Tyrese Gibson’s new crime thriller, 1992, has managed to give the actor something his long-running Fast and Furious career eluded him: critical acclaim. The action film series, which began in 2001, has been Gibson’s most well-known project for quite some time, and his dim-witted character Roman Pearce has come to define Gibson’s career and the archetype of the action hero. But despite the series’ length and commercial success, the Fast and Furious franchise has often focused on ensemble casts, luxury cars, and explosive action, meaning Gibson rarely received critical acclaim for his performance.
It’s no secret that Gibson is incredibly talented, earning multiple Grammy nominations alongside his film career. However, Gibson’s acting career has been defined primarily by the blockbuster action of The Fast and the Furious, with his box office success coming at the expense of being limited to his role as the funny, quotable sidekick in The Fast and the Furious. His new thriller, 1992, blending crime and family conflict, gave Gibson the serious story he needed to fully demonstrate his range, and he portrays his character Mercer with surprising emotional depth. The performance earned Gibson a career first and marked a turning point for Gibson’s future projects, breaking out of the box office as the comic relief in The Fast and the Furious.
2024 will be the first year Tyrese Gibson has had two movies with fresh scores on Rotten Tomatoes
1992 and Bosco are doing well
Two of Tyrese Gibson’s films, 1992 (the final film starring the late Ray Liotta) and Bosco, have received new scores for the first time on Rotten Tomatoes, with 1992 receiving a 61% and Bosco receiving a 71% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer. In 1992 and Bosco, Gibson expertly played roles that required a high level of emotional weight, finally distancing himself from the action-driven blockbuster persona he had acquired throughout his career. This change in roles has certainly paid off, as this critically acclaimed overlap marks the first time Gibson has had two films receive positive reviews in the same year.
Gibson is no stranger to mixed film reviews, having received much of the criticism throughout his acting career despite the commercial success of The Fast and the Furious. While The Fast and the Furious series put Gibson on the map, the franchise never really gave the actor the room to fully demonstrate his acting range, especially as opposed to his 2024 film, which required a certain amount of acting range to garner critical acclaim. These criticisms are a milestone in Gibson’s career, highlighting his power as an actor when cast in roles that allow him to express emotional depth.
Tyrese Gibson’s 2024 film snaps seven-year streak of low ratings on Rotten Tomatoes as ‘Fast and Furious’ struggles
Even his Fast and Furious movies failed to impress.
Gibson has consistently had Rotten Tomatoes ratings below 60% for many years, but his 2024 films 1992 and Bosko are his first theatrical releases to receive new ratings on the Tomatometer in seven years. Both Fate of the Furious and The Fate of the Furious were huge box office successes but failed to resonate with critics. Gibson’s last theatrical release to receive critical acclaim was 2017’s The Fate of the Furious, which ended a four-year streak of streaming success, with Bosko beating 2020’s Netflix original The Christmas Chronicles 2 with a new rating of 64%.
movie
Critics’ comments
Audience Score
1992
61%
90%
Bosco
71%
80%
The critical success of 1992 and Bosco lays the foundation for a bright future for Gibson’s career. By stepping away from commercially successful films and choosing roles that require complex acting, Gibson has the wherewithal to show film critics that his acting is more than just comedic relief in blockbuster films. After seven years of struggling to find a film that would be more than just a box office success after the Fast and Furious series, Gibson has certainly proven that he has the talent to earn critical acclaim. These latest Rotten Tomatoes scores signal a new era for Gibson, and it looks set to be an exciting one.
