Is F. Gary Gray underrated as a Director?

[Alexander The Great]

went from doing some of the most famous 90s Music Videos such as

"It Was a Good Day" - Ice Cube
"Fantasic Voyage" - Coolio
"Waterfalls" - TLC
"Ms. Jackson" - Outkast

among others

and his list of feature films, he doesn't have one bad movie to his name

• Friday (1995)
• Set It Off (1996)
• The Negotiator (1998)
• The Italian Job (2003)
• A Man Apart (2003)
• Be Cool (2005)
• Law Abiding Citizen (2009)

why doesn't he get more work

 

[Mike Otherz]

not to me. “friday" is the best black comedy since "coming to america". that alone puts him in the pantheon. and he has a solid filmography as well.

 

[Vandelay]

Him and Antoine Fuqua.

Very underrated. They both remind me of Tony Scott.

 

[Alexander The Great]

not to me. “friday" is the best black comedy since "coming to america". that alone puts him in the pantheon. and he has a solid filmography as well.

I ask because he doesn't seem to get much work considering his resume is pretty good

 

[AnonymityX1000]

He is doing Straight Outta Compton which is an A list movie. He is doing fine.

 

[MartyMcFly]

I think he's right where he should be as far as acclaim goes. He can do the very commercial stuff like the italian job but also low budget stuff like friday and make it a hit. He doesn't have a strong strong voice though like Spike or John Singleton. He's very much a hired hand kinda guy which isn't bad but it's not great either. He's good where he is.

Be Cool tho

 

[satam55]

I think he's right where he should be as far as acclaim goes. He can do the very commercial stuff like the italian job but also low budget stuff like friday and make it a hit. He doesn't have a strong strong voice though like Spike or John Singleton. He's very much a hired hand kinda guy which isn't bad but it's not great either. He's good where he is.

Be Cool tho

I liked "Be Cool".

 

[MartyMcFly]

I liked "Be Cool".

Man that is probably the most disappointed with a movie I've ever been in my life. Get Shorty is one of my favorite movies of all time and it's so so so damn wack in comparison and just on its own

 

[AnonymityX1000]

Man that is probably the most disappointed with a movie I've ever been in my life. Get Shorty is one of my favorite movies of all time and it's so so so damn wack in comparison and just on its own

so true, compared to Get Shorty it's terrible. It started off decent but went off the rails badly.

 

[MartyMcFly]

so true, compared to Get Shorty it's terrible. It started off decent but went off the rails badly.

Right around the time Uma Thurman's character got introduced and they tried to bring back that pulp fiction chemistry, that's when the shyt went downhill. Not saying it's her fault at all but that is the key moment where everything got lazy

 

[Roman Brady]

Him and Antoine Fuqua.

Very underrated. They both remind me of Tony Scott.

I don't think he is underrated at all, tho the fact that he is barely known is suspect but he's basically been a pay cheque director for years. Training day was a fluke hell I am starting to think David Ayer might have had some input to that but was uncredited. I do see the similarities to tony tho, "deja vu" Tony not "revenge" tony

Never really saw any of Tony Scott in Gary's work until law abiding citizens

 

[Vandelay]

I don't think he is underrated at all, tho the fact that he is barely known is suspect but he's basically been a pay cheque director for years. Training day was a fluke hell I am starting to think David Ayer might have had some input to that but was uncredited. I do see the similarities to tony tho, "deja vu" Tony not "revenge" tony

Never really saw any of Tony Scott in Gary's work until law abiding citizens

A man apart/a man on fire
the negotiator/crimson tide/enemy of the state

I may catch hell, but fukk it

set it off/Beverly hills cop 2 (the robbery scenes especially)

Not saying they are blatant jack moves...but the similarities are present.

And I say Fuqua is underrated because, who mentions him...ever? A personal favorite of mine is The Replacement killers, which felt kinda John Woo-ish.

 

[Roman Brady]

A man apart/a man on fire
the negotiator/crimson tide/enemy of the state





Not saying they are blatant jack moves...but the similarities are present.

And I say Fuqua is underrated because, who mentions him...ever? A personal favorite of mine is The Replacement killers, which felt kinda John Woo-ish.

that's what I am saying though there is almost no distinct style to his work. Other than training day when you see his movies you just think any random cat directed it. He's like a game managing quarterback the only reason we care to mention him is because he's black. Not underrated, he can do better, it's like all his soul was put into Arthur now he's lifeless

 

[Vandelay]

that's what I am saying though there is almost no distinct style to his work. Other than training day when you see his movies you just think any random cat directed it. He's like a game managing quarterback the only reason we care to mention him is because he's black. Not underrated, he can do better, it's like all his soul was put into Arthur now he's lifeless

I'll give you that.