Every Wesley Snipes Movie Ranked Worst To Best

Today Wesley Snipes might be known as much for his off-screen struggles as his dominating on-screen presence, but there was a time not long ago that the actor was one of Hollywood's biggest stars. Getting his start in the late '80s in dramas and comedies like "Major League" and guest spots on TV crime dramas such as "A Man Called Hawk" and "Miami Vice," he came to stardom in the early '90s with a string of big hits. After becoming a superhero in the "Blade" trilogy later that decade, his star faded as his style of low-fi action movies lost favor in Tinseltown. By the mid 2000s he was knee deep in personal struggles, including a reputation for being difficult to work with that he has long disputed (via Entertainment Weekly).

Whether Snipes is a golden boy or a bad boy, there's no denying that he made some of his era's most exciting films. From "Demolition Man" to "New Jack City" he's done everything from action films to comedies and heartfelt dramas. Though Snipes has made an entire separate catalog of direct-to-video movies, we're focusing on his big screen outings and have ranked them from worst to best. You might think you know what will top the list given some of his iconic performances, but it may just surprise you. Read on to find out.

The 2012 film "Gallowwalkers" saw Snipes take on a new genre: Westerns. Like his famous role in "Blade," there's elements of the supernatural and horror here as well. Snipes stars as a mysterious gunslinger draped in all black named Aman. Flashbacks reveal he was the victim of a brutal attack at the hands of gang of vicious outlaws. After getting his vengeance on the men who did him wrong, Aman was killed, but his mother struck a deal with God to resurrect him ... for a price. Now, Aman is cursed to walk the Earth, and those he kills come back as undead monsters who soon lose their skin and can only be destroyed with a shot through the brain. 

Infamous for being the last film Snipes performed in before his conviction for failing to file tax returns, "Gallowwalkers" took seven years to complete. Sadly, the results are not worth the time and effort. The nonsensical plot and muddled backstory aren't made any better by a lackluster cast giving overwrought B movie performances. There's some interesting ideas, and a few clever moments sprinkled throughout, but the goofy concept and weak action make it a mess of a film only worth watching for being an oddity in Snipe's filmography. 

It's not hard to see why the 2017 action-horror film "Armed Response" lies so far down on the list when its critics score on Rotten Tomatoes sits at a dreaded 0% even so many years later. The 17% audience score gives it a little bit of credit, apparently able to entertain at least a few fans of Snipes.

In the film, the former big budget action star teams with one-time Hollywood starlet Anne Heche in a story about a squad of elite soldiers sent to investigate a secure military compound where personnel have gone missing. The facility houses a new and highly experimental artificial intelligence developed as a super-powered lie detector. As the group searches for answers, things go horribly wrong. The body count rises, the tone shifts, and the high octane action-adventure quickly becomes a blood-splattered horror film.

As Snipes' first starring role after being released from prison (per The Hollywood Reporter), and as the first joint venture between KISS front man Gene Simmons and WWE Studios, it hardly came as a surprise that this one wasn't a box office hit or a critical darling. Its predictable twists and turns and its laughably bad production value easily make it one of Snipes' worst outings. 

"The Expendables" is the star-driven adventure franchise led by Sylvester Stallone that's become infamous for assembling past action heroes for one more adventure. After two explosive films, the third, "Expendables 3," added a few major names, including Wesley Snipes, Mel Gibson, Rhonda Rousey, and legend Harrison Ford. It also added an infusion of youth in the form of "Twilight" star Kellan Lutz. No matter how many big names are included, these films are judged on the strength of their action and here it's a decidedly "meh" motion picture. 

The story opens with the Expendables getting back together to take on their former founder, Stonebanks (Gibson), now a black market arms dealer. To defeat him, Stallone and his crew bring in some new recruits. Snipes plays Doctor Death, an expert with blades and bombs. Despite being surrounded by major performers who you'd think would keep him on his toes, the actor delivers a lackluster performance, as do most of the others. An underwhelming sequel that's still notable for its broad, star-studded cast, it doesn't even live up to its mediocre predecessors and wastes the reunion of some of the "Demolition Man" stars.

A mindless and middling action thriller, "Game of Death" is a 2010 film starring Wesley Snipes as Marcus Jones, a top-notch CIA agent on his final mission for the agency. Undercover as a bodyguard for one of the CIA's biggest targets, Jones is tasked with monitoring a high profile arms dealer named Frank Smith. But Jones suddenly becomes the target himself as his old CIA team goes rogue in an attempt to make off with Smith's latest score: $100 million. 

Allied with a fugitive and on the run from highly trained CIA agents and the full force of the Detroit Police Department, Jones must stay alive and fight back against those he used to call friends. Co-starring Zoë Bell ("The Hateful Eight") and Ernie Hudson ("Ghostbusters"), "Game of Death" barely holds its own as an entertaining action vehicle, let alone an exciting thriller. It's clear the back-and-forth betrayals are meant to surprise and keep you guessing, but it's more of a mind-numbing bore, and its flashback conceit is used to no effect at all. Another forgettable clunker, Snipes does manage to do his job as an action hero — about the only thing the movie has going for it.

Wesley Snipes continued his foray into offbeat genre movies with "The Recall" in 2017, a science fiction horror movie where he plays a dangerous, one-man army. A classic slasher story with a sci-fi twist, it begins with the cliched setup of a group of friends staying at a remote cabin in the woods for a leisurely getaway.

Amidst their fun and relaxation, the friends have a run-in with a predictably dangerous hunter (Snipes) who seems likely to become the villain. But "The Recall" twists the trope, and the shadowy figure soon transforms into an ally when they realize that the Earth has become the target of sinister alien invaders. Together the teenagers and the grizzled, bitter hunter fight to stay alive, though they soon learn there is more to their new friend than meets the eye.

Despite the fact that there's very little here that anyone would call original or novel, Snipes' over-the-top performance borders on scene-stealing thanks to its hammy nature. Whether the movie was meant to be taken seriously as a sci-fi action adventure is unclear, but there's at least a kernel of enjoyment to be had, especially if you're a Snipes devotee.

Not to be confused with the Denzel Washington/Chris Pine thriller of the same name, the 2004 action film "Unstoppable" comes from "Star Trek: Generations" director David Carson. It stars Snipes as a former CIA agent and ex-Special Forces operative, this time out of action and still haunted by a deadly mission from his past.

After witnessing the death of his best friend in Bosnia, a case of mistaken identity gets him caught up in a conflict between his old friend's sister Amy and a gang of ruthless thieves. Captured and injected with an experimental military-grade truth serum, he's forced to relive the pain of his friend's demise while Amy tracks down the people responsible and finds an antidote that can reverse the effects of the serum.

With an appearance by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, there is at least some appeal to "Unstoppable." Otherwise, it's little more than a run-of-the-mill action movie that feels built off of a Mad Libs page. Snipes is just fine in the role of the eye-rollingly named ex-soldier Dean Cage and does his best with the material he's given, which isn't much.

The 1994 film "Sugar Hill" sees Wesley Snipes in the kind of role he excels at. In the gritty crime drama, Snipes plays Romello Skuggs, a victim of inner city crime who just can't seem to escape the violence around him. In his youth he watched both of his parents lose theirs live to drugs and violence. While he tries his best to leave this turmoil behind, he finds himself pulled back in once more.

After the death of his best friend. Romello wants revenge and takes on a ruthless Brooklyn dealer named Lolly (Ernie Hudson). Alongside his brother, Ray, Romello is embroiled in a vicious gang war with Lolly's crew and unable to get away from the life he'd tried so hard to put behind him. Meanwhile, Romello's girlfriend wants to leave the city with him once and for all, but even she can't outrun the death and violence that follow the Skuggs family.

"Sugar Hill" is an ambitious movie that doesn't quite live up to the promise of its premise — despite Snipes delivering a strong performance at the height of his dramatic career. Empire Online gave it just two stars, crediting it for trying to do something different but failing to stand out among other films of its type.

Boasting an all-star cast, the 1993 film "Boiling Point" is headlined by star Wesley Snipes and features Dennis Hopper ("Speed"), Viggo Mortensen ("Lord of the Rings"), and Lolita Davidovich ("Raising Cain"). Snipes plays Treasury Agent Jimmy Mercer whose partner is killed by the notorious con artist and old school mobster Rudolph "Red" Diamond and his newfound partner Ronnie, both just released from prison. Consumed with thoughts of revenge, Mercer vows to take Red out. Complicating matters, Mercer is told he's being transferred off the job within the week, leaving him a limited window to track down his partner's killer within the bounds of the law.

Based on the novel "Money Men," the script was co-written by the original author, a former U.S. Secret Service agent named Gerald Petievich. What sounds like it could be an exciting chase movie turns out to be anything but, filled with a plodding narrative that goes nowhere slowly. Variety's review of the movie seemed miffed that it had been billed as an action thriller, lamenting that it "turns out to be an old-fashioned police procedural drama. Low-key and bland in the extreme, it's strictly for film buffs." But if you're looking for a fine Snipes performance, you'll definitely find one here.

Given the number of bad films in Wesley Snipes' past, it might seem odd that a film featuring one of his best and most iconic roles would rank so low. But if you've seen "Blade: Trinity" you definitely understand why. A sad, low end to what could have been one of the most entertaining — if not best — comic book movie trilogies ever, the threequel disappointed in just about every way a capper can. 

Returning to the part that had previously seemed so perfect for him, Snipes delivers a weak performance, seemingly setting the tone for the rest of the cast, most of whom appear to just be going through the motions (with Ryan Reynolds marking the sole exception). Rumors of awful on-set behavior have dogged Snipes for years, with reports surfacing more recently about his alleged tirades and disruptive on-set presence (via The Hollywood Reporter). If true, it could help explain the on-screen results.

Snipes isn't the only problem, as Jessica Biel's half-hearted attempt to become an action star does nothing to help the film. Though Blade's return was highly anticipated after two successful, action-packed entries, the third film was a massive let down. It may be a necessary watch for completionists, and there's an argument to be made that its lame action and laughable performances qualify it as a "so bad it's good" B movie romp. Despite its failure, the franchise continued with a short-lived TV series spin-off that landed in 2006 and fans still hold the original trilogy in high esteem.

"The Art of War" is the only film in Snipes' catalog outside of "Blade" that earned a sequel that he returned to star in, though "The Art of War 2" and "3" were direct-to-video releases. The original, while a decent enough action flick, isn't quite what you'd expect to start a franchise — it was both a box office bomb and a critical dud — but the '90s were a different time.

"The Art of War" stars Snipes as yet another man on the run. This time he plays Neil Shaw, a member of the United Nations' Special Activities Division (SAD), used for covert ops paramilitary engagement. Shaw is a highly trained shadow agent tasked with the most clandestine missions for the Secretary General, all off the books. On his latest assignment, however, Shaw discovers a plot to take down the U.N. just as an important international treaty is to be signed.

When the Chinese ambassador is found dead, Shaw becomes the prime suspect and must disappear to stay alive, all while hoping to expose the scheme to sabotage an important peace summit. Though it wasn't so well-reviewed, the movie does have some good action and it moves at along at a fair clip, making it easy to overlook its unnecessarily complicated plot.

With a title that's a little too on the nose, the 1997 romantic drama "One Night Stand" comes from the director of the Nicolas Cage dramedy "Leaving Las Vegas." Featuring Wesley Snipes and Ming Na-Wen as married couple Max and Mimi, the film chronicles the trials and tribulations of an indiscretion. 

Max, a small-time director and photographer based in Los Angeles, spends a fateful evening stuck overnight in New York City where he encounters Karen (Nastassja Kinski) after missing his flight back home. Though his marriage to Mimi is a happy one, Max shares the evening with Karen and the two eventually wind up sleeping together. Regretful of his one night stand, Max tries to move on from his dalliance with a beautiful stranger. Unfortunately, a trip back to New York to visit a dying friend (Robert Downey, Jr.) leads him back into Karen's path, who is now married to his friend's brother (Kyle MacLachlan).

Though the movie aspires to be a heartfelt drama about regret and betrayal, it's a rather ineffective execution of its big ideas. Still, it managed to get a smattering of positive reviews, with Roger Ebert praising its acting and writing.

In just his second feature film, Wesley Snipes took a starring role in the 1986 drama "Streets of Gold." He appears alongside Adrian Pasdar ("Carlito's Way") as a pair of young street boxers, Timmy and Roland. On the streets of Brooklyn they meet a disgruntled ex-Soviet fighter named Alek played by Klaus Maria Brandauer ("Never Say Never Again"), who takes them under his wing.

Back in the USSR, Alek was a boxing phenom forbidden to play on the national boxing team because of his Jewish heritage. Now in America, he offers to train the two up-and-coming boxers with the hope of helping them beat the visiting Soviets. At the same time, the training reinvigorates the aging former champ, who finds a new zest for life.

A clear attempt to cash in on the success of the "Rocky" film series, "Streets of Gold" even plays off similar themes as the recently released "Rocky 4" with its emphasis on the rivalry with Soviet-era Russia. While it's a decent attempt and has quite a few standout moments, it unfortunately doesn't bring much to the table that "Rocky" didn't do better. It deserves credit for a compelling concept and some good performances though, including from Snipes.

Re-teaming after their hit film "White Men Can't Jump," Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson starred with Jennifer Lopez in the 1995 action-comedy "Money Train." A classic buddy cop film, the actors play a pair of New York transit officers and foster brothers, John and Charlie Robinson. Charlie (Harrelson) is neck deep in gambling debt and has a daring plan to get out from under it, while John (Snipes) is reluctant to get involved in his brother's criminal scheme. Charlie is convinced he can rob the train that's carrying the Transit Authority's daily stash, which he figures could be as much as four million dollars.

At the same time, the two brothers — along with fellow officer Grace Santiago (Lopez) — are tracking a ruthless serial killer nicknamed "Torch" for his use of fire on his victims. When a police sting to catch him goes wrong, it creates a schism between the siblings and John must decide whether he wants to help or stop Charlie from robbing the train. Though no classic in the action-comedy genre, it offers enough excitement and laughs to make it worth an afternoon watch.

Though Snipes is infamous for his alleged altercations with "Blade: Trinity" director David S. Goyer, it wasn't the first time the two had worked together. Goyer directed the 2002 action comedy drama "Zig Zag," a movie that saw Snipes in the role of deadbeat dad Dave Fletcher. His son, a teen with autism named Louis "Zig Zag" Fletcher (Sam Jones), gets caught up in a risky scheme to pay his father $9,000 in back rent, stealing the money from his boss (Oliver Platt) at the restaurant where he works. Dean (John Leguizamo), Zig Zag's mentor through the Big Brother program, gets wind of what's happened and finds out that Dave has been using the money to pay a dangerous loan shark. Dean — who is also battling terminal cancer — sets out to get the money back any way he can.

Filled with overwrought melodrama and sincere attempts at heart, "Zig Zag" suffers mostly from its overly complicated story. Jones in particular was praised for his performance as the troubled teen, and Snipes too impressed as the boorish brute of an abusive father.

More than 15 years after "Streets Of Gold," Wesley Snipes returned to the ring in "Undisputed," which also stars Ving Rhames ("Mission: Impossible"), Michael Rooker ("Guardians Of The Galaxy"), and Fisher Stevens ("Short Circuit"). This time around Snipes is not the hero prize fighter of the story. Instead, the film centers on world heavyweight champ George "The Iceman" Chambers (Rhames).

After receiving a hefty sentence, Chambers is sent to prison. He meets the king of the ring, Monroe "Undisputed" Hutchen (Snipes), in the state penitentiary. Following a bitter first encounter, a rivalry quickly develops. Convicted mob boss Ripstein (Peter Falk) exploits this, arranging for a prison title fight between the two champs after bribing the warden and a key guard (Rooker). 

With both fighters portrayed as despicable criminals, it's an interesting tack to take, with neither being a particularly lovable character to root for. It's that compelling dynamic that critic Roger Ebert praised, along with the film's seeming self-awareness of the simplicity of its concept. "There is a kind of pleasure to be had from its directness, from its lack of gimmicks, from its classical form," observed Ebert. Though not an exceptional sports movie, it delivers conflict and action in a briskly paced drama.

The 2005 thriller "Chaos" pairs the star with Jason Statham and Ryan Phillipe. In another decade, the movie may have been a bigger hit, boasting strong action, a quality cast, and good performances. Unfortunately, by the early 2000s, Hollywood had moved on from this style of run-and-gun police thriller. But put yourself in a late '80s/early '90s mindset, and you'll find a good film.

Statham and Phillipe play detectives Quentin Connors and Shane Decker, a pair of police officers in Seattle who square off with a bank robber named Lorenz (Wesley Snipes). A veteran once fired for misconduct, Connors is back in action and partners with the younger Decker to stop Lorenz' latest heist after the criminal mastermind takes a group of hostages and will only speak to the veteran officer. As the story unfolds, new information comes to light that turns everything upside down. What seems at first like a standard cop thriller becomes a true who-done-it mystery, with surprise reveals and a shocking twist ending. Along with the earlier classic "Demolition Man," 2005's "Chaos" proves that Snipes may be just as good at playing villains as he is playing heroes.

The 1996 film "The Fan" is a dark and twisted drama directed by Tony Scott (whose previous hits included "Top Gun" and "The Last Boy Scout") that straddles the line between sports movie and psychological thriller. It put Snipes back on the field as Major League Baseball player Bobby Rayburn opposite Robert De Niro. The Hollywood screen legend plays disturbed sports fan Gil Renard. His favorite team signs Rayburn with an eye-popping big money contract, and the athlete quickly becomes the focus of Renard's dangerous obsession. Though Renard was already enamored with the star player, his fixation spins out of control as his own life spirals after the loss of his job and custody of his son.

While Rayburn just wants to perform on the field and live up to the big contract he just signed, Renard descends into madness, quickly becoming a deranged man willing to do anything to prove how great Rayburn is and somehow redeem himself in the eyes of those around him. After meeting his baseball idol and discovering he may not be the person he imagined, Renard goes further over the edge and kidnaps Rayburn's son. A taut, engaging, and gripping drama, De Niro and Snipes are at the top of their game, and the story's unpredictable twists will keep you guessing right up until the end.

The ensemble crime drama "Brooklyn's Finest" was directed by Antoine Fuqua ("Training Day") and has a stellar cast with Richard Gere, Wesley Snipes, Don Cheadle, and Ethan Hawke as New York cops joined by Vincent D'Onofrio and Michael K. Williams. Gere plays Officer Eddie Dugan, whose life hits rock bottom as he closes in on retirement. Hawke portrays Sal Procida, a detective whose desperate need for cash leads him down a dangerous path. Cheadle meanwhile serves as undercover narcotics officer Tango Butler who wants nothing more than to get off the streets and behind a desk, but to do it he'll have to put his best friend Caz (Snipes) back behind bars.

While it has some trite story beats, "Brooklyn's Finest" delivers a police drama that gives audiences a look at the lives of four troubled officers. It was praised for its fine cast who give their all in their roles. Tango and Caz's story is a highlight of the film, with the Los Angeles Times calling out Snipes' performance in particular. "Snipes is back reminding everyone just how good he can be, his blinged-out drug lord as seductively charismatic as he is lethal," wrote the reviewer. While not the best crime drama he's ever made, it might be the most underrated in Snipes' career.

Back in the role of noble hero, Snipes plays Washington D.C. Metro Police detective Harlan Regis, assigned to the case of a young secretary found dead on the White House grounds. As Regis pieces together clues, the Secret Service puts up roadblocks to his investigation that lead him to believe their agents might have been involved. Meanwhile, the President of the United States deals with a diplomatic crisis involving North Korea that causes problems at home as even those within his inner circle are unhappy with his handling of the situation. 

While Regis doggedly pursues the murder case, he becomes a target himself and realizes there's more going on than a simple homicide. Uncovering a vast conspiracy, it's up to Regis to find a killer and maybe even prevent a war. Though knocked for being cliched, "Murder At 1600" is nevertheless an effective and exciting action thriller — even if there's nothing terribly groundbreaking about it. Snipes was once again well cast as a determined investigator with the world against him who triumphs against all odds. If you're a fan of Snipes, this is among his best roles, even if it's not his best film. Diane Lane, Ronny Cox, Tate Donavan, Alan Alda, and Dennis Miller round out the cast.

Launched the same year as "Jurassic Park," the crime noir thriller "Rising Sun" was also based on a novel by author Michael Crichton. Released just months after the book hit shelves, the film caused some controversy following Snipes' casting announcement (per Entertainment Weekly). In the end, Snipes silenced many of the naysayers as he delivered a gutsy performance in a film about Japanese corporate intrigue on American shores. 

Snipes is partnered with Sean Connery as Web Smith and John Connor, a pair of investigators working a murder case after a woman is found dead in the high-rise offices of a foreign corporation. Connor is an expert on Japanese culture who helps Web bridge the culture gap, but as they pursue the evidence they quickly enter a new and unfamiliar world of high stakes espionage and cutting edge technology. When they realize that video evidence may have been digitally altered — with video manipulation being a startling new capability in the era — they're forced to find new ways to catch the culprit.

A smart, stylish thriller, "Rising Sun" is an engrossing crime drama. Though not without its flaws, it's well cast with Harvey Keitel, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, and Tia Carrere doing some fine work alongside Snipes and Connery.

Famous for Snipes' iconic one liner "Always bet on black," the classic hijack film "Passenger 57" saw him in the role of John Cutter, a former cop, soldier, and Secret Service agent who works as a security expert teaching self defense to ill-prepared airline workers. Still dealing with the death of his wife in a botched robbery, he accepts a new, prestigious position as head of an anti-terrorism task force for an airline owned by a friend. Aboard a flight to Los Angeles (as the 57th passenger) Cutter finds himself ferrying international terrorist Charles Rayne to his trial alongside FBI agents. Fate intervenes when the criminal mastermind's henchman break him free and hijack the plane.

It's up to Cutter to fight back, stop a madman, and save everyone on board. With a determined agent alone in an enclosed space against a diabolical terrorist, "Passenger 57" recalls shades of other classic action movies, and was given the nickname "Fly Hard" by Empire in its review. Like many other projects in Snipes' catalog, it's a by-the-book action offering that manages to succeed despite its haphazard story and predictable nature. Fun, fast, and action-packed, it was the movie that helped establish Snipes as one of the '90s biggest action stars.

In the 1994 movie "Drop Zone," Wesley Snipes took to the skies once more as Pete Nessip (a not so- lever anagram of "Snipes"), a steely-eyed U.S. Marshal. Nessip is harangued for botching a high profile prisoner transfer aboard a 747, with cyber terrorist Ty Moncrief apparently killed when hijackers took over the plane. Nessip isn't buying it and wonders if the daring hijacking was in fact a successful escape attempt before setting out looking for Moncrief. To find him, Nessip enters the high-flying world of sky diving competitions and is soon trained by expert aerialist Jessie Crossman (Yancy Butler of "Witchblade"). While learning how to sky dive, Nessip comes to believe that Moncrief is not only alive and on the run, but is planning another daring crime and sets out to stop him.

As a gritty agent out to catch a vicious criminal, Snipes returns to a stereotypical role he has played many times, but this is forgivable because he does it so well. "The movie is virtually one stunt after another, many of them taking place in mid air, and during the pure action sequences you simply suspend your interest in the story and look at the amazing sights before you," wrote Roger Ebert. Oddly one of two sky diving focused action pictures released in '94 — the other being Charlie Sheen's "Terminal Velocity" — Snipes' "Drop Zone" is the clear winner.

Following the blockbuster success of the Harrison Ford led action film "The Fugitive," a follow-up came a few years later. With Ford's Richard Kimble proven an innocent man, the movie instead focuses on intrepid U.S. Marshal and investigator Sam Gerard, a role for which Tommy Lee Jones received an Oscar nomination in the first installment. Wesley Snipes takes the part of the target, Mark Roberts, a federal fugitive on the run from a murder charge. Gerard's team includes returning stars Joe Pantoliano and Dan Roebuck, while Robert Downey Jr. joins the cast as Special Agent John Royce. 

After Gerard does some digging, Roberts is revealed to be Mark Sheridan, a former CIA operative who had been suspected as a mole in the agency, but who fled before he could be taken into custody. In an attempt to outrun and outwit Gerard, Sheridan must also prove his innocence and expose the man who was leaking classified intelligence to foreign enemies. Though "The Fugitive" spinoff couldn't quite match the original, it's still a well-executed, high class action thriller. Jones comes back to deliver another strong performance as Gerard, and Snipes proves a worthy successor to Ford's Richard Kimble while being a very different fugitive. With plenty of suspense and mystery punctuated by tense action sequences, narrow escapes, and just enough plot to keep things moving, "U.S. Marshals" makes an effective addition to the franchise. 

In what is certainly Wesley Snipes' most unexpected role, the actor starred alongside John Leguizamo and Patrick Swayze as a trio of drag queens who set out on an epic road trip to Los Angeles from New York City. Snipes and Swayze play Noxeema Jackson and Vida Boheme, who take John Leguizamo's Chi-Chi under their wing and head out west to attend the Miss Drag Queen of America Pageant. They carry an autographed photo of former "Batman" actress Julie Newmar (one time Catwoman) as a good luck charm. 

Their quest to enter the nation's biggest drag queen competition leads them to a violent run-in with a despicable sheriff before their car breaks down at a rest stop. There they meet a young man named Bobby Ray, who takes them into the town of Snydersville to make repairs and spend the night. Fate strands them there and the triumvirate slowly becomes friends with the folksy locals. An inspiring and uplifting story of identity, individuality, and personal courage, "Too Wong Foo" has become an iconic film in some circles and a notable cult classic (per Today). It may fall victim to some predictable story beats, but its charming performances and underdog story have made it a timeless hit.

It may be hard to believe now but there was a time in the mid 1990s when Marvel Comics superheroes were a rarity on the big screen, with just "Howard the Duck" and "The Punisher" to show for their efforts. A deal with Lionsgate changed that, and the 1998 action horror movie "Blade" — based on a crime-fighting half-vampire hero — became a comic book movie trailblazer. Before "The Matrix" and "X-Men," Wesley Snipes' turn as a black leather-clad superhero turned heads for its lightning quick action, kung fu fight scenes, and techno soundtrack that would influence the genre for the next decade.

The film introduced Eric Brooks and his sidekick Whistler, who made it their personal mission to hunt down and destroy an emerging vampire threat: the villainous Deacon Frost. Out to end humanity's reign on planet Earth, Frost hatches a plan to resurrect an ancient blood god called La Magra. To do it, Frost needs to perform an ancient ritual that uses the blood from 12 vampires, and Blade is the last one on his list. Following his run of action movies in the early '90s, "Blade" turned Snipes into a superhero and set the stage for the flood of Marvel movies that would follow. Proving that Hollywood could enjoy success adapting lesser-known characters, it also sparked a new wave of action-driven vampire movies like "Underworld" and "Resident Evil."

"Blade" proved an unexpected hit at the box office, especially as a smaller budget action picture (via The Hollywood Reporter). With Snipes back on board to star, a sequel was a no-brainer and dropped into theaters in 2002. Original director Stephen Norrington was swapped out for emerging talent Guillermo Del Toro, and the project added several big names to the cast. The list included Del Toro's eventual "Hellboy" star Ron Perlman, future "Walking Dead" standout Norman Reedus, and Hong Kong action superstar Donnie Yen. 

The film brings Blade, Whistler, and his allies up against a devastating new threat: a race of beings called "Reapers," mutated vampire hybrids out to extinguish the human race and vampire-kind alike. To defeat the Reapers, Blade must reluctantly work with his most vile enemies, including Eli Damaskinos, a devious vampire lord. Like the best sequels, "Blade 2" does everything the original did a little bit better. Del Toro's horror roots are on full display, as are his stylish action sensibilities. An onslaught of dazzling gun fights and martial arts melees are what fans came to see, and they got it in spades. After impressing in the previous film, Snipes turned in another fine (if over-the-top) performance, cementing the superhero vampire as perhaps his most iconic role.

Paired with '80s action star Sylvester Stallone for the first time, Wesley Snipes starred in 1993's "Demolition Man" as the film's main villain. He plays the psychopathic Simon Phoenix, one of the most vile and vicious criminals of the 20th century, who is taken down by LAPD officer John Spartan (Stallone) in 1996. A maverick cop nicknamed "The Demolition Man" for his reckless tactics, the takedown comes with mass casualties and results in both he and Phoenix being sentenced to incarceration. Rather than go behind bars, both are put into cryogenic stasis with the hope of rehabilitating them while in suspended animation using new experimental techniques.

Fast forward to 2032 in San Angeles — a future utopian city that has replaced L.A. — and Phoenix manages to escape his sentence and go on a violent crime spree. In this future peaceful world, law enforcement is unprepared for such a brutal criminal, and Spartan is thawed out to try and stop him. Co-starring Sandra Bullock in the role that put her on Hollywood's radar, the film is a gloriously cheesy action-comedy made indelible thanks to Snipes and Stallone. It proves the "Blade" actor is every bit as captivating and charismatic as a comic book style villain as he is as a hero in a performance that still gets rave reviews today. Though not a great movie by traditional metrics, it's endlessly likable and incredibly fun — a classic guilty pleasure — with Snipes at perhaps the peak of his career.

In what might be one of the most celebrated sports comedies of all time, 1989's "Major League" is almost certainly one of the best of the '80s. While the film is headlined by Charlie Sheen, Corbin Bernsen, and Tom Berenger, no list of Wesley Snipes movies would be complete without it. The story centers on the beleaguered Cleveland Indians, who are in the midst of one of the franchise's biggest losing eras and not expected to compete for a winning record, let alone capture a spot in the playoffs. The owner wants to capitalize on their losses in the hopes of getting approval to move the team, but an incoming manager brings together a group of misfit players that refuse to play along and soon begin to win against all odds. This includes erratic, hard-throwing pitcher nicknamed "Wild Thing" (Sheen) and eccentric foreign slugger Pedro Cerrano (Haysbert).

Snipes plays Willie Mays Hayes, a speedy, base-stealing, wisecracking hitter who delivers some of the film's most memorable moments. While the movie was successful and received a pair of sequels, Snipes had moved away from comedies and become a major action star by the time "Major League 2" landed 1994, and thus was replaced in the role by Omar Epps ("ER"). But that was probably a wise choice, as it couldn't live up to the stellar first entry in the trilogy.

The 1991 crime drama "New Jack City" is set in the mid 1980s and stars Wesley Snipes as ruthless drug lord Nino Brown. Brown aspires to be the kind of high class kingpin he's seen in the movies, far from the gang member slinging vials on the corner that he's been all his life. Along with his criminal syndicate, the Cash Money Brothers, including his right hand man Gee Money (Allen Payne) and stick-up man Pookie (Chris Rock), Brown ascends to the top of the New York drug scene. As his enterprise grows, he becomes the target of an undercover NYPD operation run by Detective Stone (Mario Van Peebles, who also directed), Detective Appleton (Ice-T, who went on to play a similar character in "Law & Order: SVU"), and his partner Nick Peretti (Judd Nelson), who are determined to take him down.

"The movie was advertised (no doubt wisely) as a slam-bang action adventure, but in fact it's a serious, smart film with an impact that lingers after the lights go up," detailed Roger Ebert, who awarded the film three and a half stars in his review. Praising Snipes' performance, the critic noted Nino as one of the screen's great movie villains, with a sly, sinister charisma. Not without controversy (per The New York Times), the movie proved a trendsetter, igniting a wave of Black crime dramas that included "Boyz N The Hood" and "Menace II Society."

From boxing to baseball, Snipes' early career was dotted with sports movies. In 1992 he shifted to basketball in "White Men Can't Jump," an action sports comedy co-starring Woody Harrelson. In a classic buddy format, Harrelson plays street hustling hoopster Billy Hoyle, a man who cons money out of passersby who underestimate his talent for the game based on his oddball persona. When he meets Snipes' Sidney Deane he finds a kindred spirit, and the two team up and win big money on courts all over Los Angeles. Billy's hunted by mobsters who are looking for him to settle an old debt, while Sidney is desperate to make enough money to move out of his old neighborhood and provide a better life for him and his girlfriend.

The back-and-forth relationship between Sidney and Billy is central to the film's appeal, with the budding friendship and bitter rivalry making Snipes and Harrelson one of the '90s best duos. A subplot involving Billy's girlfriend (Rosie Perez) — obsessed with getting on the game show "Jeopardy!" — also provides the film with emotional heart. A story of friendship and loyalty, it's one of the greatest examples of early '90s Southern California street culture invading Hollywood.

Written and directed by celebrated filmmaker Spike Lee, the 1991 drama "Jungle Fever" centers on the star-crossed romance between Flipper Purify, a New York architect, and a young Italian-American woman named Angie who is hired to be his new secretary at his firm. A happily married family man, it's a whirlwind passionate love affair for Flipper that causes problems not just at home, but for everyone connected to them as their friends and family grapple with the complicated nature of the interracial fling. Flipper's friend Cyrus (played by Spike Lee) counsels him on the myths of so-called "jungle fever" and tells him that the taboo nature of his connection is not true love. Meanwhile, Angie deals with the fallout from her relationship with a Black man and is thrown out of her home by her abusive father.

Featuring an all-star cast that includes Samuel L. Jackson, Halle Berry, Queen Latifah, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, and John Turturro, "Jungle Fever" was lauded for its frank depiction of racism, sex, and drugs. Groundbreaking and still lauded today, it tells a complex and layered story about what was then still a taboo topic that had often gone unexplored in cinema.