Summary

• Glen Powell's career has soared from indie films to critically-acclaimed blockbusters like Top Gun: Maverick.
• Powell's diverse roles showcase his talent in romcoms, action movies, and indie projects, earning him industry respect.
• In films like Hidden Figures and Hit Man, Powell shines alongside top talents, proving his star power is on the rise.

Glen Powell first started gaining traction with a string of indie movies, and he has since transformed into one of the most exciting stars in Hollywood. After hits such as Top Gun: Maverick and Anyone But You put Powell on the map, he is in prime position to enjoy a long and successful career. Powell has the kind of intelligent charisma that evokes an older generation of movie stars, and his characters are often easy to spend time with.

Powell's career has seen him take on a surprising variety of roles. His most notable successes have come in romcoms and action movies, but he spent many years working in indie films of all genres. This is what first drew the attention of Richard Linklater, who has become one of Powell's fiercest advocates and most important collaborators over the years. Powell has successfully transitioned from low-budget indie movies to starring alongside the likes of Tom Cruise and Denzel Washington in critically-acclaimed blockbusters.

30 Wind Walkers (2015)

Sonny Childe

Steeped in Native American mythology, Wind Walkers is a somber horror movie set in the murky Florida Everglades. The story follows a group of friends who are stalked by a strange malevolent energy while out on a hunting trip. There are some interesting ideas that Wind Walkers threatens to explore, but it decides instead to stick to predictable scares with rapidly diminishing impact. Wind Walkers ends up as a forgettable, dreadfully slow horror story. There's plenty of paranoia and confusion, but this quickly turns to boredom.

29 April Apocalypse (2013)

Dickie

All zombie movies have to bring something new to the genre, or else they simply aren't worth watching. April Apocalypse pitches itself as a teen romcom that just so happens to be set during the zombie apocalypse. While it's light on the usual gore and frantic horror, April Apocalypse tries instead to charm audiences with a deliberately disconnected tone. The humor never cuts through, however, and what's left is a formulaic zombie movie, but without the relatable characters needed to raise the dramatic stakes beyond the obvious.

28 Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (2003)

Long-fingered Boy

Glen Powell made his film debut in 2003 in Spy Kids 3D: Game Over, and he isn't the only surprising star to feature in a Spy Kids movie. Elijah Wood, Sylvester Stallone and George Clooney all have roles in the franchise's third entry, but they can't do anything to rescue the critically-maligned children's movie. The first two Spy Kids have plenty of fun gadgets, but they still parody James Bond and other spy thrillers. The third movie, by contrast, uses too much shaky CGI as Carmen and Juni travel into a video game world. Powell plays just one of many wacky characters they meet along the way.

27 Barrio Tales (2012)

Jack

Barrio Tales is an uneven horror anthology about the inhabitants of a Mexican border town. Since each story is told by the same mysterious character, it's never revealed how much of it, if any, is supposed to be true. The three stories each show the harsh conditions of the town and the prejudice of the white Americans on the other side of the border, so it's perhaps more interesting to believe they are nothing more than ghost stories. As is the case with many horror anthologies, the different segments are patched together poorly, and they aren't interesting or scary enough to hold water on their own.

26 The Bad Guys (2018)

Whit

The Bad Guys is an all but forgotten indie comedy-drama about an aspiring filmmaker who attempts to reunite some old friends to mine material from the predictably chaotic time that they will spend together over the course of one alcohol-fuelled weekend. Glen Powell plays one of the film's more level-headed characters, and he finds himself surrounded by ludicrous dysfunction everywhere he turns. The Bad Guys doesn't strike the right tonal balance between comedy and drama. The humor is injected randomly to provide levity, but it doesn't fit with the setting or the style.

25 Best Friends Forever (2013)

Nick

Best Friends Forever was shot on 16 mm film, which casts the wide, yawning deserts of the American west in the perfect light. The story follows two best friends who embark on a cross-country road trip right at the moment that a full-scale nuclear apocalypse kicks off. Oblivious to the chaos unfolding all around them, Harriet and Reba are more occupied by the cracks in their relationship. Ultimately, the tedious friendship drama overshadows the movie's more interesting qualities, and what could have been a unique apocalypse movie fails to use its setting for anything more than a flimsy metaphor.

24 Sex Ed (2014)

JT

Many people will only ever see Haley Joel Osment as a child star, thanks to his critically-acclaimed performances in movies such as The Sixth Sense and A.I. Artificial Intelligence. Sex Ed plays with this reputation, as Osment plays a man who has struggled to grow up. Ed is a teacher who takes it upon himself to teach his students about the birds and the bees, despite the fact that, as a virgin, his knowledge comes exclusively from textbooks and anatomy charts. There is plenty of raunchy humor, naturally, but Sex Ed tries to balance this out with an endearing sweetness. Glen Powell shines as Ed's confident best friend.

23 Pig (2011)

Johnny the Teacher

The obvious touchstone for Pig is Christopher Nolan's Memento, and it's hard to imagine that this indie film was not inspired by it in some way. Both movies feature a man trapped in a criminal conspiracy trying to solve the mysteries that lie beneath his amnesia, and both movies make use of a non-linear structure to keep things interesting. These comparisons don't help Pig, which doesn't reach the boundaries of its interesting premise. What makes Pig unique is the sci-fi element, although this too doesn't get the payoff that it teases.

22 The Wendell Baker Story (2005)

Paper Boy

Luke Wilson casts himself as lovable loser Wendell Baker in this indie comedy he co-directs with his brother Andrew. Owen is on hand to complete the trio of Wilson brothers, and The Wendell Baker Story does, for better or worse, feel like a movie made by a group of men who have had their whole lives to develop their own secret language of comedy. The Wendell Baker Story luxuriates in its slow pace, taking in the sights on the long road to nowhere. For a story about the monotony of a retirement hotel, this is entirely apt, although whether it's entertaining is another question.

21 Misconduct (2016)

Doug Fields

Al Pacino and Anthony Hopkins should have enough quality to make most movies work, but Misconduct is not one of those movies. The legal thriller stumbles through a nonsensical plot, and it tries to generate too much drama with a booming score and plenty of showy camera tricks. The effect is minimal, however, and Misconduct falls pitifully short of the potential that its cast offers it. Hopkins plays it cool as a slimy, power-obsessed suit, while Pacino turns up his cartoonish eccentricities. Both actors have found success with these styles, but they scrape each against each other horribly.