Ranking Taika Waititi Films From Worst To Best

Taika Waititi knows exactly how to get a fantastic performance out of a child actor, and that was first shown in 2010's Boy.

James Rolleston's titular character of Boy idolises his absentee and criminal father, and also looks after his younger brother Rocky (who believes he has special powers). When their father Alamein returns to them after getting out of prison, Boy thinks he has returned to be a good dad and look after them.

Unfortunately for Boy, Alamein is a man-child who is more immature than either of his children and has only returned to find a hidden sack of money he buried in the area years prior. Boy is an incredibly emotionally resonant film, as you see a child slowly realise that his father isn't the perfect person he always thought he was.

Waititi is perfect as the irresponsible dad who doesn't want to grow up and has to reckon with how he's treated his kids. The film is funny, with most of the comedic beats being attributed to Waititi's performance, however Boy also knows how to speak profoundly about the social issues facing the two young brothers.

As an added bonus, Boy also has an electrifying rendition of Michael Jackson's Thriller video performed by the cast during its closing credits.