10 Most Underrated Michael Fassbender Movies, Ranked

Michael Fassbender is one of the most versatile and exciting actors of his generation. While he earned credibility within fan communities for his roles in the X-Men and Alien franchises, the Irish actor truly showed his range within his more dramatic work. Fassbender’s gripping performances in Steven McQueen’s devastating historical drama 12 Years A Slave and Danny Boyle’s gripping biopic Steve Jobs earned him Academy Award nominations.

However, Fassbender’s work is so consistently and reliably excellent that some of his best roles have been underappreciated. From quirky comedies where he plays against type to searing romantic period dramas and even intense Westerns, these are the most underrated Michael Fassbender movies. Despite their high quality, they slipped through the cracks, whether because of stiff competition, little to no promotion, or their out-of-the-box nature, which made them a difficult sell for audiences.

10 ‘Trespass Against Us’ (2016)

Director: Adam Smith

Trespass Against Us is an underrated family-centric crime thriller that explores how a parent’s sins can be passed down to their children. Fassbender stars as the honest man Chad Cutler, who attempts to protect his son Tyson (Georgie Smith) from the corrupting influence of his father Colby (Brendan Gleeson). Colby is a career criminal who threatens to disrupt Chad’s peaceful existence. The chemistry between Fassbender and Gleeson perfectly embodies the film’s difficult moral quandaries. Despite Chad’s love and appreciation for his father, the two live very different lifestyles and do not see eye-to-eye.

While Fassbender often plays anti-heroes and villains, Trespass Against Us marks a rare instance where he plays a somewhat “normal” character impacted by the events surrounding him. Although the film itself occasionally features clichés that are common with family dramas, the emotional authenticity of Fassbender and Gleesons’ performances makes Trespass Against Us an underrated example of their unique talents.

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9 ‘The Light Between Oceans’ (2016)

Director: Derek Cianfrance

The Light Between Oceans paired Fassbender alongside his real partner, Oscar-winner Alicia Vikander, for a devastating story about the power of love. Based on the eponymous novel, the 2016 historical drama follows the lonely lighthouse keeper Tom Sherbourne (Fassbender) as he falls in love with the Australian girl Isabel (Vikander). After Isabel loses several pregnancies, the couple is forced to take extreme actions in order to raise a child.

Fassbender does a great job of fleshing out Tom’s backstory in A Light Between Oceans and exploring why he is so hesitant to show his emotions. Although the film plays into some melodramatic clichés in some instances, Fassbender and Vikander never fail to make their relationship feel authentic. The Light Between Oceans plays to the romantic genre’s strengths and sticks to a traditional formula, probably explaining why it flew under so many people’s radars when it first came out.

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8 ‘Haywire’ (2011)

Director: Steven Soderbergh

Steven Soderbergh must be a director that actors love working with because it feels like half of Hollywood shows up for a few brief moments in his 2011 action thriller Haywire. The film follows the ruthless assassin Mallory Kane (Gina Carano), who attempts to unravel a CIA conspiracy that nearly killed her. Soderbergh packs the film with inventive action sequences, including a brutal brawl between Mallory and Fassbender’s character, Paul. Although Paul initially presents himself as a sympathetic character, his villainous traits are ultimately revealed.

Despite its relatively brief running time, Haywire is packed with memorable action setpieces and includes appearances by such Hollywood stars as Ewan McGregor, Michael Douglas, Antonio Banderas, Channing Tatum, and Bill Paxton. Compared to some of Steven Soderbergh’s best movies, Haywire comes nowhere near the top; however, the film packs enough refreshing action and a tight, fast-paced screenplay that makes it a worthy entry in the Oscar winner’s filmography.

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7 ‘Jane Eyre’ (2011)

Director: Cary Fukunaga

Cary Fukunagua’s gripping retelling of the classic novel Jane Eyre shows a more romantic side to Fassbender than he is seldom allowed to portray. Fassbender stars as Edward Rochester, the lonesome Byronic hero who becomes the target of Jane Eyre’s (Mia Wasikowska) affection. Fukunaga delicately hints at the sexual tension between them through many sequences where the two characters are separated or do not speak. It’s a credit to Fassbender and Wasikowska’s excellent chemistry that the friction between the characters is so compelling.

Although the classic novel has been adapted to the screen several times, Fukunagua’s Jane Eyre might just be the definitive version. The film’s melancholy tone, Wasikowska’s performance, and the score received moderate attention in 2011, but overall, Jane Eyre got overshadowed due to the absolutely stacked line-up Fassbender had that year – he also starred in X-Men: First Class, A Dangerous Method, and Shame, all of which pretty much eclipsed any chance Jane Eyre had.

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6 ‘The Counselor’ (2013)

Director: Ridley Scott

The 2013 crime thriller The Counselor hails from director Ridley Scott and legendary author Cormac McCarthy.Largely misunderstood upon its initial release, The Counselor explores the seedy side of human nature and the consequences that several corrupt individuals pay for their crimes. Fassbender stars as the titular “counselor,” who is caught in over his head with a crime syndicate when he attempts to buy a gift for his fiancée (Penélope Cruz). It’s a character unlike any of Fassbender’s roles; the unnamed counselor is cowardly, dull, and utterly unlikeable.

The Counselor earned negative reviews at the time of its initial release. However, time has been kind to the film, as its pessimistic depiction of human nature makes it a perfect companion to other McCarthy projects like No Country For Old Men and The Road. Fassbender deserves more credit for taking a risk on such an edgy project and giving such a uniquely detestable performance. The Councelor will be too much for mainstream audiences, but those looking for a twisty thriller should undoubtedly give it a chance.

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5 ‘Slow West’ (2015)

Director: John Maclean

A24’s Slow West is a fascinating exploration of masculinity featuring one of Fassbender’s funniest performances. He stars as the morally dubious bounty hunter Silas Selleck, who becomes a mentor to the young Scotsman Jay Cavendish (Kodi Smit-McPhee). Jay is almost entirely focused on wooing his “great love,” Rose Ross (Caren Pistorius), and does not realize that Silas is secretly manipulating him for personal gain. It’s amusing to watch Silas gradually take advantage of Jay’s innocence as the two venture together on a long journey to find Rose.

Fassbender perfectly captures Silas’ moral grayness, crafting a singular hero that is not easy to root for despite being somewhat likable. While Silas does help Jay in some instances, his motivations are purely selfish. Fassbender’s idiosyncratic performance epitomizes Silas’ checkered morality, turning him into a nontraditional Western protagonist. Although largely ignored by audiences and even critics upon its initial release, Slow West deserves to be heralded as one of the best and most subversive Westerns of the past decade.

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4 ‘Macbeth’ (2015)

Director: Justin Kurzel

William Shakespeare’s tragic character Macbeth has been played by multiple great actors. Denzel Washington, Orson Welles, Christopher Walken, and Jon Finch are just a few of the famous stars who have portrayed the eponymous Scottish tyrant. However, Fassbender took a more nuanced approach to the character in Justin Kurzel’s 2015 adaptation. Rather than focusing as heavily on Macbeth’s political brilliance, the film showcases many brutally striking sequences of the character as a warlord. It required a much more physically intensive performance from Fassbender, who showed the rage that drove Macbeth throughout every one of his conquests.

Macbeth is a play that has been adapted so many times that crafting a new version that truly stands out is difficult. Kurzel’s version got lost in the noise of a particularly busy 2015, and it’s a shame because Fassbender’s depiction of the titular character is brilliant and inspired. The film’s reputation was further tainted by the actor and director’s future collaboration, the atrocious Assassin’s Creed. Still, Macbeth is an underrated example of what Fassbender and Kurzel could accomplish together.

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3 ‘Frank’ (2014)

Director: Lenny Abrahamson

Frank is simultaneously one of the funniest and darkest movies that Fassbender has ever starred in. He plays the titular role of Frank, the enigmatic frontman of a strange rock band. Frank’s inventive musical techniques may make him “quirky,” but it’s the paper-mache head that he wears all the time that forces his bandmates to question his sanity. Although Fassbender hints at Frank’s mental health struggles within the early moments of the film, the extent of his condition becomes evident in the surprisingly dramatic final act.

Despite Frank‘s darker commentary on artistic fragility, Fassbender provides considerable levity with a hilarious performance that epitomizes the struggles of a tortured artist. Alas, Frank‘s quirky, unique premise made it a hard sell for mainstream audiences, meaning it became one of those critically acclaimed films that only true cinephiles have heard of. The film is definitely eccentric, weird even, but it’s rewarding and thought-provoking nonetheless.

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2 ‘Hunger’ (2008)

Director: Steve McQueen

Before working together on Shame and 12 Years A Slave, Fassbender and Steven McQueen made the 2008 drama Hunger. Fassbender stars as Bobby Sands, the real Irish inmate who led the men of the Maze Prison in a hunger strike in the 1970s. Although it’s disturbing to see the extent to which Sands and his followers contrast their bodies to make a point, Fassbender explores how Sands’ IRA loyalties drove him to take such extreme actions. It served as a standout debut for McQueen and showed how much Fassbender could commit to his roles.

Sadly, Hunger tends to be forgotten compared to Shame and 12 Years A Slave, as it did not receive the universal recognition that those films did. However, Hunger‘s uncompromising look at history and Fassbender’s physically demanding performance make it just as worthy of praise. It’s an underrated gem that deserves credit for initiating one of the most exciting actor-director collaborations of the 21st century.

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1 ‘Fish Tank’ (2009)

Director: Andrea Arnold

Andrea Arnold’s haunting coming-of-age drama Fish Tank is almost entirely told from the perspective of its main character, Mia Williams (Katie Jarvis). Mia is a teenager growing up in the East London public housing system and develops a crush on her mother’s boyfriend, Connor (Fassbender). Connor’s interest in Mia is obviously both inappropriate and dangerous, and Fassbender goes all-in on the character’s reprehensible qualities.

While Fish Tank was considered to be Arnold’s breakthrough, Fassbender’s role tends to get overshadowed. The film itself has somewhat been forgotten, especially because Arnold’s career has stayed on the understated side. Even so, Fish Tank is a modern gem among film lovers, even if mainstream audiences would probably not recognize it in a line-up of coming-of-age dramas.

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