Getting his fair share of fame from the Dune franchise, Denis Villeneuve started off his career as a director in 1998 and since then has not once looked back. With one of the biggest franchises in Hollywood, Dune, under his name, Denis has given us multiple movies before as well and I am here to bring you the 11 Denis Villeneuve movies ranked from worst to best mapping out his growth and journey as the celebrated director we know of now.
11. Maelström
- Release Date- 15 September 2000
- Cast- Marie-Josée Croze, Jean-Nicolas Verreault, Stephanie Morgenstern, Pierre Lebeau, Darrell Lloyd Tucler, John Dunn-Hill
- IMDb/Rotten Tomatoes Rating- 6.7/ 79%
Maelström is one of the early works of Denis Villeneuve and even though the story is rather straightforward, some of the elements used in the movie can be categorized as absurd such as a fish narrating the story. While being a little absurd, such elements add to the artistic element of the movie which people seem to appreciate.
This movie revolves around a successful part-time model named Bibiane who spirals into depression after a traumatic abortion. This leads her to practice substance abuse and she becomes a raging alcoholic. This comes with consequences as she one day, runs over a man while driving drunk. She is drowned in guilt and decides to attend the dead man’s funeral. However, things take a turn when she falls in love with the son of the man she killed and is afraid that he will abandon her if she lets him in on the secret.
10. August 32nd on Earth
- Release Date- 17 September 1998
- Cast- Pascale Bussières, Alexis Martin, Estelle Esse, Marc Jeanty, Richard S. Hamilton, Joanne Côté
- IMDb/Rotten Tomatoes Rating- 6.5/ 68%
August 32nd on Earth is the first movie to be directed under the supervision of Denis Villeneuve. This movie might not be the best one he has ever created but was enough to kickstart his career with its thought-provoking approach and a rather out-of-the-box storyline. August 32nd on Earth takes us to Simone, a young model who meets with a fatal crash but miraculously survives. However, this accident makes her question her mortality, and she decides to have a baby to give her life some meaning.
Since she is single, she decides to pursue her best friend, Phillipe to get pregnant and even though he is with someone, after much persuasion, he agrees to do so but it comes with a condition. He says that he is willing to father her child as long as they do it in Salt Lake City, in the desert.
Both of them decide to take a road trip to Salt Lake City and most of the plot takes place on this road trip where they explore things like love, solitude, and self-discovery. This movie might not be very conventional but is weirdly beautiful in its approach so I believe it is worth a shot.
9. Polytechnique
- Release Date- 6 February 2009
- Cast- Karine Vanasse, Maxim Gaudette, Marie-Evelyne Baribeau, Sebastien Huberdeau,Evelyne Brochu, Pierre-Yves Cardinal
- IMDb/Rotten Tomatoes Rating- 7.2/ 88%
Probably one of the darkest movies directed by Denis Villeneuve, Polytechnique brings to life the accounts of the infamous massacre at Montréal’s École Polytechnique on December 6, 1989. This movie tells us the tale of the shooting carried out by a lone gunman at the institution who targeted only the female students there causing multiple deaths.
Polytechnique tells us the story of this harrowing incident from the point of view of three people, the shooter himself, Valérie who had interviewed for her dream internship earlier that day for an internship project, and her friend, Jean-François who risked his life at every point to save as many lives as possible. This movie is scarring for everyone who watches it since it shows you the depth of hatred people had for the feminist movement and also reflects how far we have come as a society.
8. Sicario
- Release Date- 2 October 2015
- Cast- Benicio del Toro, Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin, Jeffrey Donovan, Jon Bernthal,Raoul Trujillo, Daniel Kaluuya
- IMDb/Rotten Tomatoes Rating- 7.7/ 92%
Sicario is an action-packed flick that brings an idealistic FBI agent named Kate Macer she had worked hard to make her place in her male-dominated field and considering her efficiency, she is approached by a shady government official named Matt Graver with questionable morality.
Kate is put on a top-secret task force with the task of taking down a drug cartel led by Alejandro. However, the methods used by this task force are rather unorthodox and even illegal at some points, and now Kate, who works by the book has to choose between doing what is right and what is necessary at every point where she and her team travel across the US- Mexican border to put an end to this drug empire.
7. Enemy
- Release Date- 28 February 2014
- Cast- Jake Gyllenhaal, Sarah Gadon, Mélanie Laurent, Isabella Rossellini, Alexis Uiga, Joshua Peace, Tim Post
- IMDb/Rotten Tomatoes Rating- 6.9/ 73%
If you have ever suffered from an identity or an existential crisis, this movie should be on your watchlist. Enemy brings to the center a History professor named Adam Bell. He is a regular, everyday man who lives his life tied down in a routine. He lives with his live-in girlfriend and even though he seems to have everything figured out, there is still something unsatisfactory about his life.
One day, while watching a rental movie, he sees an actor who looks exactly like him and gets obsessed with finding out who this doppelganger is. Adam figures out that the actor’s stage name is Daniel Saint Claire but his real name is Anthony Claire. Soon, Adam tracks Claire down and finds out that he is a replica of Adam down to the boot. However, for some reason, this actor seems to be much more put together than Adam thinks himself to be and this revelation, leads to a gripping plot.
Even though this description seems straightforward, there are a lot of elements in the movie that if I tell you about, will ruin the very essence of Enemy. However, one thing that I would warn you about is if you have arachnophobia, you might want to steer clear of this flick.
6. Prisoners
- Release Date- September 20, 2013
- Cast- Jake Gyllenhaal, Hugh Jackman, Paul Dano, Maria Bello, Erin Gerasimovich, David Dastmalchian, Melissa Leo, Dylan Minnette, Terrence Howard
- IMDb/Rotten Tomatoes Rating- 8.2/ 81%
‘Prisoners’ is what you can call Denis Villeneuve’s version of Taken. This movie brings us Keller Dover who lives through every parent’s worst nightmare when his 9-year-old daughter and her friend go missing. He approaches law enforcement and Detective Loki decides to go against everyone else and help him out. The only lead they have is a motorhome parked on Keller’s street but due to a lack of evidence, Detective Loki is forced to let go of the only suspect in the case.
After having all his hopes washed down the drain by the late enforcement, Keller decides to take matters into his own hands and puts himself on a path of violence and bloodshed to find his missing child.
5. Incendies
- Release Date- 22 April 2011
- Cast- Lubna Azabal, Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin, Abdelghafour Elaaziz, Maxim Gaudette, Rémy Girard
- IMDb/Rotten Tomatoes Rating- 8.3/ 91%
If we talk about movies that have a lasting impact on anyone who watches them, Incendies is the movie that can easily make its way to the top 5 in that list. This movie takes us to Jeanne and Simon, two twins who have been called to the notary for the reading of their recently deceased mother, Nawal’s will. However, this is no regular will since Jeanne and Simon are presented with two sealed envelopes and each of them has to deliver these envelopes to their father, whom they have never heard of, and a brother, whom they had no idea about.
What they know is that both of their newly discovered family members live in Lebanon and even though, Simon is reluctant to fulfill their mother’s final wish, Jeanne wants to honor what their mother has asked of them. With a half heart, Simon joins Jeanne in her pursuit and they uncover secrets that are too bitter to be told.
4. Blade Runner 2049
- Release Date- 6 October 2017
- Cast- Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Denis Villeneuve, Ana de Armas, Sylvia Hoeks, Mackenzie Davis, Jared Leto, Robin Wright, Dave Bautista, Carla Juri, David Dastmalchian
- IMDb/Rotten Tomatoes Rating- 8/ 88%
Blade Runner 2049 is one of the most celebrated movies created by Denis Villeneuve. To this day, after its release in 2017, this movie is loved the same by the fanbase and will continue to do so as long as cinema lives. Blade Runner 2049 takes us to a future where scientist Niander Wallace is in charge of the powerful Tyrell Corporation responsible for the creation of bio-engineered Nexus-9 replicants which are now an important part of society.
However, with the introduction of these new gen replicants, the older models who rebelled against humans are considered to be a threat and now, the latest generation of law enforces at the LAPD, called the Blade Runners are on a mission to wipe out non-complaint androids. However, Officer K, short for KD6-3.7, stumbles upon a secret that completely shakes up his belief system. Now, to investigate and get to the root of this case, Officer K will have to find a ghost, a long-lost Blade Runner named Rick Deckard.
This movie is not just an investigative thriller but also taps into almost every emotional element one would want to experience while watching a flick. The cinematography, the use of colors, the action, the acting, every single aspect of this movie is a masterpiece in its way and if you have not watched Blade Runner 2049 yet, this is high time you do so.
3. Arrival
- Release Date- 2 September 2016
- Cast- Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker, Amy Adams, Michael Stuhlbarg, Tzi Ma, Abigail Pniowsky, Mark O’Brien, Jadyn Malone, Julia Scarlett Dan
- IMDb/Rotten Tomatoes Rating- 7.9/ 94%
If you are someone who enjoys watching alien invasion movies, this flick is just the one for you. Arrival, even though not your conventional alien movie where Earth is invaded by aliens causing death and destruction, will keep you on the edge of your seats to the very end. This movie brings to the center a linguistics professor Louise Banks who is called in by the United States Government after alien ships land on Earth in 12 different locations.
She is given a team of experts to figure out the extraterrestrials’ language which comprises complex symbols to establish communication. However, Banks and her team are on a massive time crunch since the presence of aliens on Earth has sent a wave of panic across the globe and nations are gearing up for war against them.
If she and her team are not able to establish communication in time, the results could be catastrophic leading to a global nuclear crisis. With time her enemy, will she be able to save the planet from certain doom? Watch Arrival to find out!
2. Dune
- Release Date- 22 October 2021
- Cast- Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Javier Bardem, Stellan Skarsgård, Jason Momoa, Jason Momoa, Charlotte Rampling, Dave Bautista, Léa Seydoux
- IMDb/Rotten Tomatoes Rating- 8/ 83%
This right here, is the film that turned Denis Villeneuve into a household name. Adapting the bestselling novel Dune into live-action was not an easy task but Denis pulled it off so well that this movie is now one of the most loved projects to have ever been made. Dune revolves around humanity in a distant future where we have moved away from Earth and have conquered the stars and gone back to the order of empires, kings, and dukes.
Dune brings us the tale of Paul Atreides, the son of Leto Atreides who has recently been appointed as the Duke of a harsh and challenging planet named Arrakis. Even though this planet is extremely dangerous, it possesses the most valuable asset in the entire galaxy called “Spice”, a natural resource that can unlock the full potential within a human. However, there is massive competition for control over Spice and Paul Atreides has a role in all of this he is not aware of yet.
1. Dune: Part 2
- Release Date- 1 March 2024
- Cast- Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Léa Seydoux, Rebecca Ferguson, Stellan Skarsgård, Javier Bardem, Christopher Walken, Souheila Yacoub, Josh Brolin
- IMDb/Rotten Tomatoes Rating- 8.5/ 92%
According to me, Dune Part 2 is the best flick to have ever been made by Denis Villeneuve. This movie is a direct continuation of Dune where we witnessed the fall of the House Atreides and the death of Leto Atreides. Paul, his son has now been exiled and he, along with his mother is on a quest to find enlightenment and take revenge for the demise of his father.
He joins the ranks of Fremen warriors learning their ways and discovering the prophecy of a Messiah who turns out to be none other than Paul. While rising in the ranks of the Fremen, Paul falls in love with Chani, one of the Fremens. However, he has a greater purpose of bringing order to the chaos running rampant in the galaxy.
He rises up as the leader of the Fremens and by the end of the movie, reclaims his father’s throne while waging war against the empire responsible for the death of his father. The third installment of this movie is seriously anticipated and fans can’t wait to witness Dune 3 on the screen.
