The Wright Stuff: the Letterboxd community ranking of Edgar Wright’s films

From rom-zom-coms and worlds ending to baby drivers and seven evil exes, we take a look at how the Letterboxd community ranks Edgar Wright’s filmography from top to bottom.

While Edgar Wright made his feature debut in 1995 with the little-seen A Fistful of Fingers (less than 5,000 Letterboxd have marked it watched), it was his sophomore effort, Shaun of the Dead, that blossomed him into the stratosphere (over 1 million logs for that one, for what it’s worth). His Cornetto trilogy became a staple in cinephile households, and as Shaun recently celebrated its twentieth anniversary with a theatrical re-release, Wright ed us to read some of your Letterboxd reviews.

You can watch the full video above to get Wright’s nostalgic reflections on the impact his breakthrough picture has had on the culture of cinema over the past two decades, and why watching it still gets him a little teary-eyed. He also provides us with juicy behind-the-scenes details into the construction of iconic moments, like how Simon Pegg’s memorable walk from his flat to the corner shop came about after a note that the scene was “shoe leather” that was going to get cut led to Wright insisting on “tripling” the amount of gags in this sequence so it’d be impossible to leave on the edit room floor.

With his lightning speed editing, trademark dark humor, delectable foreshadowing, bountiful easter eggs, copious cinematic references and exquisite needle drops, it’s no surprise that Edgar Wright was destined to become a favorite filmmaker among the Letterboxd community. Not many directors are able to boast an average rating of 3.7 across their entire filmography, but that’s just how much you all have taken to the English maestro. Heck, his regularly updated list of 1,000 favorite movies even has a home in every Pro and Patron member’s all-time stats so you can count off how many you’ve watched.

To celebrate the anniversary of the picture that made him a hallowed name for every lover of film, and as we await the eventual twentieth anniversary re-release of Hot Fuzz in a few years, we decided to take a look through the data to see how Wright’s movies stack up against one another in the hearts of the Letterboxd community.

Here is every feature narrative film (apologies to The Sparks Brothers) directed by Edgar Wright in order of their Letterboxd average rating from lowest to highest.


7. A Fistful of Fingers (1995)

Average rating: 2.9

“Despite the amateurish and student film vibe, it’s obvious that Wright’s forgotten-about debut feature is dripping with ion. The most noteworthy thing to me whilst watching was that this guy just really loves filmmaking. The biggest compliment I can give is it just makes me want to get off the couch and make a stupid movie with my mates for fun. The costume and set design is pretty decent and is probably the most ‘professional’ looking part. Its pace is a bit sluggish and makes the short runtime feel like a longer stretch. The Python/parody humour is actually pretty funny and you can definitely see a couple seeds of what his style will become.” —Sam Thompson

6. Last Night in Soho (2021)

Average rating: 3.4

“This kind of psychological-horror-thriller playfully bounces between genres serving up time travel, a murder mystery, the Soho history, a memorable soundtrack, surreal dream and ghost sequences, a touch of romance, and some small jump scares here and there. While the film was somewhat generic in the story it chooses to tell, I have to give it props for, at least, uniquely telling the story. I do think Wright could have pulled a few more tricks out of his sleeve to truly make this movie a daring, novel experience. Last Night in Soho is a thrilling visual rollercoaster that reminded me of Mulholland Drive and Black Swan with hints of Alice in Wonderland and fun twists throughout. I had an absolute blast watching this film.” — sophie

5. The World’s End (2013)

Average rating: 3.6

“A fitting conclusion to the Cornetto Trilogy, The World’s End is an impressively adept character piece as well as a satisfying action movie and an idea-driven science fiction piece. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost go out of their comfort zones to play, respectively, a burned-out addict and a repressed lawyer, and Eddie Marsan, Paddy Considine and Martin Freeman play crucial ing roles that have much more texture than those in the first two Wright/Pegg films. The themes of aging and disillusionment are painfully evocative, especially for the final film in a trilogy about male immaturity, and the ballsy ending lingers long after the credits roll, as it should.” —Matthew Christman

4. Baby Driver (2017)

Average rating: 3.7

Kenny Ortega’s The Italian Job. an absolute thrill-ride of endearment, cleverness, perfect casting, costumes, references and just some of the best camerawork you’ll ever see in a car chase movie.” —Matthew Saponar

3. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)

Average rating: 3.9

“I’m amazed to come back to this film after maybe seven years of not seeing it to find I still know pretty much the entire script by heart. Not bad considering the monumental, quippy, dialogue-heavy nature of the thing. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is arguably the defining cult film of the 21st century thus far. It inspired a generation of kids to pick up a musical instrument, it mocked hipsters before it was cool to mock hipsters, it rejuvenated an interest in video game nostalgia outside of cult internet circles and it gave Michael Cera room to escape the shadow of his awkward, uncomfortable former roles. It’s so nice to see him work with a performance that requires precise timing and physical coordination for the jokes to work, and he completely nails it. I will always see Edgar Wright as the absolute visionary that was able to invent the kung-fu digital romance musical comedy drama.” —Jay 👽

2. Shaun of the Dead (2004)

Average rating: 4.0

Shaun of the Dead is undoubtedly one of the finest horror comedies ever, but it's interesting to view it as an endearing love letter to Dawn of the Dead beyond the more obvious references. Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg clearly studied what made Romero’s epic so quintessential; chiefly how it’s enjoyed [from] being dictated by what the viewer wants from it. Shaun’s mix of horror, comedy, and drama is so organic that it can be approached under each of these perspectives. Much like Dawn being horror, drama, and social commentary in equal measure. Whatever you’re in the mood for, both deliver in very similar fashion and have transcended into comfort food for many. There’s also more simple similarities, like gags and a base pool of zombies being carried throughout. Characters are so well realized that it hurts to watch their fates change just like Blades and gang first peering at the mall through binoculars in Dawn. Again like Romero’s body of work, there’s an incredible attention to detail in Shaun that continually rewards revisits. I’m still noticing new visual cues and nuances in character exchanges to this day.” —Jayson Kennedy

1. Hot Fuzz (2007)

Average rating: 4.1

Yarp! Everything about this film is extraordinary, including the plot, soundtrack, editing, language, twist, and so on. The writing, though, is the highlight. Unlike numerous films, Hot Fuzz does not squander a single line of words. Every single character’s line either foreshadows or refers back to anything earlier in the film. It’s incredible, and it makes the film infinitely re-watchable. There are so many nuances, secrets, and easter eggs to look for that each time you watch it, you will learn something new. Yarp! It’s not simply a hilarious buddy cop film, but every aspect has been meticulously planned for maximum effect, so even if you removed all the humour, it would still be excellent. The comedy merely adds to the enjoyment, and the film is all the better for it. Without a question, this is a masterpiece.” —Cernan Mari

Further Reading

Tags

Share This Article