5 Movies That Show John Boyega’s Range

I had a few ideas for Uppercut’s Star Wars week. I could have talked about the diversity in Rogue One, took the opportunity to talk trash about “Reylo” shippers, or typed away my anger on how filmmakers mishandled John Boyega’s role as Finn. However, with all the chaos in the world right now, and all the weight on our shoulders as we try to navigate this pandemic, I didn’t want to be angry or write something emotionally tolling.

So, with the help of my fellow team member Chris Compendio, we chose to instead highlight five movies that aren’t Star Wars, and showcase Boyega’s talent and range in action.

Attack the Block

Attack the Block is a Joe Cornish film set in 2011 London, England, where a group of friends band together to save their block from mysterious creatures who have shot down from the sky. Boyega plays Moses, the leader of the friend group and the one taking charge of going after the alien that attacked him. From the street chases that keep you on the edge of your seat, to the on-the-fly plans made to keep as many people as possible alive, Attack the Block promises nonstop thrills, and gives Boyega the chance to show us a man who can carry guilt’s weight while still trying his best to save those he loves. 

If you like Gremlins, Shaun of the Dead, and Super 8, or if you just want to hop in on a fun adventure, I highly recommend a watch! My roommates and I enjoyed it so much that I looked to the internet for more, and, after reading an article published by Bloody Disgusting, I’m hopeful for a sequel! Attack the Block is available to rent on most streaming platforms. — Monti Velez

Pacific Rim: Uprising

Fans of Guillermo Del Toro’s Pacific Rim will undoubtedly remember Idris Elba “canceling the apocalypse” as Stacker Pentecost, so needless to say, John Boyega had Jaeger-sized shoes to fill playing Pentecost’s’s son in Pacific Rim: Uprising. In a way, that creates a meta-narrative for the 2018 sequel and Boyega’s character Jake Pentecost, who rejects his father’s legacy and instead lives and thrives in the criminal underworld.

This is the first post-Star Wars film where we get to see Boyega as a leading man in an action blockbuster, and it’s entertaining to watch him portray someone so charming and charismatic. In Uprising, worldwide audiences finally get to see  Boyega in a major production where he uses his natural British accent, which actually led to Boyega having a say in the dialogue to fit this. A number of my friends view Uprising as inferior to Del Toro’s original film, but this follow-up might be worth it just to see Boyega cancel an apocalypse of his own. 

Pacific Rim: Uprising was directed and co-written by Steven S. DeKnight (Netflix’s Daredevil) and is available to rent on various video-on-demand services. —Chris Compendio

The Circle

I’ll say it now, I did not like the ending to The Circle. However, everything before it I loved. This movie concerns topics commonly discussed today, such as exchanging your personal information and privacy for the sake of feeling more connected with people. Watching this reminded me of an episode of Black Mirror, “Nosedive,” that also delves into the (not-so )distant future of zero privacy and constant surveillance. 

In The Circle, Ty, played by Boyega, is the creator of TrueYou, a product of The Circle company– where your personal information ties into your social media profile. As the product gets more and more out of hand, Ty explains that he didn’t mean for his product to be what it has become, and decides to help the film’s protagonist Mae (played by Emma Watson) make it so the owners of the company have their karma catch up to them. The Circle debuted in 2017, is directed by James Ponsoldt, and is available to rent on most streaming services. — Monti Velez

Detroit

The 2017 period film Detroit is a complex movie to talk about, as it is a story centered around black suffering, yet told by white creators. Taking place during the 1967 12th Street Riot, Detroit focuses on the horrific Algiers Motel incident, in which three young black men were killed by police officers. John Boyega portrays Melvin Dismukes, a private security guard caught in the middle.

Boyega portrays Dismukes as calm and considerate, but as the situation increasingly spirals down to abuse by the cops, it is clear that these are not helpful traits. Dismukes is privileged compared to the victims, and the violent and nefarious officers only treat him as an equal because of his uniform. While Boyega’s character does not directly participate in the violence nor becomes a casualty, the film questions the audience if he is complicit and if the consequences he undergoes are justified. There will always be people of color who are stuck in between a power dynamic and will try to act as a buffer—a peacekeeper—which Boyega conveys with nuance and realism. But as his character’s arc demonstrates, mediation cannot happen when one side has nothing but malicious intent.

Detroit is available to stream on Hulu, and was directed by Kathryn Bigelow and written by Mark Boal, the duo who made The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty. —Chris Compendio

Imperial Dreams

Imperial Dreams is a Netflix original in which John Boyega plays Bambi, an ex-gang member that has just returned home from prison with a new outlook on his life with his son, and hopes to start writing a career. Boyega perfectly delivers a performance showing us emotional hardships of a corrupt system keeping those most vulnerable down, as well as the survival behaviors from Bambi’s upbringing, and the trials of single parenthood. 

This movie is sure to frustrate you- you’ll be wishing you could reach into the screen and help make Bambi’s life easier for him and his son. Imperial Dreams was directed by Malik Booth, was released in 2014, and available to watch now on Netflix. — Monti Velez