Johnny Depp's 8 Best Movies, Ranked

Ranked by movie.guru score, not by hat count. Tim Burton directed four of these, and the pirates sail in twice.

Number one is a musical, and nobody saw that coming.

1. 8
   Public Enemies (2009)5.6

   Depp nails Dillinger's swagger, then the movie just stands there.

   Depp plays bank robber John Dillinger with real cool, opposite Christian Bale's G-man. But the crisp digital look fights the period setting, and 140 minutes drags.
2. 7
   Sleepy Hollow (1999)6.0

   Gorgeous fog, flimsy mystery, and Depp fainting a lot.

   Depp's Ichabod Crane is a squeamish New York constable who flinches at everything, the best joke in it. $206.1 million worldwide, 7.3 on IMDb. Ranks low, gets rewatched every October.
3. 6
   Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)5.9

   A billion dollars of plot threads nobody could follow.

   Captain Jack Sparrow, a tentacle-faced Davy Jones and a sword fight on a rolling waterwheel. Audiences rank it above 77% of notable movies, critics only 37%. $1.07 billion worldwide in 151 minutes.
4. 5
   Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)6.6

   Gorgeous factory, deeply unsettling Wonka.

   Depp's Willy Wonka gets a bowl cut and a dentist dad backstory nobody asked for. 83% on Rotten Tomatoes, $475 million worldwide, and the squirrel room is elite.
5. 4
   Donnie Brasco (1997)8.1

   Depp's most grown-up role, and his least talked about.

   Depp plays undercover FBI agent Joe Pistone, living as Donnie Brasco: no hat, no accent, no gimmick. 88% on Rotten Tomatoes. Pacino's Lefty teaching him mob etiquette is the best stuff here.
6. 3
   Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)7.9

   Depp invented a whole new pirate, and Disney just let him.

   Captain Jack Sparrow arrives on a sinking boat like a rock star, and Geoffrey Rush's Barbossa matches his energy. Audiences rank it above 94% of notable movies, $654.3 million worldwide.
7. 2
   Edward Scissorhands (1990)8.3

   His best performance, and he's wearing scissors the whole time.

   As Edward, a gentle unfinished creation dropped into pastel suburbia, Depp does everything with his eyes and his topiary skills. $20 million budget, 92% on Rotten Tomatoes. Winona Ryder sells the romance.
8. 1
   Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)8.4

   His best movie is a Sondheim musical. He sings. It works.

   Depp's vengeful barber Benjamin Barker sings Sondheim opposite Helena Bonham Carter and Alan Rickman, in a London drained of color. Critics rank it above 88% of notable movies. Not for kids, though.

$587 says you say savvy out loud at least once this week.

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