20 Mark Wahlberg movies ranked from best to worst

In this quirky comedy that aims to deconstruct Existentialism, Wahlberg plays a nihilistic firefighter whose life is engulfed by the magnitude of his own philosophical questions. He expresses this character convincingly and successfully translates his typical chest-thumping bravado into a man plagued by enigmas—making his performance easily the funniest part of the movie.

This film portrays a crooked Boston underworld, where cops and criminals are hard to distinguish and good and bad are even harder to tell apart. Wahlberg plays FBI agent Dignam, and he effortlessly animates the steely eyed cynicism and enthusiastic desk punching you would expect from a guy like that.

Wahlberg’s critically acclaimed character, Eddie Adams, is a nightclub dishwasher from the San Fernando Valley when he is “discovered” by a 1970s porn mogul. While he is briefly ensconced in a gilded and glamorous existence, Eddie’s life ultimately decays into one defined by drugs, violence and disillusionment—a trajectory meant to embody the rise and fall of an era commonly called the Golden Age of Porn.

In this comedy, Wahlberg is again tapped to play a crude, beer-guzzling Bostonian (this one is named John Bennet). But there is one major departure: His best friend is an anthropomorphic teddy bear with a penchant for prostitutes. All is well until their cozy, pleasure-seeking existence is interrupted by Bennet’s new girlfriend—then there’s trouble in paradise, and it’s very funny.

This American remake of the U.K. classic by the same name takes place along the canals of Venice—the one in Los Angeles, that is. Wahlberg plays professional safecracker Charlie Croker, a chief of thieves whose thirst for gold is exceeded only by his desire for revenge.

In this bizarre war movie, a down-and-out advertising executive (Danny DeVito) finds temporary employment teaching at an Army base outside Detroit. He is assigned an essentially illiterate cadre of soldiers (including Wahlberg as private Tommy Lee Haywood), and instructs them to put on a performance of Hamlet. Wahlberg is among the few redeeming factors in a film that fails to deliver anything entertaining—much less explain why boot camp would include English lit.

Boxer Micky Ward was a local hero from Lowell, MA, who had a brief, promising professional career but receded from the ring before he realized his talent. Wahlberg played Ward in the boxing movie after spending five years prior working on getting it made, and it went on to receive seven Academy Award nominations.

In 1991, a cyclone tore through much of the East Coast. Known as the Perfect Storm, its effect on one commercial fishing vessel in particular was immortalized in a book by Sebastian Junger. While the film adaptation of The Perfect Storm starring Wahlberg is not strictly adherent to the facts, it evocatively captures the central terror of the tale.

In this movie, a cabal of con artists wanders along the fringes of society in North Carolina. Despite not making a splash at the box office, it’s since developed a cultish kind of notoriety and is among the better examples of crime drama from recent decades.

Wahlberg doesn’t only film in Boston—in this New York movie, the yards are where contractors fix up broken down railcars of MTA commuter trains. It’s the 1980s, and there is fierce competition between rival repair outfits, which leads to sabotage before escalating to murder.