10 Ben Barnes Movies and TV Shows to Watch Before Shadow & Bones Season 2, According to Rotten
Netflix’s fantasy series Shadow and Bone, based on two of Leigh Bardugo’s best-selling book series, Six of Crows and Shadow and Bones, was an immediate success after the first season. Hence, the streaming service swiftly approved the second season, which will debut on March 16, 2023, to the intense anticipation of fans.
Ben Barnes, a British actor who represents several characters in various fandoms, will reprise his role as General Kirigan, also known as the Darkling, in addition to the existing cast and the newly added members of the show. While waiting for the release of season 2, fans of Shadow and Bones can check out Barnes' extensive acting credits from a career spanning more than 20 years.
10 ‘The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader’ (2010)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 50%
Based on C. S. Lewis’s third book of the same name in the book series, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is the third installment in the Narnia film series. Taking place 13 years after the event in the second film, The Voyage follows Lucy (Georgie Henley) and Edmund (Skandar Keynes) along with their cousin, Eustace (Will Poulter) reunites with Prince Caspian (Barnes) in Narnia and takes a trip to across the ocean on the regal vessel The Dawn Treader.
The film is regarded as the lowest in the trilogy even if the cinematography is stunning and the seamless integration of CGI and actual actors. This is because the screenwriters don't appear to adequately portray Lewis's original concepts. Barnes, however, and his portrayal of Caspian once more remain among the movie's highlights.
9 ‘Easy Virtue’ (2008)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 52%
Based on Noël Coward's 1924 play of the same name, Easy Virtue follows a dazzling American widow (Jessica Biel) who encounters and has an impulsive marriage with a young Englishman (Barnes). As they arrive in England, his mother immediately and strongly disapproves of her daughter-in-law, while his father discovers a fellow traveler.
The film brings to life Coward's theatrical play with terrific actors telling the story as well as capturing the essence of the original source material. Biel and Barnes are hailed for their performances, which occasionally eclipse those of more experienced performers such as Colin Firth and Kristin Scott Thomas.
8 ‘Killing Bono’ (2011)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 56%
Killing Bono makes a loose recreation of the life of Irish rocker Neil (Barnes) and his younger brother Ivan (Robert Sheehan), who want to get into the music industry but are forced to watch as their high school buddies form U2 become one of the largest bands in the world.
Even though there are many guns, drugs, and dangers, Killing Bono is an entertainingly lighthearted musical biography and not all that gloomy. In fact, it's a comedy that gets surprisingly good mileage out of a story about failure and contains numerous excellent performances, especially the leads.
7 ‘Sons of Liberty’ (2015)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 58%
Sons of Liberty is a miniseries that takes place between 1765 and 1776, just before the American Revolutionary War begins. It concentrates on significant historical people and events that occurred between the Thirteen Colonies and Great Britain, especially those that sparked a rebellion against the king and gave rise to the Sons of Liberty.
The show does a very effective job of establishing and differentiating its enormous array of characters for a production using powdered wigs. Moreover, despite containing numerous intimate scenes, the battlefield is Sons of Liberty’s main attraction, and the sequences filmed are well worth watching.
6 ‘Bigga than Ben’ (2008)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 60%
Bigga than Ben tells a story about two egotistical, irresponsible young Russian travelers, Spiker (Andrei Chadov) and Cobakka (Barnes) who travel to London in an effort to make a quick fortune. Yet they quickly come to the realization that they won't succeed legally. As a result, with the help of the sketchy Artash (Ovidiu Matesan), they learn how to rob banks, joyride on the London Underground, and transform cell phones into crack cocaine.
Despite being British, Barnes does an excellent job playing a Russian. Additionally, even though it veers off into an unclear conclusion, Bigga Than Ben is direct, hilarious, and controversial enough to rile up readers of a few prestige newspapers in England and give the other viewers a good laugh.
5 ‘Jackie & Ryan’ (2014)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 64%
Jackie & Ryan follows the titular character, a single mother (Katherine Heigl) who is struggling for custody of her daughter, and a modern-day train hopper (Barnes), trying to make it as a musician to overcome their circumstances by forming a romance that could forever alter each other's life.
Despite the movie's frequent use of Americana clichés, Jackie & Ryan ends up being a touching, musically-driven love story. The story's simplicity, straightforward storytelling, and genuine emotions all mesh to create a pleasing whole, combined with Heigl and Barnes’ beautiful performances and chemistry.
4 ‘Marvel's The Punisher’ (2017 - 2019)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 64%
Based on Marvel Comic character and serving as a spin-off to the first Marvel Netflix series, Daredevil, The Punisher follows Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal), a former Force Recon Marine who is popularly known as "The Punisher" in New York City, uncovers a serious plot while exacting revenge on those responsible for the death of his family. Barnes plays Billy Russo, Castle’s best friend, and owner of Anvil, a private military corporation.
The Punisher is an unrelenting masterwork of graphic violence and a compelling central plot that keeps circling the characters until it all comes to a satisfying conclusion. Moreover, Barnes is a fantastic fit for the role of Billy Russo since it allowed him to shed his good guy persona and serve as a springboard for his Darkling role in Shadow and Bones.
3 ‘The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian’ (2008)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 66%
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is the second installment in the Narnia film franchise and continues to follow the Pevensie siblings as they return to Narnia, where they are needed once more to fend off an evil monarch and restore Prince Caspian (Barnes) to his rightful place as the king of the kingdom.
The second installment in the franchise is a compelling story with a meaningful message that is darker, more sophisticated, and less susceptible to the childish wow factor. Prince Caspian, like Wardrobe, though, manages to retain the wonder of its inspiration and transport readers right away to Narnia.
2 ‘Westworld’ (2016 - 2022)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 78%
Inspired by Michael Crichton’s 1973 film of the same name, Westworld takes place in a Wild West-themed park, designed by Dr. Robert Ford (Anthony Hopkins) with human-like androids, where visitors are invited to indulge their fantasies and desires. Barnes played Logan Delos, a regular guest of Westworld in season 1 and recurring in season 2.
With beautiful and clever ideas that aren't too far from our own life and reality, Westworld undoubtedly establishes its own authority. Barnes' character only appears in one season, but he still makes a big effect and is another illustration of how well he does as a villain.
1 Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities (2022)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 93%
Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities or simply Cabinet of Curiosities is a horror anthology streaming TV series created by Guillermo del Toro for Netflix. It includes eight contemporary horror stories written in the Gothic and Grand Guignol traditions. Barnes appeared in the 5th episode of the series, “Pickman's Model”, which follows Will (Barnes), an art student, who encounters introvert Richard (Crispin Glover), whose horrifying artwork starts to profoundly upset Will's perception of reality.
The show offers insidious unearthly fear, horrible alien invasions, and gothic monster features which will intrigue the inexperienced while thrilling horror fans. Additionally, with their eerie, gritty performances, Barnes and Glover brilliantly bring this Lovecraft tale to life.
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