Channing Tatum’s Top Five Movies

Channing Tatum is one of Hollywood’s most versatile actors. A sexy hunk of man with dance moves and great comedic timing, Tatum has emerged as one of Hollywood’s hottest stars. And Comic book fans should get used to seeing Tatum since he’ll be playing Gambit in an upcoming X-Men solo film. To help prep you for Tatum’s X-Universe debute, and to celebrate the release of Magic Mike XXL, his latest movie,here’s a look at five of Tatum’s best hits.

21 Jump Street

On its surface, 21 Jump Street represents everything wrong with Hollywood. A remake of an almost forgotten TV show starring two dissimilar actors (Tatum and co-star Jonah Hill), 21 Jump Street should have been awful. But it wasn’t. It was a hilarious film, filled with subversive humor, silly action sequences and unexpected cameos. And in the middle of it all was Tatum, playing a boneheaded cop thrust into an undercover mission and pretending to be a dorky high schooler. 21 Jump Street was popular enough that Sony greenlit both 22 Jump Street and the upcoming 23 Jump Street.

The Lego Movie

Tatum’s role in The Lego Movie was a small but hilarious role. Tatum played a Lego version of Superman, a Master Builder who constantly dealt with unwanted friendship of fellow superhero Green Lantern (played by Jonah Hill). While Tatum’s Superman was polite to Green Lantern at first, as the movie progressed the Lego Man of Steel grew more and more frustrated with Green Lantern’s annoying habits and incompetence. By the end of the movie, Superman openly asked for kryptonite so that he would be spared being stuck next to Green Lantern in prison.

Magic Mike

One of Tatum’s best known movies, Magic Mike was an uplifting story about a young man named Mike and his magic ability to take his clothes off to music (hey, it’s harder than it looks). Sure, it was nice seeing Tatum and his co-stars strip down to their skivvies every fifteen minutes or so, but the movie also contained a positive story and plenty of humor to go around. Plus, the acting wasn’t bad either. Tatum’s co-star Matthew McConaughey earned particular praise for his performance as the selfish owner of the strip club where Mike performed. In case you needed more of Tatum’s abs, Magic Mike XXL just hit theatres. Go on, you know you want to see it.

Foxcatcher

A sports biopic about the tragic death of Olympic wrestler Dave Schultz, Foxcatcher is Tatum’s most critically acclaimed film to date. Tatum played Mark Schultz, the younger brother of Olympian Dave, who is lured to the Foxcatcher facility by the erratic wrestling enthusiast and millionaire John E du Pont. While Mark’s time at Foxcatcher initially helps his wrestling career, du Pont’s increasingly erratic behavior pushes the wrestler away from both the facility and his brother. Tatum described his role in Foxcatcher as the hardest in his career and his performance earned high acclaim from movie critics.

The Book of Life

Building offThe Lego Movie (heh.), Tatum’s other big animated film in 2014 was The Book of Life, a fun and uplifting film that focused on a Mexican folktale surrounding Dia de Muertos, the Day of the Dead. Tatum played Joaquin, one of two men competing for the love of their childhood friend Maria and the subject of a secret bet between two Mexican spirits. The Book of Life’s animation was amazing, using CGI versions of elaborate marionettes and dolls and vibrant and colorful backdrops to bring the weird world of the Mexican afterlife to life. The Book of Life is a movie that will delight and creep out the whole family.

So what are your favorite Channing Tatum movies? Let us know in the comments.