Don Cheadle sometimes comes off as a vastly underrated character in show business since he is pretty great and does end up taking on some very impressive roles. You won’t find any Iron Man references in this article even though he plays a much more convincing character than Terrence Howard managed in the first movie, but he does play some great parts in a lot of other movies that helped him to become a regular star in his own way. While not everyone is going to agree with these picks they were made largely because they are some of his best and because they show without too much goofy posturing and ridiculous humor that he is good at just about anything he does and deserves a lot more credit when the tallies are made for who stood out in a movie and who just kind of showed up.
Here are the five best movies of his career.
5. Flight
This is something you hope to never find out about a person that has your life and many others in their hands when they’re so high in the sky, but it’s still hard to vilify Whip since he did manage to save just about everyone though a few people were lost when they crashed. Still, trying to cover up the fact that he was drunk and had cocaine in his system was something that was beyond despicable since it leaves one thinking of just what other bad decisions the guy might have made in his life. That being said though the movie did go out on a positive note as he finally did the right think and served the time for it, in effect getting his stuff back on track.
4. Out of Sight
A lot of people wouldn’t even give this movie the courtesy of glancing at it but there is more to the story than it would appear since the character of Snoop is kind of a downturn for Cheadle but he’s still great in the role since instead of coming off like a cheap hood that doesn’t have a brain in his head he comes off as a guy that’s trying to be smart but not get played at the same time. The intense rivalry between Foley and Snoop is fun to watch since it pits a guy that has all the brains but none of the brawn up against a guy that has limited brains but acts like he’s smarter than he actually is.
3. Crash
Crash is kind of an odd movie if you don’t follow every part and how it eventually links every single story that’s told. Some of them have nothing at all to do with each other but are extensions of stories that are connected in some way to each other. In other words this is a movie in which many stories are taking place at the same time while the camera is forcing you to focus on one at a time rather than all of them at once so as to spare a person the need to keep up at every moment. Cheadle is one of the few characters that’s at rough center of the story lines and yet he’s held back in a way that keeps him from being overly involved, even when it includes his own family.
2. Ocean’s Eleven
If you didn’t like Basher in Ocean’s 11 then you might not have liked the movie at all. So yes it’s a remake and one that was taken off of a Sinatra movie, but it was still done in a way that was tasteful and altogether fun considering the cast that was brought together for it. Basher is undoubtedly one of the most fun individuals in the group since he’s also one of those with the biggest mouth and the loudest opinions. But at the same time he’s very, very good at what he does and has no trouble taking credit for it when it’s due. Otherwise he is a very big team player and is always there for his friends.
1. Hotel Rwanda
Read a history book to find out just how bad this genocide was and then try to imagine being the man that was trying to keep all of this from happening to those that were under his protection by dint of being allowed over the doorstep of his hotel. The efforts that Paul had to go to in order to save as many people as he could and the treachery that he had to withstand was enough to break many people many times over. Eventually he and his family were taken to safety by the end of the movie, but the entire way through one can’t help but bite their nails and wonder at the future of a species that can do this to each other with impunity.
He is severely underrated sometimes, just saying.
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