2020's summer release of Spike Lee's Da 5 Bloods earned the Vietnam film a lot of acclaim from critics. Most of the praise was reserved for the towering performance from Delroy Lindo in the lead role. Lindo is probably best known for his role in The Good Fight, but he has been delivering top-notch performances in films for decades.
While Lindo might not be a household name, he is the kind of actor who improves any project with his intense and compelling presence. His career is filled with scene-stealing roles in hit projects as well as a few hidden gems worth seeking out.
10 Ransom (1996) - 6.7
The intense and gripping crime thriller Ransom was directed by Ron Howard with a star-studded cast. Mel Gibson plays a rich businessman whose son is kidnapped and held for ransom. When he fears that he won't get his son back even if he pays the money, he decides to turn the tables on the kidnappers.
Lindo plays the special agent in charge of the case who helps Gibson through the ordeal. The movie is a brutal and sharp thriller that will have audiences on the edge of their seats from beginning to end.
9 Clockers (1995) - 6.9
Lindo has had a great collaborative relationship with Spike Lee over the years and Clockers gives the actor one of his most memorable roles. Mekhi Phifer plays a young man working as a drug dealer on the streets who finds himself caught between a determined homicide detective (Harvey Keitel) and his drug boss (Lindo).
The movie is filled with the kind of high-energy filmmaking and sharp commentary that Spike Lee's works are known for. Lindo is charming and intimidating in the complex villain role.
8 Get Shorty (1995) - 6.9
As part of an impressive ensemble, Lindo got a rare chance to show his comedic side in Get Shorty. Based on the Elmore Leonard novel, John Travolta plays a mob enforcer who gets caught up in the movie business while visiting Hollywood.
Lindo is hilarious as a gangster who decides that he wants to become a movie producer. Get Shorty is a light crime comedy that has a lot of fun mixing the worlds of organized crime and Hollywood filmmaking.
7 Crooklyn (1994) - 7.0
In Crooklyn, Spike Lee told the semi-autobiographical story of growing up in Brooklyn in the 1970s. The film focuses on a group of five siblings as they hang out in their neighborhood and live with their parents, played by Lindo and Alfre Woodard.
The film is a lighter story than Lee is typically known for and he injects it with a real sense of fun. The young cast is a thrill to watch and the performances from Lindo and Woodard really tie this lovely story together.
6 The Last Castle (2001) - 7.0
The underrated thriller The Last Castle stars Robert Redford as a disgraced general who is sent to military prison. Under the eye of the corrupt and brutal prison warden (James Gandolfini), the general begins organizing the prisoners into a resistance group.
The Last Castle is not groundbreaking by any means but it is an entertaining prison adventure. Redford and Gandolfini make for excellent leads while Lindo has a supporting role as a commanding officer looking into the warden.
5 Wondrous Oblivion (2003) - 7.1
Lindo had a rare starring role in this uplifting period drama. Set in 1960s Britain, Lindo plays the father of a Jamaican family who begins teaching a lonely young neighbor to play the sport of cricket.
Wondrous Oblivion is just the kind of touching and inspirational sports story that audiences love. Lindo is excellent in the film and helps to elevate the material from simply being another familiar story of this kind.
4 The Cider House Rules (1999) - 7.4
Based on the novel by John Irving, The Cider House Rules is an Oscar-winning period drama. Tobey Maguire plays Homer Wells, a young man who lived his whole life at a boys' orphanage, raised by a kind doctor (Michael Caine). When Homer gets older, he decides to leave his home and see the world.
Caine won the Oscar for his powerful performance and the movie is filled with great actors, including Charlize Theron and Paul Rudd. Lindo gives an intense performance as a farm worker whom Homer meets in his travels.
3 Malcolm X (1992) – 7.7
Spike Lee took on his biggest project to date with this look at civil rights leader Malcolm X. The film stars Denzel Washington in the lead role and follows the hugely influential figure through his early life, his fight for Black rights, and his eventual assassination.
Lindo plays "West Indian" Archie, a Harlem criminal whom takes Malcolm under his wing as a young man. Lee turns Malcolm's story into a grand epic which makes for a powerful portrait of one of the most important figures in American history.
2 Blood In, Blood Out (1993) - 8.0
Blood In, Blood Out may not be one of Lindo's most well-known films, but it certainly struck a chord with audiences. It tells the story of three brothers living in East L.A. who find themselves going down very different paths. Lindo has a memorable supporting role as a prison gang leader.
The movie is an epic crime story that explores the different lives these brothers ended up having despite coming from the same place. It is an emotional and affecting experience.
1 Up (2009) - 8.2
Despite his instantly recognizable voice, Lindo hasn't done a lot of voiceover work. However, he did join the world of Pixar in one of their most popular films. Up tells the story of Carl, an old man who, after losing his wife, decides to travel to a far-off and mysterious land. However, he did not plan on a young boy being brought along on the journey.
Lindo provides the voice of Beta, one of the villain's talking hounds. Up is an animated adventure that will have audiences crying one second and laughing out loud the next. It all leads to an emotionally satisfying end.
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September 06, 2020 at 05:30AM
