Danny Boyle Ranking

Need to watch 'Trance'

10. A Life Less Ordinary (2.5/5)

Could've been an ordinary, decent quirky indie comedy, unfortuantely that sort of film just doesn't seem to really fit into Boyle's ouevre as a director. He really misfires on almost all major fronts with his overly kinetic direction ill-suited to the story, and the lack of chemistry between the two leads in Cameron Diaz and a surprisingly bland Ewan McGregor. There's a bit of fun to be had in the supporting cast of underrated character actors (Stanley Tucci, Ian Holm, and especially Delroy Lindo and Holly Hunter), but overall not a huge fan of this one.

9. Slumdog Millionaire (2.5/5)

As a huge fan of the original book Q & A I was severely disappointed with the adaptational condensation of this. The book was a wide-ranging exploration of so many different aspects of Indian culture, from Bollywood to its darker, grimier underworld. This one, a la the adaptation of Forrest Gump, centres it on a love story. Unlike Forrest Gump however, it simply doesn't have the sentimental exuberance or winning heart to propel it forward. Its protagonist is extremely bland and not in an interesting way like the novel, the characters are one-note, and I particularly hated what they did with the character of Salim. Not a terrible film, but certainly not Best Picture material. 'Jai Ho' is a great song though.

8. The Beach (3/5)

A very average film. It builds up its strange island community decently, DiCaprio is a fine lead, and Boyle's directorial touches are hit and miss, with the hits being entertaining and the misses being rather jarring. I need to re-watch this but nothing really stands out to me, which is both a good and bad thing.

7. Shallow Grave (3.5/5)

The buildup of the film is actually rather exceptional, as Boyle creates such a delicately fine thread of dark comedy and just unpleasantness with his portrayal of the three very nasty flatmates (Ewan McGregory, Kerry Condon, Christopher Ecclestone) who encounter a very nasty surprise one day from their new tenant. Then the film goes off the rails in the third act with a series of misfortunes which quite frankly are a bit rubbish. It redeems itself with a cracking ending, though, with Ewan's first ultimate troll of his 'friends' in a Danny Boyle film.

6. 28 Days Later (3.5/5)

A fantastic opening and buildup,  floundering in the third act. Up till then I found it a brilliant, atmospheric zombie horror with a very chilling and understated sense of place, and held together by some rather great, naturalistic performances. Then in the third act it all falls apart, and the ending I watched was frankly a doozy. Still, can't ignore the brilliance of the first two acts, and it introduced Cillian Murphy to Hollywood.

5. Steve Jobs (3.5/5)

ONCE AGAIN goes off the rails in the third act. Michael Fassbender's lead performance I've grown to appreciate a bit more, it's not amazing but it works for the film, the screenplay is rather solid most of the way through, and the editing is largely fantastic. There's a bit of tonal imbalance all the way through which really spirals out of control in the third act, impacting the rather clinical and fascinatingly impersonal way the film was handled up till then. Still, schmaltzy ending aside, this is some of Boyle's best work as a director.

4. Millions (4/5)

One Danny Boyle film involving gangsters where nothing all that grotesque really happens, this is just a nice, sweet family film that's nothing amazing, but is consistently entertainnig throughout, and has quite the heartfelt, winning sense of humour in its story about two brothers who find an abandoned bag of money and are at odds at how to deal with it.

3. Sunshine (4/5)

It's not quite Alien but few films are, and it's a finely made sci-fi thriller for what it is. The crew of Icarus II is kind of just a bunch of sci-fi movie cliches thrown together, but the cast of underrated actors (Murphy, Michelle Yeoh, Benedict Wong, Rose Byrne, Mark Strong) and good ol' Captain America before he was Captain America as the All-American hero, do a solid job with them, and the central plot of the crew flying to jump start the dying sun with bombs is rather thrilling for the most part. It becomes a slasher film in the third act, which results in a slightly jarring transition, but it still maintains a rather tense and atmospheric pace that pays off with a pretty stunning finale.

2. 127 Hours (4/5)

Not quite the 'based on real life' one-man show you'd been advertised, since it's more of a two-man show really. James Franco is rather good as intrepid explorer Aaron Ralston who one day when rock climbing finds himself trapped in a rock canyon with his right arm pinned down by a boulder. The ensuing film manages to be rather fascinating throughout for such a static concept, as Franco and Boyle together to make Aaron a likeable and charming enough guy, and bring enough emotional power to his plight. The editing and limited cinematography is fantastic, and it really does live up to its powerful ending.

1. Trainspotting (5/5)

Easily his masterpiece, and I can't wait for T2. I must confess to never having read the original Irvine Welsh novel myself, not that I think it'll be bad or anything, but just the nature of the language would be immensely difficult for me to sift through. That's not related to this in anyway except for the fact that I first watched Trainspotting with no idea what it'd be about besides heroin, and heroin addiction. Well there's that certainly, and one of the scenes involving a baby (actually, two scenes involving a  baby) are some of the most downright harrowing sequences of drug addiction I've ever seen.

It's first and foremost, an amazing film from a directorial and editing perspective. From the first opening montage set to Iggy Pop's 'Lust for Life', the pace almost never relents in the best possible way. Ewan McGregor's performance as our narrator Mark Renton really deserved an Oscar nomination, especially considering how lacklustre the nominees that year were; as did Robert Carlyle as the only principal character in the film who doesn't take heroin at any point, but is the most monstrous and terrifying of all, Begbie. Carlyle's performance actually sums up the film incredibly well; rather inimidating and loud, yet also extremely funny, sometimes within the same scene. The tonal changes from extreme comedy like Spud's (Ewan Bremmer) worst interview ever to Sick Boy (Johnny Lee Miller) delivering his iconic speeches about Sean Connery, to the frankly depressing scenes of the heroin addicts at their lowest, struggling to find a purpose in the world. It manages to be an entertaining and immersive dark comedy while at the same time, a haunting depiction about the dangers of substance abuse. It never moralizes,  yet gets the morals across.

Also, the soundtrack is amazing, and features one of the greatest song transitions of all-time.