The 9 Best Non-Marvel Chris Hemsworth Movies, Ranked

A fun and CGI-driven adventure, Men in Black: International is a somewhat campy tale within the canon of the original, imaginative Men in Black films. We discover that the Men in Black have been operating for a long time all over the world, but now they find a mole in their ranks bent on destroying the organization that polices alien activity on Earth. Hemsworth plays Agent H, a womanizing, socializing, satirizing macho Man in Black. So, basically he’s Thor, but replace god-like strength and a hammer with fancy toys and chrome laser guns. The script has some good comedy, and Hemsworth plays well with them, but International doesn’t quite live up to the original three films and their snappy young gun/grumpy old veteran dynamic. This movie isn’t just about his character — he’s really the supporting character to Agent M (Tessa Thompson) — but this movie makes me want to see Hemsworth in a vastly different role to see the true range of his performances.

A gritty and cutting racing story, Rush is the best Ron Howard sports movie and his only one since Cinderella Man. In the 1970s, James Hunt (Hemsworth) and Niki Lauda (Daniel Brühl) begin their bitter rivalry, pushing each other to obsessive lengths to be the best. The performances in this film are fantastic, both Hemsworth and Brühl shine in their opposition and emotional performances, but Brühl a bit more so. For somebody who was hoping for a bit more subtlety, it was a bit disappointing to see Hemsworth show up in the very first scene shirtless and womanizing, despite the promising writer and director. Though this does play on Hemsworth’s strengths and later ends up working well for the character, I wish it wasn’t so simple as that. I was glad to see later that Hemsworth’s role included a dark period with alcoholism and sadness, leaving him with nothing else but racing, but even that was a bit lacking. Seeing him begin to stretch his arms in a new type of role is exciting, which increases anticipation for the upcoming Hulk Hogan biopic he has been cast in.

From director/writer Drew Goddard comes the twist-happy, storyline pileup, Tarantino-esque mystery film Bad Times at the El Royale, which is bloody, witty, and also somehow a bit confused. Seven complete strangers check into the eerily tidy yet desolate El Royale hotel on the border of Nevada and California, all for their own reasons, which will be revealed in thrilling and bloody fashion. Hemsworth, though not one of those seven strangers, is the highlight of the film in a role I had never expected him to shine in. Without getting too far into spoiler territory, he plays an unsettlingly charming leader of what can only be described as a cult, inspiring his followers to stay with him to any end. In this role, Hemsworth is, of course, very alluring as usual, but with a sort of Woodstock meets Manson family energy. Again, I don’t want to give too much away, but the scene where he dances — button-up fully open revealing his impeccable physique — sensually and terrifyingly to Deep Purple’s Hush is definitely the scene that stood out most in the entire film.

An unforgettable, exhilarating, and witty revival of the classic sci-fi series, Star Trek is an absolute blast from start to finish. Acting as a stand-alone origin story, we see the beginnings of the Starship Enterprise and its crew, led by its fearless captain, James T. Kirk (Chris Pine). Right from the beginning, audiences are sucked into the action and story as though by a tractor beam from a Borg cube. Most of the instant appeal starts in the opening performance from Hemsworth as Kirk’s father, the proud and honorable Capt. George Kirk, doing what captains do best and sacrificing himself. Though his screen time is short and the rest of the movie is uniformly excellent, his emotional performance connects instantly with the audience. Hemsworth’s turn here says a lot about his potential in any role.