Here’s every comic book movie starring Karl Urban ranked from worst to best. New Zealand actor Karl Urban appeared in the likes of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena early in his career, before transitioning to American films. He had a run of notable supporting roles in the early 2000s, including playing Éomer in Peter Jackson’s The Lord Of The Rings trilogy and assassin Kirill in 2004’s The Bourne Supremacy. While he was later given a shot at leading roles with 2005’s Doom adaptation or Pathfinder, sadly, neither film turned out to be a success.
Karl Urban has had an extremely varied career in the years since. He won acclaim as Bones in the “Kelvin Timeline” Star Trek movies, particularly for 2016’s Beyond. He also starred in cult sci-fi series Almost Human, animated adventure Pete’s Dragon and is currently starring as “Billy” Butcher on Prime’s comic book series The Boys.
The Boys has brought Karl Urban a whole new fanbase, but it’s not his first brush with the comic book genre either. He’s appeared in various comic book movies over the years, and here’s each one ranked.
Priest (2011)
Priest is based on a Korean comic of the same name and takes place in a post-apocalyptic world in the aftermath of a brutal war between humanity and vampires. Priest starts on a good note, with a beautiful Genndy Tartakovsky animated prologue and it boasts a great cast, including Maggie Q, Christopher Plummer and Paul Bettany – who makes for a surprisingly solid action hero. The movie is let down by being a mishmash of everything from Blade Runner to Mad Max without ever establishing its own identity, weak dialogue and Karl Urban feels miscast as the main villain Black Hat.
RED (2010)
RED is sort of a more little-hearted Expendables and follows Bruce Willis’ retired CIA agent who is suddenly targeted for assassination. The movie is frothy and somewhat forgettable but gets a lot out of a pretty incredible supporting cast that features a scene-stealing John Malkovich, Morgan Freeman and Helen Mirren. The action scenes are also fun, but while Urban gets a major supporting role as the agent chasing Willis’ Frank, his strait-laced character gets to have the least fun out of the cast.
Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
Thor: Ragnarok was a breath of fresh air for the MCU franchise, reinventing the title hero as more of a comedic character while introducing new fan favorites like Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie or director Taika Waititi’s rock monster Korg. The movie is colorful and fun, though the movie’s zaniness sometimes undermines the drama, such as the death of Anthony Hopkins’ Odin or the climactic destruction of Asgard. Karl Urban also has a blast as villain Hela’s henchman Skurge, with the actor getting to ham up a storm while wielding twin M-16’s that he dubs “Des” and “Troy.”
Dredd (2012)
Dredd was the second adaptation of 2000 AD’s Judge Dredd, which cast Karl Urban in the titular role. The movie is a gritty, modestly budgeted siege movie in the vein of an early John Carpenter film, with Urban and co-star Olivia Thirlby having to fight their way up a 200-floor, futuristic building to take down Lena Headey’s drug lord. Urban – whose face is never shown as he wears Judge Dredd’s trademark helmet – is great as the taciturn anti-hero, and gets some dry one-liners. The movie is a stripped-down action thriller with some well-shot setpieces, and while it wasn’t a hit, it later became a cult favorite.
