Pedro Pascal’s Most Skippable Films: Five You Can Miss

Pedro Pascal has built a reputation for delivering memorable performances, from gritty heroes to cunning villains. While he’s earned plenty of praise and even snagged a Screen Actors Guild Award for his work on The Last of Us, not every project in his filmography has hit the mark. Among his many credits, there are a handful of films that haven’t exactly wowed critics or punters, and are often left off the must-watch lists—even for die-hard fans.

Bloodsucking Bastards (2015): Office Antics with Fangs

Back in 2015, Pascal took on the role of Max in Bloodsucking Bastards, a horror-comedy directed by Brian James O’Connell. The story follows Evan, played by Fran Kranz, whose workplace turns into a nightmare when his colleagues start sprouting fangs. Pascal’s character is at the centre of the chaos, playing the villain with a sly edge. Despite a few laughs and a decent performance from Pascal, the film didn’t quite stack up against his stronger work. Critics gave it a middling 68% on Rotten Tomatoes, while audiences were less impressed, rating it at 49%. IMDb users landed somewhere in the middle with a 5.7 out of 10. It’s a bit of fun, but nothing to write home about.

Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017): Bigger, Not Always Better

Pascal donned a cowboy hat for Kingsman: The Golden Circle, the second outing in the much-hyped spy action series. Directed by Matthew Vaughn, the film brought together a star-studded cast, including Colin Firth, Taron Egerton, and Julianne Moore. Pascal played Agent Whiskey, a character who straddles the line between anti-hero and outright villain. The plot sees the British agents teaming up with their American counterparts to take down a ruthless cartel. While the film upped the ante with more action and spectacle, critics reckoned it lacked the spark of the original. As one review put it,

Kingsman: The Golden Circle offers more of everything that made its predecessor so much fun, but lacks the original’s wild creative spark.

The film scored 51% with critics and 64% with audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, and a 6.7 on IMDb. Entertaining, but not essential viewing.

The Equalizer 2 (2018): Diminishing Returns

In The Equalizer 2, Pascal played Dave York opposite Denzel Washington’s Robert McCall. This action-thriller, directed by Antoine Fuqua, follows McCall as he seeks justice for a murdered friend. Pascal’s character adds a twist to the story, but the film itself didn’t quite live up to the first instalment. Critics described it as a standard vigilante flick, with one consensus stating,

The Equalizer 2 delivers the visceral charge of a standard vigilante thriller, but this reunion of trusted talents ultimately proves a disappointing case study in diminishing returns.

The film managed a 52% critic score and 62% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with a 6.7 on IMDb. Solid action, but not much else to set it apart.

The Bubble (2022): Comedy That Missed the Mark

The Bubble, a 2022 comedy directed by Judd Apatow, saw Pascal join a cast packed with big names like Karen Gillan, David Duchovny, and Keegan-Michael Key. The film centres on a group of actors stuck in a hotel during a pandemic, trying to finish a dinosaur action sequel. Despite the promising setup and talent involved, the film was widely panned. Critics didn’t hold back, with one review summing it up:

Meandering and mostly unfunny, The Bubble gums up an all-star cast with hackneyed gags about showbiz and pandemic life.

Audiences weren’t much kinder, calling it

two largely laugh-free hours you’ll never get back.

With a 20% critic score and 30% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes, plus a 4.7 on IMDb, this one’s best left for a rainy day—if at all.

The Great Wall (2016): Big Budget, Little Impact

The Great Wall, released in 2016, paired Pascal with Matt Damon and Willem Dafoe in a fantasy action epic directed by Zhang Yimou. The story follows two European mercenaries who end up defending China from ancient monsters. Despite the impressive visuals and international cast, the film was criticised for lacking excitement and depth. As one review put it,

For a Yimou Zhang film featuring Matt Damon and Willem Dafoe battling ancient monsters, The Great Wall is neither as exciting nor as entertainingly bonkers as one might hope.

The film scored 35% with critics and 42% with audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, and a 5.9 on IMDb. Visually ambitious, but narratively underwhelming.