Top 5 – Steven Soderbergh Movies

Steven Soderbergh is a director I have a lot of admiration for.  He isn’t the most popular, nor does he have a perfect filmography.  But he is one of the most unique and daring directors we’ve ever seen, challenging his viewers with his use of different filmmaking styles and deep themes.  After retiring from the director’s chair for a few years, Soderbergh is back this Friday with Unsane, a film I am incredibly excited for.  So in honor of that, here are my picks for the best Steven Soderbergh movies.

5 – CONTAGION (2011)

Tough call at number five, as other Soderbergh gems like sex, lies, and videotape (1989), The Limey (1999), Side Effects (2013), and Logan Lucky (2017) could have all easily made the list.  But Contagion is a movie that doesn’t get nearly the love that it deserves.  This is a haunting look at how a worldwide epidemic affects a number of people, including a small family, scientists, and doctors.  It features a stacked cast, with the likes of Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Laurence Fishburne, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law, John Hawkes, Marion Cotillard, and Bryan Cranston.  Like most Soderbergh films, he balances a number of characters and big story and makes it feel small and personal.  We understand what every character is going through and feel the affects of the epidemic.  This is a captivating, chilling film and one that deserves far more love.

4 – OCEAN’S 11 (2001)

Steve Soderbergh had arguably his greatest year as a director in 2000, directing two films, both of which were nominated for Best Picture at that year’s Academy Awards and becoming the first director in 62 years to earn two Best Director nominations in the same year for both films.  How do you possibly follow up a year like that?  With a remake of a 1960’s gangster comedy of course.  Soderbergh pulls off a feat rarely seen in movies by making a remake that is better than the original.  George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Matt Damon lead the team of crooks who plan to rob a trio of casinos during a boxing match.  This is a slick, cool, fun movie that, even when it stretches believability, still manages to be awesome.

3 – OUT OF SIGHT (1998)

If anybody questioned Soderbergh’s skill as a director, Out of Sight proved he was a true auteur.  He took George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez, two stars who weren’t necessarily known for their acting talent, and fleshed out two of the best performances of their careers.  This is a cool, sexy crime film about a bank robber (Clooney) and a U.S. Marshal (Lopez) who strike up a mutual attraction after the robber kidnaps the Marshal.  Soderbergh’s direction is perfect in every way, as he brings this movie to life with colorful characters, wonderful camera work, interweaving stories, and a smooth, consistent tone.  The hotel restaurant scene is one of my favorite scenes of all-time.  This is Soderbergh at his finest.

2 – MAGIC MIKE (2012)

The idea of a movie about male strippers starring the six-pack-heavy cast of Channing Tatum, Matthew McConaughey, and Joe Manganiello sounds like a cinematic female fantasy.  But only a master like Steven Soderbergh could make a movie about male strippers go from a gratuitous, sexy romp to a thought-provoking character study.  Soderbergh created a movie not about strippers, but about a man trying to make a life for himself and he did it with class, expertise, and fun.  Soderbergh showed that Tatum was more than a pretty face and abs and Matthew McConaughey is outstanding in a peak McConaughissance performance.  This is one of the biggest surprises of this decade and a really great film.

1 – TRAFFIC (2000)

For some directors, there is a movie that is a culmination of everything that they have done in their careers.  A film where the director uses their known styles and techniques and elevates them to new levels to create their masterpiece.  Traffic is Soderbergh’s masterpiece.  Soderbergh effortlessly and brilliantly blends three stories about drug cartels and the United States’ fight against drugs together and give us a somber, gritty film.  Every story is gripping, from Supreme Court judge (Michael Douglas) spearheading the war on drugs even though his daughter (Erika Christensen) is an addict, to a wealthy trophy wife (Catherine Zeta-Jones) trying to keep her kingpin husband’s business alive as two DEA agents (Don Cheadle and Luis Guzman) attempt to protect a witness in her husbands case, to a Mexican cop (Oscar winner Benicio Del Toro) who is attempting to fight the war using a questionable ethic code.  The stellar cast is the best Soderbergh has ever worked with, especially Del Toro, who rightfully earned his Oscar win.  This is one of the greatest directing efforts I have ever seen.  Nothing is wasted here.  All the scenes move the stories forward, all the performances are top notch, the editing and colors add a levels of intensity and emotion, and the camera work is great.  This is a monumental achievement in cinema and the best Steven Soderbergh movie.

What are you favorite Steven Soderbergh movies?  Comment below or hit me up on Twitter and Instagram, @kevflix, or on Facebook by searching Kevflix.