20. “War of the Worlds” (2005)
The ashes of the dead, the rupture of the contemporary family, the wonder and fear of the unknown: Spielberg packs most if not all of his late-career interests into this bare-bones adaptation of the H.G. Wells novel. Using only brief signifiers to illustrate the frayed relationship between dock-worker Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise, running) and his children, it’s immediately time for all-out carnage. “War of the Worlds” is ruthless, bleak and at no point does the film let up, meaning it works as a suitable companion piece to despairing horror-inflected sci-fi like George Romero’s “Night of the Living Dead.” Spielberg and writer David Koepp can’t manage to divorce themselves from overfamiliar plot conveniences, but when it’s working on all cylinders, it can be terrifying, and it’s interesting as a subversion of Cruise’s usual heroic persona —the film is too gristly for him to have much to do aside from look desperate and get covered in people-ash. But the real problem lies in how the nihilism of the premise (and a view of humanity in which even temporary sanctuary turns out to be possibly more scary than the monsters outside) does not at all earn the contrived and facile ending that suddenly abounds in everything’s-gonna-be-ok-ness.
19. “War Horse” (2011)
There’s a certain classicism that has come to the fore in Spielberg’s later work, with his last three movies,“War Horse,” “Lincoln” and “Bridge Of Spies” being among the helmer’s least flashy, most mature work. To some, that’s a great thing, but to others, it makes for some of the director’s dullest work. We’re somewhere in the middle. Based on Michael Morpurgo’s book, “War Horse” uses an almost “Au Hasard Balthazar”-style structure, as horse Joey is passed from his young English owner Albert to an army regiment in the first world war, then to the German army and then a French farm before reuniting with Albert. It’s a film of episodes, atypically uneven in tone with some stunning moments (it’s a highlight of Spielberg’s collaboration with cinematographer Janusz Kaminski) mixing with some that are treacly or frankly boring. The director’s usual keen eye for youthful casting falters a little with the bland Jeremy Irvine as Albert, and Joey simply isn’t expressive enough to pin your interest on throughout. There are certainly elements of real power here, but while Spielberg might have been aiming for something reminiscent of John Ford’s prime, it’s closer to late period Clint Eastwood —which is no great insult, but not a shining compliment for Spielberg either.
18. “Duel” (1971)
Based on a Richard Matheson short story (and based on a Richard Matheson life experience), “Duel” is an appropriately spare adaptation, especially given its TV movie origins (Spielberg would go on to shoot 15 additional minutes to qualify the film for theatrical play overseas, where it was well-received). We’re out on the open road with nondescript businessman David Mann (Dennis Weaver) when he begins to be tormented by the inexplicably aggressive, perpetually anonymous driver of a gas tanker. It starts with tailgating and then chicken before escalating into a full-blown cat-and-mouse game, with the trucker endangering nobody else and nobody believing David’s stories. The protagonist’s name lends itself easily enough to interpretation: David vs. a nameless, faceless Goliath, pitting a cheery red compact car up against a hulking rust bucket, an oblivious white-collar worker against a seemingly resentful blue-collar figure and an explicitly emasculated “Mann” against a massive symbol of potent masculinity. Or maybe it just is what it is: a generally effective, occasionally monotonous feat of daytime terror and an apparent predecessor for the hide-and-seek tension of “Jaws.” It’s Spielberg’s highly effective early calling card, that saw him graduate from the small screen to the big time.
17. “Lincoln” (2012)
With an already legendary, Oscar-winning performance from Daniel Day-Lewis as Abraham Lincoln —a more uncanny embodiment of a historical figure by a contemporary actor you are not likely to find— there’s a sense that “Lincoln” doesn’t have too much more to offer the casual moviegoer. And that’s probably true, insofar as Spielberg’s impulse here is to keep things stately and meticulous, and to rely almost entirely on his star to bring the fireworks. It’s a little bit as though this were a very dignified version of “Jurassic Park” and Day-Lewis was his chief dinosaur. But it’s also easy to overlook the film’s other riches: the design, the cinematography, the erudite humor of many of the exchanges, and the supporting cast, especially a borderline revelatory James Spader, who let a little color and life in. But it is slightly peculiar that Spielberg chose such a relatively un-cinematic chapter in a very dramatic life to build his film around, which contributes to the air of worthiness that no amount of performance pyrotechnics can distract from. “Lincoln” entertains less than it edifies, making it educationally valuable in its own right and a stellar performance showcase, but also a slightly missed opportunity as a film.
16. “Bridge of Spies” (2015)
If all that “Bridge of Spies” did was allow Tom Hanks to pass the Spielberg muse baton to Mark Rylance (who deservedly won Best Supporting Actor for this film), that would have been enough: Rylance is also the best thing in “The BFG,” however initially off-putting the CG, and has already locked down roles in Spielberg’s next two films “The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara” and “Ready Player One.” But though it’s dignified to the point of fustiness and classically-minded to the point of old-hat, “Bridge of Spies” is a rather enjoyable low-key spy yarn, elevated not just by Rylance’s superb turn as the sympathetic adversary, but by a beautifully generous, typically Hanksian Hanks performance as a civilian spy reluctantly tasked with matters of international intrigue in Cold War-era East Berlin. The production values are predictably unimpeachable — Janus Kaminski seems to go from strength to strength— and the Coen Brothers script, while maybe a little short on thrills, is nonetheless intelligent and lucidly plotted, leaving plenty of space for the performers to make the roles their own. If “quaint” did not have such negative connotations, it would be the perfect descriptor for this unassumingly sincere movie.