Not many filmmakers have an oeuvre as diverse as Sam Mendes, the director's filmography boasting everything from war to melodrama to dramedy to period gangster to James Bond film. Despite winning a Best Director Oscar for his debut feature, American Beauty, Mendes is now best known, commercially at least, for the last entry on that list, James Bond. Skyfall, his first Bond film, was a rousing success, such to the extent that it's widely - and rightly - regarded as one of the very best Bond films. What, though, of Spectre, his much-anticipated follow-up to Skyfall? It's pretty obvious by now that the latter is going to feature near the end of this list, but will Spectre fare as well? Will it match its predecessor, or will it fall behind Skyfall and other Mendes pictures too? Let's find out.
7. Jarhead
Mendes third feature has to be considered his weakest for the sake of this list, but while it certainly doesnt match the heights of his best work, its by no means a bad film. Starring a just-before-he-was-great Jake Gyllenhaal and a Jamie Foxx fresh off the back of his Oscar for Ray, Jarhead is based on former Marine Anthonys Swoffords book of the same name, which deals with his experiences in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Similar in style to David O. Russells superior Three Kings, Jarhead marks Mendes first collaboration with cinematographer Roger Deakins, ensuring that the blanched wasteland the characters inhabit looks great. Theres also some solid performances from Gyllenhaal and co., and the film generally depicts the boredom - the ceaseless waiting - of war well and with dashes of welcome humour. Impressive in parts, there are problems elsewhere, and Jarhead ultimately ends up at the foot of this list as a consequence. The mawkish voiceover, for instance, is meant to lend gravitas, but ends up serving nothing but platitudes - were all still in the desert - whereas the ending, meant as an anti-climax to show the futility of it all, fails to deliver the shock of realisation it intends. A well-crafted, good-for-the-most-part film, Jarhead is far from an embarrassment to Mendes filmography, but theres better to come.
