Angela Bassett made history at the beginning of 2023 by being the first Marvel actor to be nominated for an Academy Award. She received the nomination for the role of Queen Ramonda in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. The nomination came nearly three decades after receiving her first nomination for playing Tina Turner in What’s Love Got To Do With It.
Bassett has created characters on the small and big screen, bringing to life memorable women. Whether she was playing the main character or showing up in a supportive role, she has brought the best of her talent to these ensembles, making these movies some of the highest-ranked ones by Rotten Tomatoes.
1 ‘Passion Fish’ (1992)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 100%
Passion Fish is Angela Bassett’s highest-ranked movie on Rotten Tomatoes with the Tomatometer marking it at 100%. The audience score is 82%, proving the movie set out what it wanted to do by appealing to both audiences and critics. Bassett played the role of Rhonda and Dawn.
The movie tells the story of a former soap opera actor who is trying to recover after an accident that left her paraplegic. She finds a nurse who is also struggling with her own issues. The cast includes Mary McDonnell, Alfre Woodard, and Lenore Banks.
2 ‘Mission: Impossible — Fallout’ (2018)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 97%
In 2018, Angela Bassett was part of Mission: Impossible — Fallout with Tom Cruise. She joined the legendary franchise in its sixth movie, bringing to life the character of Erika Sloane. This time around Ethan Hunt has to join forces with August Walker to prevent a disaster. Hunt has to quickly use the best of his abilities to prevent nuclear weapons from falling into the wrong hands.
The 2018 cast included Henry Cavill, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, and Vanessa Kirby. While the Tomatometer places this movie as one of Bassett’s highest-ranked movies, the audience score was 88%.
3 ‘Black Panther’ (2018)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 96%
Bringing a comic book character to life can be tricky because fans have certain expectations of what the character should look like or the kind of behavior they should present. In 2018, Angela Bassett took on the challenging task of translating Queen Ramonda from the pages to the big screen in Black Panther. The royal family of one of the most powerful nations in the MCU included Chadwick Boseman and Letitia Wright.
The movie was based on the Marvel Comics and the screenplay was written by Ryan Coogler (who also directed it) and Joe Robert Cole. The Tomatometer places Black Panther as the highest-ranked movie in the MCU.
4 ‘What’s Love Got To Do With It’ (1993)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 96%
In 1994, Angela Bassett was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Actress in a Leading Role for her work in What’s Love Got To Do With It. Although she didn’t take the award home, her Tina Turner became not only an iconic Bassett portrayal, but one of the best portrayals of a music icon ever. She brought the very best of her talent (singing, dancing, and acting) to tell the story of how the singer became such an icon and how she broke free from the abusive relationship with her husband Ike Turner.
The movie was directed by Brian Gibson, who gave life to the screenplay written by Kate Lanier based on the book I, Tina. Both the audience and the critics ranked this as one of Bassett’s best movies among the 107 credits to her name.
5 ‘Boyz N The Hood’ (1991)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 96%
When it comes to Angela Bassett’s filmography, 96% seems to be a recurring score on the Tomatometer, and Boyz N The Hood is one of the movies to have received this score. The move is set in the Crenshaw ghetto of Los Angeles, analyzing questions regarding race, relationships, violence, and future prospects.
Bassett plays the role of Reva Styles, and acts along stars such as Cuba Gooding Jr., Laurence Fishburne, Miya McGhee, Lexie Bigham, and Nicole Brown. The audience score was 93%, agreeing with the critics on the quality of the movie, storyline, and acting.
6 ‘City of Hope’ (1991)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 94%
In the same year (1991), Angela Bassett became Reesha in City of Hope. This John Sayles movie tells the story of several different characters who all connect because their lives revolve around an apartment block that is about to be demolished. Just like the critics, the audience agreed the movie was of top-quality and awarded it 82%.
Bassett was joined by Vincent Spano, Tony Lo Bianco, Stephen Mendillo, Chris Cooper, and David Strathairn. Sayles not only directed the movie, but he also wrote the screenplay giving life and plot lines to these characters.
7 ‘Malcolm X’ (1992)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 89%
For the audience, Malcolm X (1992) is one of the highest-ranked Angela Bassett movies with 91%. As a biographical movie, it tells the story of Malcolm X from his early life to his participation as a member of the Nation of Islam. Denzel Washington was the lead in the role of Malcolm X, and joined by Spike Lee, Albert Hall, Theresa Randle, and Tommy Hollis.
Bassett had an important role, playing Malcolm X’s wife: Betty Shabazz. Once more, like she had done with Tina Turner, she brought to the big screen a character based on a real person.
8 ‘Akeelah And The Bee’ (2006)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 85%
Akeelah And The Bee was one of Keke Palmer’s first big roles in a movie, and she played the role of Akeelah. The movie tells the story of Akeelah as she prepares herself to make it into the National Spelling Bee. Angela Bassett played the role of Tanya, Akeelah’s mother.
Alongside Palmer and Bassett there were actors such as Laurence Fishburne, Curtis Armstrong, and J.R. Villarreal. Written and directed by Doug Atchison, the movie received over 80% both from the critics and the audience.
9 ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ (2022)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 84%
Four years after becoming Queen Ramonda for the first time, Angela Bassett joined the cast of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever to bring this queen to life once more. Without Black Panther, Ramonda was once more the head of Wakanda, having to face the many challenges threatening her nation. She was, once again, joined by Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, and Winston Duke.
With this rendition of Ramonda, Bassett redefined what a Marvel movie performance can be and made history as the first MCU character nominated for major awards. The critics placed Black Panther: Wakanda Forever 17th in the ranking of MCU movies with 84%.
10 ‘Nothing But The Truth’ (2008)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 82%
Nothing But The Truth tells the story of a reporter who outed a CIA agent and refuses to reveal her sources, so now she might have to face a jail sentence. Rod Lurie wrote and directed the movie that brought together the talents of Kate Beckinsale, Matt Dillon, Vera Farmiga, David Schwimmer, and Angela Bassett.
In the movie, Bassett plays the role of Bonnie Benjamin. Although the critics gave the movie a score over 80%, the audience score came out at 73% — still among Bassett’s highest-ranked movies.