Ranking All Of Director Luc Besson’s Movies
“What are Luc Besson’s Best Movies?” We looked at all of Besson’s directed filmography and ranked them against one another to answer that very question!
We took all of the movies directed by Luc Besson and looked at his Rotten Tomato Critic, Rotten Tomato User, Metacritic, Metacritic User, IMDB, and Letterboxd scores, ranking them against one another to see which movies came out on top. The movies are ranked in our list below based on which movies have the highest overall score between all 6 review sites in comparison with all of the other movies by the same director (Valerian is hanging way too low on this in our humble opinion). The process is all very scientific with no flaws at all.
The full ranking chart is also included below the countdown on the bottom of the page. We will update the article if/when a new movie by Luc Besson is released. Although it probably won’t be immediate so the scores on each site have time to settle and aren’t overly influenced by the early, usually much more opinionated, users.
Happy Viewing!
The Top Film’s Of Luc Besson
18 ) Arthur and the Revenge of Maltazard (2009)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 14
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 17
- Metacritc Critic Score: 10
- Metacritic User Score: 10
- IMDB User Review Score: 18
- Letterboxd User Score: 18
Arthur answers a distress call from Princess Selenia, who is menaced by the nefarious Maltazard.
17 ) Arthur 3: The War of the Two Worlds (2010)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 13
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 15
- Metacritc Critic Score: 10
- Metacritic User Score: 10
- IMDB User Review Score: 17
- Letterboxd User Score: 16
Maltazard, the Evil M, is now 7 feet tall and evolving among the humans, causing terror wherever he goes. His goal is simple: forming an army of giant henchmen and ruling over the universe. Meanwhile, Arthur is still a Minimoy, and thus in a state where he’s unable to fend him off. With the help of Selenia and Betameche, he hatches a plan to regain his usual size: all they must do is infiltrate Arthur’s house through the pipeworks, catch an electric train from his bedroom to his grandfather’s study and find an elixir that will make him grow back to his human size. Sounds simple enough, if it weren’t for Darkos, Maltazard’s own son, hot on their tails.
16 ) L’Avant Dernier (1981)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 15
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 18
- Metacritc Critic Score: 10
- Metacritic User Score: 10
- IMDB User Review Score: 16
- Letterboxd User Score: 11
A man wanders through a wrecked, dystopian city, finding violence everywhere he turns.
15 ) Arthur and the Invisibles (2006)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 12
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 11
- Metacritc Critic Score: 10
- Metacritic User Score: 10
- IMDB User Review Score: 15
- Letterboxd User Score: 16
Arthur is a spirited ten-year old whose parents are away looking for work, whose eccentric grandfather has been missing for several years, and who lives with his grandmother in a country house that, in two days, will be repossessed, torn down, and turned into a block of flats unless Arthur’s grandfather returns to sign some papers and pay off the family debt. Arthur discovers that the key to success lies in his own descent into the land of the Minimoys, creatures no larger than a tooth, whom his grandfather helped relocate to their garden. Somewhere among them is hidden a pile of rubies, too. Can Arthur be of stout heart and save the day? Romance beckons as well, and a villain lurks.
14 ) The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec (2010)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 15
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 13
- Metacritc Critic Score: 10
- Metacritic User Score: 10
- IMDB User Review Score: 13
- Letterboxd User Score: 10
An adventure set in the early part of the 20th century, focused on a popular novelist and her dealings with would-be suitors, the cops, monsters, and other distractions.
13 ) The Family (2013)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 11
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 16
- Metacritc Critic Score: 9
- Metacritic User Score: 7
- IMDB User Review Score: 13
- Letterboxd User Score: 15
The Manzoni family, a notorious mafia clan, is relocated to Normandy, France under the witness protection program, where fitting in soon becomes challenging as their old habits die hard.
11 ) Le Dernier Combat (1983)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 15
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 8
- Metacritc Critic Score: 10
- Metacritic User Score: 10
- IMDB User Review Score: 7
- Letterboxd User Score: 5
The plot explores the devastation of civilization and issues of brutality, hostility and isolation. Pierre Jolivet stars as the main character (identified only as “The Man” in the end credits) who is menaced by “The Brute” (played by Jean Reno) on his journey through a world filled by people rendered nearly mute by some unknown incident.
11 ) Atlantis (1991)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 15
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 5
- Metacritc Critic Score: 10
- Metacritic User Score: 10
- IMDB User Review Score: 8
- Letterboxd User Score: 7
Atlantis is more visual art than nature film and a ‘must see’ for any Luc Besson fan. The film captures the feel of what it’s actually like to swim underwater better than any film I’ve ever seen, perfectly illustrating the form and texture of sea water. Beautiful. Highly recommended for anyone interested in visual arts or diving.
10 ) The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 10
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 10
- Metacritc Critic Score: 4
- Metacritic User Score: 7
- IMDB User Review Score: 11
- Letterboxd User Score: 12
In 1429 a teenage girl from a remote French village stood before her King with a message she claimed came from God; that she would defeat the world’s greatest army and liberate her country from its political and religious turmoil. Following her mission to reclaim god’s dimished kingdom – through her amazing victories until her violent and untimely death.
9 ) Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 7
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 12
- Metacritc Critic Score: 6
- Metacritic User Score: 5
- IMDB User Review Score: 10
- Letterboxd User Score: 12
In the 28th century, Valerian and Laureline are special operatives charged with keeping order throughout the human territories. On assignment from the Minister of Defense, the two undertake a mission to Alpha, an ever-expanding metropolis where species from across the universe have converged over centuries to share knowledge, intelligence, and cultures. At the center of Alpha is a mysterious dark force which threatens the peaceful existence of the City of a Thousand Planets, and Valerian and Laureline must race to identify the menace and safeguard not just Alpha, but the future of the universe.
8 ) Lucy (2014)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 5
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 14
- Metacritc Critic Score: 2
- Metacritic User Score: 4
- IMDB User Review Score: 11
- Letterboxd User Score: 14
A woman, accidentally caught in a dark deal, turns the tables on her captors and transforms into a merciless warrior evolved beyond human logic.
7 ) The Lady (2011)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 9
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 9
- Metacritc Critic Score: 8
- Metacritic User Score: 5
- IMDB User Review Score: 5
- Letterboxd User Score: 9
The film is about the life of Aung San Suu Kyi (Yeoh) who spent more than a decade under house arrest. David Thewlis portrays Suu Kyi’s husband, Dr. Michael Aris. Rebecca Frayn began working on the project after she and her husband, producer Andy Harries, visited Burma in the early 1990s.Harries’ production company Left Bank Pictures began development of the script in 2008 under the working title Freedom from Fear. Harries wanted Michelle Yeoh as the lead and had the script sent to her.
6 ) Subway (1985)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 2
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 5
- Metacritc Critic Score: 10
- Metacritic User Score: 10
- IMDB User Review Score: 9
- Letterboxd User Score: 7
Fred, a raffish safe blower, takes refuge in the Paris Metro after being chased by the henchmen of a shady businessman from whom he has just stolen some documents. While hiding out in the back rooms and conduits of the Metro, Fred encounters a subterranean society of eccentric characters and petty criminals. Despite being pursued by the henchmen, Fred finds the time to flirt with Héléna, blow a safe, rob a train, evade the hapless Metro police, and start a rock band
5 ) Angel-A (2005)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 8
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 7
- Metacritc Critic Score: 7
- Metacritic User Score: 7
- IMDB User Review Score: 5
- Letterboxd User Score: 5
A beautiful and mysterious woman helps an inept scam artist get his game together…but is their meeting purely coincidence?
4 ) The Big Blue (1988)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 6
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 2
- Metacritc Critic Score: 10
- Metacritic User Score: 10
- IMDB User Review Score: 3
- Letterboxd User Score: 3
Two men answer the call of the ocean in this romantic fantasy-adventure. Jacques (Jean-Marc Barr) and Enzo (Jean Reno) are a pair of friends who have been close since childhood, and who share a passion for the dangerous sport of free diving. Professional diver Jacques opted to follow in the footsteps of his father, who died at sea when Jacques was a boy; to the bewilderment of scientists, Jacques harbors a remarkable ability to adjust his heart rate and breathing pattern in the water, so that his vital signs more closely resemble that of dolphins than men (he even considers a school of dolphins as his extended family). As Enzo persuades a reluctant Jacques to compete against him in a free diving contest — determining who can dive deeper and longer without scuba gear — Jacques meets Johana (Rosanna Arquette), a beautiful insurance investigator from America, and he finds that he must choose between his love for her and his love of the sea.
3 ) Nikita (1990)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 1
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 4
- Metacritc Critic Score: 3
- Metacritic User Score: 3
- IMDB User Review Score: 4
- Letterboxd User Score: 4
A beautiful felon, sentenced to life in prison for the murder of a policeman, is given a second chance – as a secret political assassin controlled by the government.
2 ) The Fifth Element (1997)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 3
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 3
- Metacritc Critic Score: 5
- Metacritic User Score: 1
- IMDB User Review Score: 2
- Letterboxd User Score: 2
In 2257, a taxi driver is unintentionally given the task of saving a young girl who is part of the key that will ensure the survival of humanity.
1 ) Léon: The Professional (1994)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 4
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 1
- Metacritc Critic Score: 1
- Metacritic User Score: 1
- IMDB User Review Score: 1
- Letterboxd User Score: 1
Leon, the top hit man in New York, has earned a rep as an effective “cleaner”. But when his next-door neighbors are wiped out by a loose-cannon DEA agent, he becomes the unwilling custodian of 12-year-old Mathilda. Before long, Mathilda’s thoughts turn to revenge, and she considers following in Leon’s footsteps.
Luc Besson’s Best Movies
Luc Besson Review Website Filmography Rankings
| Film | RT Critic | RT User | MC Critic | MC User | IMDB | Letterboxd | Overal Rank |
| Léon: The Professional | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| The Fifth Element | 3 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Nikita | 1 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| The Big Blue | 6 | 2 | 10 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| Angel-A | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Subway | 2 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 6 |
| The Lady | 9 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 9 | 7 |
| Lucy | 5 | 14 | 2 | 4 | 11 | 14 | 8 |
| Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets | 7 | 12 | 6 | 5 | 10 | 12 | 9 |
| The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc | 10 | 10 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 12 | 10 |
| Le Dernier Combat | 15 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 11 |
| Atlantis | 15 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 11 |
| The Family | 11 | 16 | 9 | 7 | 13 | 15 | 13 |
| The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec | 15 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 13 | 10 | 14 |
| Arthur and the Invisibles | 12 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 15 | 16 | 15 |
| L’Avant Dernier | 15 | 18 | 10 | 10 | 16 | 11 | 16 |
| Arthur 3: The War of the Two Worlds | 13 | 15 | 10 | 10 | 17 | 16 | 17 |
| Arthur and the Revenge of Maltazard | 14 | 17 | 10 | 10 | 18 | 18 | 18 |
