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Joe Carnahan

Joe Carnahan

Writer, producer, director and actor · Born May 9, 1969 (57) · Sacramento, California, USA

Sundance award nominee · Independent Spirit Award nominee

Joseph Aaron "Joe" Carnahan (born May 9, 1969) is an American independent film director, screenwriter, producer and actor best known for his films Blood, Guts, Bullets and Octane, Narc, Smokin' Aces and The A-Team. He is the brother of screenwriter Matthew Michael Carnahan.

Biography from TMDB.

Born
May 9, 1969 (57)
From
Sacramento, California, USA
Works as
Writer, producer, director and actor
Titles
22 on MovieCove · 32 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 157 days to Oct 28Down 26% in 30 days

What are Joe Carnahan's films like?

Across their 21 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Morality.

Genres

Action13 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 56th percentile
: browse their Action movies
Crime3 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 60th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Crime movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Bonds
29%
Morality
26%
Survival
24%
Self
8%
Power
4%
Ideas
4%
Society
3%
Survival9 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds7 titles, browse their movies with this themeLoyalty5 titles, browse their movies with this themeJustice6 titles, browse their movies with this themeFriendship4 titles, browse their movies with this themeBetrayal4 titles, browse their movies with this themePurpose3 titles, browse their movies with this themeRevenge2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 20 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Serious: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their serious movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

A split, not a type: Light 5 · Serious 4 · Dark 11

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

A split, not a type: Grounded 13 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 5

Intense: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their intense movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 1 · Charged 2 · Intense 17

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 3 · Shifting 11 · Whiplash 6

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 15 · Some laughs 4 · Funny 1

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

A split, not a type: Slow burn 1 · Even-paced 8 · Relentless 11

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 2 · Engaged 12 · Full focus 6

Affecting: How much it costs you emotionally; whether you need recovery time. Browse their affecting movies.
Demand · Emotional cost
easyheavy

A split, not a type: Easy watch 5 · Affecting 7 · Heavy 8

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 15 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 2

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
18
Thrilling
14
Dread
9
Melancholic
4
Absurd
3
Other
12

How their films linger

Fun8 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteUnsettling6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteBittersweet5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 5 with a twist

  • Happy4
  • Bittersweet10
  • Tragic2
  • Ambiguous4
  • Cyclical1

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Joe Carnahan's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 15 of their 22 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Netflix (6).

Subscription and free streaming for Joe Carnahan's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

32 credits, 22 with a MovieCove page; 14 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • The Rip(2026)

    Director · Screenplay · Story · as Threatening Phone Voice (voice)

    Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films

  • Not Without Hope(2025)

    Director · Producer · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 30th percentile of all films

  • Shadow Force(2025)

    Director · Writer · as Shady Government Type

    Midcredits score: 12th percentile of all films

  • Copshop(2021)

    Director · Producer · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films

  • Boss Level(2020)

    Director · Producer · Writer · as Customer at the Chinese Restaurant (uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films

  • Bad Boys for Life(2020)

    Screenplay · Story

    Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films

  • Into the Ashes(2019)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 36th percentile of all films

  • Point Blank(2019)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 27th percentile of all films

  • El Chicano(2018)

    Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 32nd percentile of all films

  • Fightworld(2018)

    Show 5 episodes · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all shows

  • Death Wish(2018)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films

  • Wheelman(2017)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all films

  • State of Affairs (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)

    Show 4 episodes · Director · Creator · Teleplay

  • Stretch(2014)

    Director · Producer · Screenplay · Story

    Midcredits score: 63rd percentile of all films

  • Those Who Kill(2014)

    Show 1 episode · Director · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all shows

  • The Blacklist(2013)

    Show 22 episodes · Director · Executive Producer · Story · Teleplay

    Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all shows

  • The Devil's Dosh (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)

    Executive Producer

  • The Grey(2011)

    Director · Producer · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films

  • The A-Team(2010)

    Director · Screenplay · as Mike "The Operator"

    Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all films

  • Smokin' Aces 2: Assassins' Ball(2010)

    Characters · Executive Producer · Story

    Midcredits score: 13th percentile of all films

  • The Fourth Kind(2009)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 39th percentile of all films

  • Pride and Glory(2008)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films

  • Smokin' Aces(2006)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 63rd percentile of all films

  • Faceless (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)

    Show 1 episode · Director · Executive Producer

  • Ticker (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)

    Director · Writer

  • Narc(2002)

    Director · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 84th percentile of all films

  • The Hire (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)

    Show 1 episode · Director · Writer

  • Blood, Guts, Bullets and Octane (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1998)

    Director · Editor · Producer · Writer · as Sid French

  • The Devil Takes a Holiday (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1996)

    Co-Producer

  • Karate Raider (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1995)

    Screenplay

  • Speak (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Producer · Writer

  • The Operator (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Director

Career shape

A full career of 32 titles, 30 of them dated from 1995 to 2026.

Biggest box office

Bad Boys for Life (2020)

$427M worldwide

Highest rated

Narc (2002)

Midcredits 84th

Most popular right now

The Rip (2026)

Film career

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting5 of 32: 0 only acting, 5 with another roleDirecting18 of 32: 1 only directing, 17 with another role · typical Midcredits score64thWriting22 of 32: 4 only writing, 18 with another role · typical Midcredits score63rdProducing19 of 32: 7 only producing, 12 with another role · typical Midcredits score49thEditing1 of 32: 0 only editing, 1 with another roleOther crew1 of 32: 0 only other crew, 1 with another role

32 titles, 20 with more than one role — writing and producing overlap on 10 of them.

By decade

1990s3 · 1 acting · 3 crew2000s7 · crew2010s14 · 1 acting · 14 crew2020s6 · 3 acting · 6 crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

Awards

2 major nominations and no wins, 2002–2003.

  1. 2003
    • Independent Spirit Award, nominated · Best Director
  2. 2002
    • Sundance award, nominated · Dramatic

Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.

How do Joe Carnahan's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 56th percentile, the median of all 19; across their 20 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 54th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

54thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 20

Approval · how many liked their films

55thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 20

Reach · how many have seen their films

90thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 20

Midcredits score across 22 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up2
  • 50th to 74th10
  • 25th to 49th8
  • Below 25th2

Shape of the crowd

13 of their 22 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved1
  • Cult Classic1
  • Crowd Pleaser13
  • Broadly Agreed2
  • Mixed5

Most divisive · producer

Into the Ashes (2019)

74th percentile spread · 23% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · director, writer, producer

The Blacklist (2013)

Midcredits 87th · 87% liked

Reviewers score the dialogue 44/100 and the plot and story 39/100 in their films, across 19 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Joe Carnahan's work okay for kids?

Across up to 17 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore, profanity and frightening / intense run heavier than most films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore15 titles63–95 · median 86 · severeheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity17 titles9–50 · median 22 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity16 titles69–96 · median 86 · severeheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs14 titles20–86 · median 39 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense14 titles45–89 · median 66 · intenseheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does Joe Carnahan work with?

People who share at least 2 of Joe Carnahan's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Frank Grillo shares the most, 9.

Writers

Actors

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers

Mixed roles