Antoine Fuquais an action/thriller director who makes films that are mostly about men with violent pasts they have tried to leave behind, only to be pulled back into action and violence by circumstances beyond their control. They are brutal, but they are heroes — and they are war machines, capable of taking down entire armies. His films often contain epicbattles and incredible shootoutswith high body counts, with an unstoppable protagonist who kills everyone standing in the way of justice and honor. His characters have secretive pasts that come back to haunt them.
Before turning his attention to films, Fuqua directed many music videos for a wide variety of artists, ranging from Prince to Lil Wayne and 3 Doors Down. He’s also directed some great documentaries on Black icons like Suge Knight and Muhammad Ali, which have contributed to his proud focus on people of color throughout his work. His next project,Emancipationfor Apple TV+,was just screenedwith star Will Smith present, following months of post-Oscars slap controversy. Here’s every Antoine Fuqua movie, ranked.
Updated June 21, 2025: If you love Antoine Fuqua films, you’ll be happy to know we’ve updated this article with additional content and info.
15Bait (2000)
Every great filmmaker is entitled to one flop, and in Fuqua’s case, that film is the comedy action thrillerBaitstarring Jamie Foxx, who plays a strong character in an otherwise weak film.Baitdraws on Fuqua’s experience directing music videos, as he uses many of those visual and editing techniques in this film — as well as in his filmThe Replacement Killers, both films made early in his directing career — before he really found his own style and niche. The movie deserves some credit because it is funny at times and does a good jobcombining action and comedy, and it has a high-powered performance by Foxx. The film was a financial disaster for Warner Brothers, making back only $15 of its $51 million budget.
14King Arthur (2004)
In this tame, revisionist look at theKing Arthurlegend,Clive Owen starsas the titular king, who grows up as a Roman warrior-slave. Not to be confused with Guy Ritchie’s 2017 film, here Arthur and his men are sent on one last mission before they are freed from the Romans, and the mission involves saving a Roman family from rapidly approaching soldiers. However, when they arrive, they are outraged at the barbaric ways of the locals. Ray Winstone stands out as one of Arthur’s royal men, andthe director’s cutis worth seeking out; it’s more violent and the romantic plot lines are different.
13Brooklyn’s Finest (2009)
Fuqua’sBrooklyn’s Finestfollows the story of three police officers. Richard Gere plays Officer Eddie Dugan, a burned-out alcoholic cop one week away from retiring, who is assigned to oversee rookie officers in some of the worst neighborhoods of Brooklyn. He protests, but still does his job, and is teamed up with a rookie who sees things differently and transfers to another unit, unable to deal with Dugan’s ways, which he finds cowardly. He is subsequently killed, and his replacement makes a huge error while on duty. Ethan Hawke plays a corrupt detective (in a fun turn-around from Fuqua’sTraining Day) with a pregnant wife who is stealing drug money so that he can improve the life of his family. Don Cheadle plays an undercover narcotics detective, fed up with a racist system. The stories link up in the end, and only one cop is able to redeem his ways in this hard and gritty film.
12Infinite (2021)
Mark Wahlberg starsin Fuqua’sInfinite, named so because his character has unlimited lives due to reincarnation. He has lived in hundreds of other bodies, mastering his warrior skills, and he finds out that there are others who are like him — some good, some evil — and he is needed to help stop the evil faction. The recent film has fun science fiction visuals and great, exciting action sequences, which should be enough to sell you on this Fuqua/Wahlberg collaboration.
Related:Every Upcoming Mark Wahlberg Movie We’re Excited to See
11The Replacement Killers (1998)
Fuqua’s debut film isThe Replacement Killers, a stylish action thriller featuring international superstar Chow Yun-Fat, best known for his roles in some of John Woo’s incredible and dazzling films that feature more gunplay than you’ll likely see in ten action films combined. Chow Yun-Fat plays John Lee, an assassin who turns down an assignment to murder the child of a police officer played by Michael Rooker, and then becomes a target himself. The film is somewhat of an homage to the epic stylized violence of both Sam Peckinpah and Hong Kong action films (such as the brilliant masterpieceHard Boiled) directed by filmmakers like Woo (who was brought in as executive producer) and Ringo Lam, and it has a different feel to it than Fuqua’s other films, with Chow Yun-Fat seemingly shooting thousands of rounds in this quick-paced thriller that also features Mira Sorvino.
10Bullet Train (2022)
Fuqua serves as producer of this film, instead of director, but that doesn’t mean Brad Pitt’s latest popcorn flick lacks Fuqua-esque action and thrills.Bullet Trainis an adaptation of the Japanese novelMaria Beetlethat follows Ladybug (Brad Pitt) on a simple, straightforward mission to retrieve a briefcase from a high-speed “bullet train.” The mission quickly becomes complicated, however, as we soon learn that the train is filled with numerous deadly assassins. Ladybug must survive an onslaught of attacks and find out why the train is loaded with so many world-class assassins. It’s a hoot seeing Pitt back in action-hero role while also showing off his comedic chops. And given the expansive world the film has introduced, we wouldn’t be surprised to see a sequel or spin-off.
Related:How Bullet Train’s Convoluted Plot All Comes Together
9The Equalizer (2014)
The Equalizeris an action-suspense film based on the television series from the 80s. The filmmakers presume that the viewer is familiar with the show and provide very little of the protagonist’s backstory his motivations, which is problematic if you are not a regular viewer of the show.The Equalizeris a brutal revenge film, starring Denzel Washington as a man on a vengeful killing spree, destroying everyone who has ever crossed his path or attempted to kill him. He befriends a young sex worker with dreams of making it big as a singer, and when she is savagely beaten, Washington’s character goes to war with the Russian mafia. The film does drag on at some points, and it is nowhere near as good as the surprising sequelThe Equalizer 2.
8Tears of the Sun (2003)
InTears of the Sun, Bruce Willis plays a Navy SEAL with the specific mission to extract several prominent medical doctors from an African war zone before their village is massacred. There is just one problem: the dedicated doctors won’t fly away and leave their village of 70 people behind, knowing they will be executed. They bravely insist that the Navy SEAL team save not just the doctors but the whole village. There are incredibly realistic action scenes and shootouts that make this a high-tensionentertaining war movie. Willis has one of his best roles as a soldier who must make a life-or-death decision that will affect scores of innocent lives.
7Shooter (2007)
Wahlberg stars in Fuqua’s action flickShooteras a former specially trained sniper who is called out of retirement to help the government stop a presidential assassination, only to find that he is the fall guy in the assassination of another major politician. He immediately goes on the run as sketchy shadow government types hunt him down, trying to kill him to tie up loose ends and frame him. Wahlberg is terrific and carries the film. Ned Beatty is also great as a corrupt Senator (and doesn’t even have to squeal like a pig).
6The Guilty (2021)
The Guiltyis Fuqua’s nerve-wracking thriller about a police officer, played with intensityby Jake Gyllenhaal, who answers 911 calls. When he receives a phone call from a woman who claims to be a kidnap victim being driven around the city in a white van, he springs into action. Most of the film is taken up by shots of Gyllenhaal on the phone, so that we hardly see any other actors, and this creates a claustrophobic feeling. Of course, nothing is as it seems, and we learn that Gyllenhaal’s police officer, like so many of Fuqua’s characters, is a man burdened by his own secrets and problems. The climax is exciting and surprisingly downbeat, and the acting is absolutely first-rate, making for a paranoid thriller where nothing is what it seems.
