All 10 Gore Verbinski Movies Ranked

Gore Verbinski has a short, but fascinating filmography compared to the average big-name director, and his movies run a wide gamut of quality. Most famous for the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Gore Verbinski’s work spans all sorts of genres, from similar adventure films to spooky psychological horror movies and slice-of-life dramas. It’s interesting to see how his varied films stack up against one another, considering just how different they can be.

Gore Verbinski hasn’t released a film in almost a decade, with 2016’s A Cure for Wellness being his last cinematic endeavor. That may be changing soon thanks to Verbinski’s first movie in years, the upcoming film Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die, which will center on a man who travels back in time to form a world-saving team out of the patrons of an L.A. diner. Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die will fit right in among Verbinski’s quirky, offbeat, and exciting films of varying degrees of success.

10

The Lone Ranger

Couldn’t recapture the Pirates magic

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The Lone Ranger

TV-G

Animation

Western

Drama

Release Date

1966 – 1968

Network

ABC

Cast

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  • Cast Placeholder Image

    Agnes Moorehead

    Black Widow (voice)

  • Cast Placeholder Image

    Dick Beals

    Tiny Tom

  • Cast Placeholder Image

    Michael Rye

    Lone Ranger (voice)

  • Cast Placeholder Image

    Paul Winchell

    The Rainmaker

The Lone Ranger, released in 1966, follows an ex-Texas Ranger and his Native American partner as they battle injustice in the Old West. This adventure film portrays their quest to uphold law and order in a frontier setting.

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One of Verbinski’s worst box office flops, and perhaps part of the reason the esteemed creative hasn’t helmed a film in years, The Lone Ranger is perhaps the biggest dud in the director’s career. The movie is a classic action-adventure romp through the old west, starring Johnny Depp as Tonto and Armie Hammer as the titular masked cowboy. The Lone Ranger being Verbinski’s worst film is a testament to his creativity, if anything, still featuring some enjoyable action setpieces and decent enough chemistry between the dual leads.

Even beyond this elephant in the room, the dreadful pacing prevents The Lone Ranger from being the Western version of Pirates of the Caribbean it was clearly trying to be.

That being said, the film is one of Disney’s biggest financial flops for a good reason. Dragging the narrative down is the frame story centered on Depp’s narration as Tonto, a casting choice which was rightfully criticized thanks to Depp’s dubious claims of Native American ancestry supposedly allowing him to play the stereotypical caricature. Even beyond this elephant in the room, the dreadful pacing prevents The Lone Ranger from being the Western version of Pirates of the Caribbean it was clearly trying to be.

9

A Cure For Wellness

A bizarre mess of a thriller

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A Cure for Wellness

R

Drama

Horror

Mystery

Sci-Fi

Thriller

ScreenRant logo

4/10

8.7/10

Release Date

February 17, 2017

Runtime

146minutes

Director

Gore Verbinski

Writers

Justin Haythe

Cast

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  • Headshot Of Jason Isaacs In The PaleyLive NY Series Hollywood Legend Cary Grant: The American

    Jason Isaacs

  • Cast Placeholder Image

    Susanne Wuest

Directed by Gore Verbinski, A Cure for Wellness stars Dane Dehaan as Lockhart, a young executive sent to retrieve the CEO of his company from a strange wellness retreat in the Swiss Alps. Becoming trapped at the retreat, Lockhart begins to uncover its dark history and must fight for his life to escape. Jason Isaacs, Mia Goth, and Celia Imrie also star. 

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A Cure for Wellness truly emphasizes Verbinski’s affinity for the strange, stringing together an utterly incomprehensible psychological thriller that shocks for all the wrong reasons. The story focuses on a young corporate ladder-climber, played by Dane DeHaan, who is tasked with retrieving his company’s CEO from a mysterious wellness retreat center in the Swiss Alps. After a nasty car crash, DeHaan’s character finds himself a resident of the place, and slowly uncovers its ghastly secrets.

A Cure for Wellness might narratively be a worse movie than The Lone Ranger, but it earns some watchability for how entertainingly absurd the answers to its mysteries become. The truth involves a nonsensical mix of immortality, Mission Impossible-style disguise masks, eels, magic water, and professional gaslighting. At least Verbinski’s flair for the visual shines front and center, almost distracting from the jumbled twists and turns of the plot.

8

The Mexican

Indulges itself just a hair too long

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The Mexican

R

Action

Comedy

Crime

Romance

Release Date

March 1, 2001

Director

Gore Verbinski

Writers

J.H. Wyman

Cast

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  • Headshot Of Brad Pitt In The Babylon Premiere

    Brad Pitt

    Jerry Welbach

  • Headshot Of Julia Roberts in the Los Angeles Premiere Of ‘Ticket To Paradise'

    Julia Roberts

    Samantha Barzel

  • Headshot Of James Gandolfini

    James Gandolfini

    Winston Baldry

  • Headshot Of J.K. Simmons

    J.K. Simmons

    Ted Slocum

The Mexican is a 2001 adventure-comedy film directed by Gore Verbinski. Starring Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts, the film follows Jerry Welbach, a hapless criminal tasked with retrieving an antique and supposedly cursed pistol dubbed “The Mexican.” As he undertakes this mission, his relationship with his girlfriend Samantha is tested, drawing them into a series of unexpected and often humorous situations.

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While most of Gore Verbinski’s films tend to lean on the fantastical or audacious, The Mexican is just a bit more grounded as a traditional crime drama. The film stars Brad Pitt as a small-time criminal tasked with crossing the border into Mexico in order to retrieve a mysterious cursed pistol, referred to as “The Mexican”. Meanwhile, his girlfriend, played by Julia Roberts, undergoes her own brushes with the wrong side of the law as she attempts to move to Las Vegas out of frustration with her lover’s criminal enterprises.

The Mexican certainly has some original ideas on display, but its dragged down by its brutally-slow 123-minute runtime, quickly burning through any established goodwill.

James Gandolfini is excellent as a threatening hitman, but the film isn’t even one of The Sopranos star’s best movies. The Mexican was also a tad disingenuous with its advertising, disappointing those excited for Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts to star opposite one another in a fraught relationship, only to keep them apart for most of the film.

7

Mouse Hunt

A quirky bit of slapstick comedy

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Mouse Hunt

PG

Comedy

Family

Release Date

December 19, 1997

Runtime

98 Minutes

Director

Gore Verbinski

Writers

Adam Rifkin

Cast

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  • Headshot Of Nathan Lane in The 2018 Tony Awards

    Nathan Lane

  • Cast Placeholder Image

    Lee Evans

  • Cast Placeholder Image

    Vicki Lewis

  • Cast Placeholder Image

    Maury Chaykin

Mouse Hunt follows the comedic misadventures of two brothers, Lars and Ernie Smuntz, played by Nathan Lane and Lee Evans. After inheriting a dilapidated mansion, they embark on a mission to sell it, only to discover that a cunning mouse has made the house its home. Directed by Gore Verbinski, this film blends slapstick humor with heartfelt moments as the brothers’ efforts to evict the rodent spiral out of control.

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For being Gore Verbinski’s first feature-length release, Mouse Hunt is certainly a hilarious outlier in the esteemed name’s creative output. The quirky late 90s comedy centers on a pair of bumbling brothers who inherit a decrepit mansion from their late father, a wealthy string magnate. While attempting to fix up the place, the two become embroiled in a bitter war of extermination with a mouse living in the manor, leading to all sorts of slapstick hilarity.

It’s easy to write Mouse Hunt off as one big live-action episode of Tom & Jerry, low-brow entertainment that nevertheless does its job. But the film also inserts a poignant message regarding family, fatherly relationships, and forgiveness amid the cartoonish chaos in what little story it does have. Certainly nothing mind-blowing, Mouse Hunt works as an entertaining bit of good fun to pass the time.

6

The Weather Man

One of Nicolas Cage’s better performances

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The Weather Man

R

Comedy

Drama

Release Date

October 20, 2005

Runtime

101 minutes

Director

Gore Verbinski

Writers

Steven Conrad

Producers

Jason Blumenthal, Norman Golightly, Steve Tisch, Todd Black

Cast

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  • Headshot Of Nicolas Cage In The 77th Cannes Film Festival 'The Surfer' Premiere

    Nicolas Cage

    David Spritz

  • Shot Of Michael Caine In The World premiere of 'The Great Escaper' at BFI Southbank

    Michael Caine

    Robert Spritzel

  • Headshot Of Hope Davis

    Hope Davis

    Noreen

  • Cast Placeholder Image

    Gemmenne de la Peña

    Shelly Spritzel

The Weather Man follows a Chicago meteorologist, portrayed by Nicolas Cage, who navigates the complexities of his professional and personal life while grappling with separation from his family.

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For the most part, Nicolas Cage is known for his audacious over-the-top performances in action and horror movies like Face/Off, Con Air, and Mandy. It’s easy to dismiss Cage as a gimmicky actor who isn’t in on his own joke, but films like The Weather Man prove that Nicolas Cage is indeed a very capable performer. The movie posits Cage as a Chicago weather forecaster going through a mid-life crisis, despite his impending promotion.

It’s clear that the straightforward drama isn’t where Verbinski truly succeeds, but the film works just fine as a meditative character study with a dry sense of black comedy to boot.

Even more so than The Mexican, The Weather Man is by far the most subdued and down-to-earth film in Verbinski’s entire filmography, making Cage’s casting even more interesting. It’s clear that the straightforward drama isn’t where Verbinski truly succeeds, but the film works just fine as a meditative character study with a dry sense of black comedy to boot. Even if it isn’t one of Nic Cage’s best films, The Weather Man is solidly middle-of-the-pack for Verbinski.

5

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End

A shaky conclusion to a brilliant trilogy

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Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End

PG-13

Action

Adventure

Fantasy

8.8/10

Release Date

May 19, 2007

Runtime

169 Minutes

Director

Gore Verbinski

Writers

Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Stuart Beattie, Jay Wolpert

Cast

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Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End is the third film in the blockbuster series directed by Gore Verbinski. Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) is trapped in Davy Jones’ Locker, prompting Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley), and Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) to rescue him. As they battle the East India Trading Company, led by Cutler Beckett (Tom Hollander), they must unite the pirate lords to fight against an impending extinction of piracy.

Main Genre

Action

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It’s quite difficult to determine which of the Pirates of the Caribbean sequels falls just short in Verbinski’s filmography, but Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End just barely loses out. The last Pirates of the Caribbean movie, At World’s End picks up where the cliffhanger ending of Dead Man’s Chest left off. As Jack is rescued from beyond the grave by his intrepid crew, Davy Jones and the British Navy attempt to consolidate their vice grip on the world’s oceans, stopped only by the alliance of the pirate lords.

It’s easy to see why Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End is the least beloved of the initial trilogy, being far more political with focuses on the pirate lords and the long-term goals of both major villains. That being said, there’s still plenty to appreciate here, from the genius supernatural elements of Verbinski’s mythologized version of the Earth’s oceans to the entertaining scheming of the double and triple-crossing protagonists, who all have their own agendas. It’s a shame Verbinski’s other two Pirates movies remain so unfairly underrated.

4

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest

A sorely overlooked blockbuster of epic proportions

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Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest

PG-13

Action

Adventure

Fantasy

9.3/10

Release Date

July 6, 2006

Runtime

151 Minutes

Director

Gore Verbinski

Writers

Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Stuart Beattie, Jay Wolpert

Cast

See All

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest is the second installment in the swashbuckling franchise directed by Gore Verbinski. Johnny Depp returns as Captain Jack Sparrow, who must settle a blood debt with the legendary Davy Jones, portrayed by Bill Nighy. As Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) are drawn into Jack’s perilous quest, they face new dangers on the high seas and encounter the fearsome Kraken.

Main Genre

Action

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Although the Pirates of the Caribbean sequels don’t get the respect they deserve, Dead Man’s Chest is honestly incredibly close to being just as good as the first film. Here, the slimy, tentacled villain of Davy Jones is introduced for the first time, the captain of the Flying Dutchman cursed to collect briny souls for eternity. When he comes to collect on a long-overdue bargain between himself and Jack Sparrow, everyone’s lives are put in mortal danger.

Orlando Bloom's Will stands and stares in Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Mans Chest

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A Great Scene In Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest Shows The Wasted Potential Of A Key Subplot

Although Dead Man’s Chest introduced an incredible new supporting star to the Pirates of the Caribbean series, the franchise went on to waste them.

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The CGI of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest is absolutely stunning, looking better than most major blockbusters released today. The film somehow manages to entertainingly juggle a complicated web of lies and deception between many characters, punctuating the drama with genius action sequences such as the cannibal escape or the waterwheel swordfight. Ahead of its time yet unfairly admonished, the worst sin of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest is giving the characters with the thickest accents the responsibility of explaining complicated Pirates lore.

3

Rango

Proved the worth of animation in storytelling

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Rango

PG

Animation

Action

Adventure

ScreenRant logo

5/10

7.7/10

Release Date

March 4, 2011

Runtime

107 Minutes

Director

Gore Verbinski

Writers

John Logan, Gore Verbinski, James Ward Byrkit

Cast

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Rango is an animated comedy that stars Johnny Depp as a pampered pet chameleon named Rango, who finds himself lost in the desert when he falls out of his family’s truck. Rango accidentally stumbles into the role of a sheriff for a town under control by a greedy baron who limits access to water for his citizens to make more money. When Rango meets a young woman that catches his fancy, he’ll utilize his acquired knowledge of Hollywood westerns to assume the role of a Sheriff to win her heart and save the town – if he isn’t found out first. 

Budget

$135 Million

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One of the most unique Westerns ever made, Rango is a shining jewel in Gore Verbinski’s filmography. The animated cowboy epic stars Johnny Depp once more as the titular chameleon, a household pet who imagines himself as an actor. When a car accident strands Rango in the Mojave Desert, he quickly takes on a nasty case of imposter syndrome by lying his way into the position of Sheriff in the town of Dirt. Before long, he discovers a sinister conspiracy behind the town’s decade-long drought.

Though Rango is Verbinski’s only fully-animated film, the director made the decision to have the voice actors completely act-out each scene in person for use as a reference, and the effort certainly doesn’t go unnoticed. The film is both hilarious and genuinely exciting, with Bill Nighy returning from the Pirates of the Caribbean series to lend his voice to the effortlessly cool villain Rattlesnake Jake. If it weren’t for a few moments of Nickelodeon-mandated gross-out humor and a tired “liar revealed” arc, Rango could easily be Verbinski’s best movie.

2

The Ring

A jump scare of quality horror in Verbinski’s filmography

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The Ring

PG-13

Mystery

Horror

ScreenRant logo

8/10

Release Date

October 18, 2002

Runtime

115 minutes

Director

Gore Verbinski

Writers

Ehren Kruger

Sequel(s)

Rings, The Ring Two

Cast

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  • Headshot Of Martin Henderson

    Martin Henderson

  • Cast Placeholder Image

    Naomi Watts

An American remake of the original Japanese supernatural horror film, Ring, The Ring follows a journalist who discovers she has seven days to live after watching a cursed videotape. Attending the funeral of a girl who dies under mysterious circumstances, the victim’s mother asks Seattle journalist Rachel to investigate the death. After learning about the urban legend behind the video tape the girl watched, Rachel views the tape in the hopes of finding a lead – only to find herself succumbing to the same curse. 

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It’s rare that American remakes of foreign horror stories work out well, but Gore Verbinski’s The Ring was good enough to inspire a whole generation of scary movies that failed to recapture the same magic. Based off the Japanese hit Ringu, The Ring tells a similar story of an investigative journalist tasked by her grieving sister with uncovering the truth behind her daughter’s death, seemingly caused by an urban legend about a cursed videotape. The curse turns out to be all too real as the macabre tale of Samara is slowly uncovered.

The Ring manages to inspire the same terror of the original classic while adding more than a simple cultural translation. Its contributions to the mythos of the TV-crawling killer ghost are well-founded, and Verbinski’s command of quality jump scares and an overarching sense of dread make it surprising he doesn’t do more horror movies.

1

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl

Perhaps the single greatest adventure movie ever made

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Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

PG-13

Action

Adventure

Fantasy

ScreenRant logo

9/10

19

8.9/10

Release Date

July 9, 2003

Runtime

143 Minutes

Director

Gore Verbinski

Writers

Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Stuart Beattie, Jay Wolpert

Sequel(s)

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

Cast

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The Curse of the Black Pearl is the film that kickstarted the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, a series of supernatural swashbuckling adventures. In 1720, blacksmith Will Turner teams up with eccentric pirate “Captain” Jack Sparrow to save his love, the governor’s daughter Elizabeth Swann, from Jack’s former pirate allies, who are now undead.

Franchise(s)

Pirates of the Caribbean

Budget

$140 Million

Studio(s)

Jerry Bruckheimer Films, Disney

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The phenomenal blockbuster that started it all, no one could have guessed that a film based on a theme park ride could reach such levels of cultural appeal. The first Pirates of the Caribbean movie is nothing short of legendary, creating an all-time great performance with Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow. The first adventure in Sparrow’s journey sees him come face-to-face with the undead crew who mutinied against him, dead-set on finding a cure to their morbid curse brought about by stealing Aztec gold.

Even those who disparage the efficacy of the Pirates of the Caribbean sequels hold reverence for The Curse of the Black Pearl. The interplay between Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, and Keira Knightley is nothing short of breathtaking, and the action sequences pair with Verbinski’s patented slapstick humor like a fine wine. Add in Geoffrey Rush’s Barbarossa, who was good enough to shoehorn in to the last film, and it’s clear that Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl is easily Gore Verbinski’s magnum opus.