Jada Pinkett Smith is persuasive as resilient women, strongest when the writing gives her more to do than stand firm. Her grounded comic timing is a good reason not to stop at the tough roles.
Fi1m perspective
As crime boss Fish Mooney in Gotham (2014–2017), Jada Pinkett Smith makes being in charge look enjoyable. She brings gusto to the villainy, and we can see the appeal of casting her whenever someone needs to take control. We value her more when a role asks for something beyond toughness.
Menace II Society (1993), her feature debut as Ronnie, provides a harsher setting for that side of her work. Allen and Albert Hughes make a forceful crime drama, with Tyrin Turner and Larenz Tate giving us reasons to care about young men accustomed to violence. We were upset by how ordinary that violence had become to them. The relentless pace sometimes leaves the performances too little room, a real loss in a film whose actors give it so much. It remains a strong starting point, provided an unrelenting crime drama is what the evening calls for.
The mid-1990s made clearer how much else she could do. Opposite Eddie Murphy in The Nutty Professor (1996), her grounded playing and comic timing are useful assets in a broad comedy. Set It Off (1996) gives her an ensemble heist drama and a role involving personal crisis. We favour the combination of resilience and emotional depth there over the pleasure of watching her take charge.
The Matrix Reloaded (2003) took her into franchise action as Niobe, but Collateral (2004) is our firmer recommendation. Michael Mann casts her as Annie Farrell in a supporting part within a thriller that gives Jamie Foxx as much room as Tom Cruise. The film’s night photography deserves attention, but the performances matter just as much to its tension. The later action is more conventional, a reservation that need not stop anyone beginning with this collaboration.
The predictable storytelling of Hawthorne (2009–2011) is a limitation that forceful casting cannot fix. Fish Mooney at least gives her appetite for authority a clear use. Her later return to ensemble comedy as Lisa Cooper in Girls Trip (2017) keeps another strength in play. Start with Collateral, then try The Nutty Professor before deciding that toughness is the whole story.
Biography
Jada Pinkett Smith is an American actress. She made her feature film debut playing Ronnie in Menace II Society (1993).
She has appeared in films including Set It Off (1996), Scream 2 (1997), Collateral (2004) and the Matrix sequels as Niobe (2003). Pinkett Smith voiced Gloria in the Madagascar animated films (2005–2012). She began her career with television roles, including on A Different World. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, she trained at the Baltimore School of the Arts and the North Carolina School of the Arts.
