money Train was a disappointment. Despite this reception, the film was able to sell its well-choreographed action sequences, which is another aspect that Snipes was able to shine in and showcase his expertise.
6 New Jack City (1991)
One of the first films that launched Wesley Snipes’ career. New Jack City (1991) is a gritty action film that focuses on New York City gang violence. Playing Nino, the leader of the gang, Snipes would prove to be an evil criminal mastermind, making crucial plays to keep his empire at bay, even sacrificing members of his inner circle to the police. He would perform alongside other great artists like Ice-T and Chris Rock.
The film was incredibly well received, debuting in early 1991 at the Sundance Film Festival before becoming the highest-grossing independent film of 1991. This would help launch Snipes’ career to a new level of fame, helping to reach To the important films that follow this list.
5 Demolition Man (1993)
Taking an antagonistic turn again, Wesley Snipes will eliminate destroyer man (1993) alongside Sylvester Stallone in a hyper-violent futuristic thriller. After participating in a vicious exchange involving deadly amounts of collateral damage, LAPD Seargent John Spartan (Stallone) and career criminal Simon Pheonix (Snipes) are cryogenically frozen and reawakened in the year 2032, as their personal battle spills over into what was once peaceful. Streets of Utopia in San Angeles.
This film would prove to be one of the most commercially successful films of Wesley Snipes’ career, grossing over $150 million. While a great deal of attention was thrown at Stallone as this was considered a comeback for his career, Snipes was credited as an exemplary film, earning a nomination from the MTV Movie Awards in the Best Villian category.
4 United States Marines (1998)
The tables are turning US Marshals (1998), in which audiences are initially led to believe Wesley Snipes is the villain; However, the US Marshals discover that he is a CIA agent who was killed in self-defense and is being falsely accused of evil. While the movie has grossed over $100 million, its release is very close to Titanic (1997) caused her to struggle in its opening weekend. Critics were also disappointed with the film, due to its high expectations, as it was a showing fugitive (1993). Despite these factors working against it, Wesley Snipes is still seen as an important addition to the film overall.
3 Blade: Trinity (2004)
And now, we’ve been given the three most impressive films of Wesley Snipes’ career, all centering around the character he symbolizes. Starting with the worst of the trilogy, Triple blade (2004) would be seen as a huge disappointment across the board. The movie will introduce several stars to the franchise, including Jessica Biel, Ryan Reynolds (who will appear in future Marvel movies as Deadpool), and current WWE COO Paul Levesque (credited under his working name Triple H).
Snipes, who was also in the executive producer position, protested the inclusion of these stars and David S.’s choice of body doubles to use more frequently. Despite these hardships, fans were still hungry for more Daywalkers, and the box office total matched the success of the original film.
2 Blade (1998)
Next, we look at the movie where it all began code (1998). In his debut as the titular character, Wesley Snipes will lead a franchise some might say is responsible for setting up the boon that the superhero genre celebrates to this day. This movie is an excellent adaptation of the source material, featuring graphic sequences where Blade fights vampires with his signature sword and uses a serum created by one of his new allies.
The film would earn more than $130 million and attract many positive reviews, despite the graphic violence and the fact that the superhero genre was still a long way from seeing the wide popularity it is known for today. David S. Goyer reportedly only seriously considered Snipes for the role, despite offers for actors like Denzel Washington and Laurence Fishburne (who will appear in the MCU movie). Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) as Bill Foster), he took the role.
1 Blade 2 (2002)
It was cited as the most successful film of the code triple, Blade II (2002) sees Blade teaming up with the vampires he despises to battle a mutant race known as the Reapers. What follows is a plot filled with the violent clashes and twists one would expect to find in a comic book, much like the source material from which Blade is adapted.
The film would have the biggest commercial success of the three, grossing over $150 million and receiving rave reviews. The Blade trilogy will generally prove to be the most influential on Wesley Snipes’ career, proving to be synonymous with a hero, though many are excited to see Mahershala Ali’s mantle in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
