Are These Steven Spielberg’s Most Underrated Movies?

With a career as long and accomplished as Steven Spielberg’s, it’s easy to assume certain movies tend to rise to the forefront compared to other, less well-known directorial efforts.

Take, for instance, the critical acclaim some of Spielberg’s earliest and most recent films tend to receive from mainstream audiences, whether looking at his groundbreaking work on Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial or his rousing dramatic work with Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan, and The Color Purple.

Backed by a filmography filled with universally renowned movies, it’s safe to say that most of Spielberg’s movies have been considered massive successes in mass culture today. Yet even then, some of the director’s past, sorely overlooked films often fail to garner the attention they rightfully deserve. From family-friendly adventure films to heartrending historical dramas, here are some of Steven Spielberg’s most underrated films, ranked in order from worst to best.

7. Hook (1991)

To this day, Spielberg continues to maintain his personal mixed feelings about 1991’s Hook, citing it as an exciting opportunity that ultimately didn’t live up to his creative vision. Yet at the end of the day, this 1991 fantasy epic recaptures the heart and magic of J.M. Barrie’s original story, forming an exciting sequel to the events of Peter Pan. Toss in a childlike Robin Williams and a near unrecognizable Dustin Hoffman in the title character, and you have the makings of a splendid action film fit for the whole family.

6. 1941 (1979)

After making a momentous splash with 1977’s Jaws, Spielberg turned his attention to making the ultimate World War 2 comedy with 1979’s overstuffed 1941. While perhaps not always as funny as it could be, 1941’s ambitious scope and extensive cast establishes it as an ensemble comedy reminiscent of It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. (After all, where else can you find a film featuring the likes of Dan Aykroyd, Ned Beatty, John Belushi, Christopher Lee, Toshirō Mifune, Warren Oates, Nancy Allen, and John Candy interacting together on-screen?)

5. War of the Worlds (2005)

Quite possibly the closest Spielberg has ever to directing a full-blown horror film, War of the Worlds also acts as a wondrous translation of H.G. Wells’ Victorian novel for the modern day and age. Returning to the same rigid sense of suspense he perfected in Jaws and Jurassic Park, Spielberg hands in yet another unforgettable sci-fi thriller with War of the Worlds, ending his brief creative partnership with Tom Cruise on a satisfying high note.

4. Amistad (1997)

With the critical favor won by Schindler’s List and Jurassic Park in 1993, Spielberg attempted to catch lightning in a bottle once again with his dual 1997 projects, The Lost World: Jurassic Park and Amistad. While neither film ended up duplicating the success of its predecessor, the latter nevertheless remains a gripping biographical drama centered around one of the most important cases in U.S. legal history. 

3. The Adventures of Tintin (2011)

In many ways, you can almost describe The Adventures of Tintin as the child-friendly version of Indiana Jones. Adapting the colorful world of Herge’s comics for the big screen, Spielberg crafts a globe-trotting action adventure film worthy of the whip-snapping archaeologist. Bolstered by an all-star vocal cast and a comic-accurate visual design, it’s a stupendous piece of filmmaking guaranteed to leave viewers adding the original comics to their Amazon wishlist once the end credits officially begin to roll.

2. The Sugarland Express (1974)

Nowadays, most people tend to point to Jaws or even Duel as the movie that first put Spielberg on the map. But it’s also worth remembering the extraordinary sophomore effort sandwiched between those two projects in the form of 1974’s The Sugarland Express. Unfolding like a zany Coen Brothers film, The Sugarland Express is a captivating crime comedy film that shows off Spielberg’s preternatural directorial ability from a startlingly early age. (He was 26 when he directed the film and 27 when it arrived in theaters.)

1. Empire of the Sun (1987)

Entering the larger dramatic field with 1985’s The Color Purple, Spielberg circled back to the genre with his immediate 1987 follow-up, Empire of the Sun. Adapted from J.G. Ballard’s largely autobiographical novel, Empire of the Sun simultaneously succeeds as a meditative study of one boy’s gradual loss of innocence, as well as the larger horrors of World War II in general, foreshadowing Spielberg’s coming work on the 1993 classic, Schindler’s List, a few short years down the road.