10 Best Lucy Liu Movies, Ranked
At the young age of 19, Lucy Liuwas riding the New York subway when she was approached by a talent agent. Thanks to this chance meeting, she soon appeared in a commercial that would inspire her to begin her career in acting and, after starring in some theater productions, she would make her big screen appearance in 1992 in Rhythm of Destiny, a Hong Kong film starring the one and only Danny Lee.
Throughout her career, Lucy Liu has starred in many films, some being some of the most iconic of their generation, such as Kill Bill: Volume 1. Her resume is broad and filled to the brim with quality performances, receiving many awards throughout her time as an actress and has even dabbled in directing with her recent project, American Born Chinese. She's a huge inspiration for Asian-Americans everywhere with her domination of the industry through her incredible films.
10 'Payback' (1999)
Directed by Brian Helgeland
CloseAn ex-U.S. Marine and master thief named Porter (Mel Gibson) is left to die after he was betrayed by his own wife Lynn (Deborah Kara Unger) and his best friend Val (Gregg Henry) in a successful heist for $70,000. Now, he's healed, and it's time for him to seek revenge. This escapade leads to him capturing Val and going after the crime organization called the Outfit.
During his mission to finally capture Val, Porter finds him with a dominatrix named Pearl, played by Lucy Liu herself. Pearl would work with Val to inform a local Triad he stole $140,000 from, that Porter was responsible and would continue to work with Val to make life harder for Porter. Liu manages to bring an incredible mix of humor and intensity to the role, as Pearl can switch from shooting out quips to holding a gun to Porter's face with the intention of killing on a dime. She manages to blend the humor with that intensity to bring a wonderful performance to her supporting role.
Payback
Release Date February 5, 1999 Director Brian Helgeland Language English Studio Paramount Pictures Run Time 101 Minutes Actors Mel Gibson, Lucy Liu, Maria Bello ExpandPayback can be streamed on Prime Video in the U.S.
9 'Stage Mother' (2020)
Directed by Thom Fitzgerald
CloseWhen a conservative church choir director from Texas named Jacki Weaver (Maybelline Metcalf) inherits a drag club in San Francisco after the owner, her son, dies. To make matters worse, her son had been alienated after he came out as gay to his family. So, when worlds collide, conflicts arise and chaos ensues.
Weaver decides to dedicate her time to make the club a success in her son's name, to save it from going bankrupt. She moves in with her late-son's best friend, Lucy Liu's Sienna, a single mother. Sienna is a total mess and struggling to make ends meet. Her character is a large source of comedic relief in the film. Liu's performance is quite comedic in Stage Mother, but her comedic acting is a lot more subtle than typical. Liu's execution of the role shows that her character is completely serious about the things she does and isn't trying to be funny, making Liu's performance a unique mix of comedic and dramatic at once.
Stage Mother
Release Date August 21, 2020 Director Thom Fitzgerald Language English Studio Momentum Pictures Run Time 93 Minutes Actors Jacki Weaver, Lucy Liu, Adrian Grenier ExpandStage Mother can be streamed on Prime Video in the U.S.
8 'Charlie's Angels' (2000)
Directed by McG
Natalie (Cameron Diaz), Dylan (Drew Barrymore) and Alex (Liu) live in sunny Los Angeles and work for a secretive private detective agency. When a soon-to-be billionaire, Eric Knox (Sam Rockwell), is captured, his advanced voice recognition software is at risk of falling into the wrong hands. The girls must come together to rescue Knox to protect the world from the potential consequences of someone using his software for the wrong reasons.
Starring as one of three protagonists, Liu found a mass amount of popularity and praise fromCharlie's Angels. Along with the two other women starring in the film, Liu found a plethora of praise in her ability to perform high-octane action while also bringing in her comedic abilities to keep things lighthearted. Liu's chemistry with Diaz and Barrymore was a huge factor in making the three detectives lovable and engaging to watch in what was noted as a somewhat basic plot. Liu and her co-stars were the brightest lights in the collective.
Charlie's Angels
PG-13ActionAdventureComedyCrimeThrillerRelease Date November 2, 2000 Director McG Cast Cameron Diaz , Lucy Liu , Bill Murray , Sam Rockwell , Kelly Lynch , Drew Barrymore Runtime 98 Main Genre Action Writers Ryan Rowe , Ed Solomon , John August , Ivan Goff , Ben Roberts ExpandCharlie's Angels can be streamed on Apple TV in the U.S.
7 'Tinker Bell' (2008)
Directed by Bradley Raymond
When the magical fairy known around the world as Tinker Bell (Mae Whitman) is born, she is transported to the mystical world of Pixie Hollow. She soon discovers that she belongs with the "tinkers", a classification of fairies whose job is to do and fix things around Pixie Hollow. When she is told that she will not join the rest of the fairies on their trip to the mainland, she becomes upset and must discover who she is and what her place is in the world.
Liu is known around Pixie Hollow as the fairy called Silvermist. Silvermist is a water fairy that is audacious and humorous. She is one of the primary protagonists of the film and tries to help Tinker Bell learn how to use water abilities when Tinker Bell decides she no longer wants to be a tinker fairy. 2008 was the year Liu really began diving into voice acting after only doing it once in 2004's Mulan II. For being one of her first ever voice acting roles, Liu does a wonderful job at bringing the sass to Silvermist without it sounding too over the top.
Tinker Bell
GAnimation Release Date October 28, 2008 Director Bradley Raymond Cast Lucy Liu , Raven-Symone Runtime 78 MinutesTinker Bell can be streamed on Disney+ in the U.S.
6 'Shanghai Noon' (2000)
Directed by: Tom Dey
CloseTaking place in 19th century west America, a Chinese Imperial Guard named Chong Wang (Jackie Chang)must travel to Nevada, United States to save the kidnapped Princess Pei Pei (Lucy Liu). As he begins his adventure, he comes across and teams up with a cowboy thief known as Roy O'Bannon (Owen Wilson), forming the most unique team-up in the west.
While Liu doesn't have much to do in Shanghai Noon as the illustrious Princes Pei Pei, she is quite impressive in the scenes she does appear in. She even got the chance to take part in a fight scene toward the end of the film. The fact that she's able to make lemonade out of just a few small lemons is an example of the kind of actor she is. She can take a role that on paper feels like not much, and bring her talent to it and make the role a lot more influential to the audience.
Shanghai Noon
Release Date May 26, 2000 Director Tom Dey Language English Studio Buena Vista Pictures Distribution Run Time 110 Minutes Actors Jackie Chan, Owen Wilson, Lucy Liu ExpandShanghai Noon can be streamed on Apple TV+ in the U.S.
5 'Kill Bill: Volume 1' (2003)
Directed by: Quentin Tarantino
The Bride is betrayed by the assassin squad she used to serve in, the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad, while practicing for her wedding. The Bride (Uma Thurman) falls into a deep coma and, after waking up a whole four years later, she retrains herself and sets out to murder the leader of the squad, Bill (David Carradine), and everyone else on her way to him.
Returning to her villain roots from Payback, Liu is the primary antagonist of Kill Bill: Volume 1, both the top head of the Tokyo Yakuza and a member of the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad,named O-Ren Ishii. Liu brought a sense of both sensibility and ruthlessness to the character, making O-Ren an antagonist that exudes a threatening calmness that makes viewers feel like she could strike at any moment, and there'd be no indication she was about to do so. Liu's performance makes O-Ren the perfect antagonist for this film and brings incredibly engaging dramatic scenes and fight sequences.
Kill Bill Vol. 1
RActionCrimeDramaRelease Date October 10, 2003 Director Quentin Tarantino Cast Uma Thurman , Lucy Liu , Vivica A. Fox , Daryl Hannah , David Carradine , Michael Madsen Runtime 111 minutes Main Genre Action Writers Quentin Tarantino , Uma Thurman Studio Miramax Films ExpandKill Bill: Volume 1 can be streamed on AMC+ in the U.S.
4 'Chicago' (2002)
Directed by: Rob Marshall
When lawyer Billy Flynn (Richard Gere) takes on the cases of both Velma (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and Roxie (Renée Zellweger), both of them must compete for publicity and Billy's attention in order to save themselves from prison or worse, death. The film is based on the theater musical of the same name from 1975. Chicago also marked the directorial debut of Rob Marshall.
To throw some more conflict into the mix, Liu enters the story of Chicago as Kitty Baxter, a wealthy heiress, who brutally murders her husband after catching him cheating on her. She is arrested and manages to turn all press attention towards herself. This makes matters much worse for the likes of Velma and Roxie, who are still competing for attention. Liu does a wonderful job at bringing a swave sense of ferocity that brings all the extravagance needed for the role of a show stealer like Kitty Baxter.
Chicago
PG-13CrimeMusicalRelease Date December 10, 2002 Director Rob Marshall Cast Renée Zellweger , Catherine Zeta-Jones , Richard Gere , Queen Latifah , John C. Reilly , Christine Baranski Runtime 113 Main Genre Comedy Writers Bill Condon , Bob Fosse , Fred Ebb , Maurine Dallas Watkins ExpandChicago can be streamed on Paramount+ in the U.S.
3 'Kung Fu Panda' (2008)
Directed by: Mark Osborne & John Stevenson
In 2008's Kung Fu Panda, Po (Jack Black), an overweight and awkward panda, is chosen to be the mystical and illustrious Dragon Warrior. He's thrown straight into the fire as the menacing Tai Lung (Ian McShane) escapes from prison and seeks out to capture the Dragon Scroll and take revenge. Po must train with the wise Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) and the five greatest warriors in all kung fu, the Furious Five, in order to become everything he is destined to be and save the Valley.
The Furious Five consists of Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Crane (David Cross) and last but not least, Viper (Lucy Liu). Liu's Viper is agile, slithering and the master of, you guessed it, the viper style of kung fu. Unlike the rest of the Furious Five, while she was very unsure about Po's abilities, she was the most affectionate and caring towards Po. Liu's softer, more soothing voice brought that warm side of Viper to the forefront. Liu's performance made Viper an incredibly endearing member of the Furious Five and a fan favorite.
Kung Fu Panda
PGAnimationActionAdventureComedyFamily Release Date June 4, 2008 Director Mark Osborne , John Stevenson Cast Jack Black , Dustin Hoffman , Angelina Jolie , Ian McShane , Jackie Chan , Seth Rogen Runtime 95 Main Genre Animation Writers Jonathan Aibel , Glenn Berger , Ethan Reiff , Cyrus Voris ExpandKung Fu Panda can be streamed on Apple TV in the U.S.
2 'Set It Up' (2018)
Directed by: Claire Scanlon
In Netflix's romantic comedy, Set It Up, two corporate executive assistants, Harper (Zoey Deutch) and Charlie (Glen Powell) decide they've had enough of their horrible bosses, Kirsten (Lucy Liu) and Rick (Taye Diggs). They hatch a plan to get them together to get the two bosses off of their backs. But simply setting them up is not nearly as easy as they'd hoped.
Starring as one of two said horrible bosses, Liu's Kirsten is the high-strung editor of a beloved sports journal that makes Harper's life increasingly difficult with her astoundingly high expectations for little recognition in return. She's cold-blooded and ruthless, bringing a harsh sting to every scene she takes part in. Liu disappears into the role and by the end of the film, viewers no longer see Liu, but editor Kirsten. She perfectly melds Kirsten's outwardly agitated demeanor with her calmer, level-headed interior in a way that gives Kirsten an abundance of depth.
Set It Up
TV-14ComedyRomanceRelease Date June 15, 2018 Director Claire Scanlon Cast Zoey Deutch , Glen Powell , Lucy Liu , Taye Diggs Runtime 105 minutes Main Genre ComedySet It Up can be streamed on Netflix in the U.S.
1 'The Tale of Princess Kaguya' (2013)
Directed by: Isao Takahata
When Kaguya has five men seeking out her heart, she sends all of them out on seemingly impossible jobs to prove their love and for her to avoid marrying someone she doesn't know. The story of The Tale of Princess Kaguya sends the message that, primarily concerning oneself with wealth, can only detract from the human experience.
When it comes to quality, it doesn't get much better than a film made by Studio Ghibli. Which can only mean the cast and crew of their products must emit the same quality, which makes Liu's involvement in this film a no-brainer. Liu adds her talent to the film through the character named Lady Sagami. Sagami is brought in to teach Kaguya in the ways of proper etiquette and ultimately fails when Kaguya decides she wants to live a more impromptu lifestyle. Liu's calm, collected and warm voice gives the mentor the lovely demeanor that is drawn on screen.
The Tale of The Princess Kaguya can be streamed on Max in the U.S.
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