He is definitely brilliant, but underrated actor. He deserved an Oscar for Mysterious Skin (2004), 50/50 (2011), (500) Days Summer (2009).. I'm always enjoying his jobs for every film.
There's something wrong with Esther.
I'd say he was underrated from 2001's Manic until 2009's (500) Days of Summer; he was under the radar yet doing outstanding, fully-realized work with rich roles.
But since then, he's become widely considered a good actor. At the same time, his roles have generally become less emotionally substantial or psychologically engaging (e.g., Inception, The Dark Knight Rises, Premium Rush, Looper, The Walk). Not saying that the problem is these roles aren't serious-minded like a lot of his earlier work, but that they just don't have enough meat to come off the page and feel human, and move us, and leave a lasting impression.
I also think that, fair or not, regard for an actor is tied not only to their acting ability but also to the quality of their resume. Looking at JGL's 2012 and 2013 (which included The Dark Knight Rises, Looper, Lincoln, Don Jon and The Wind Rises), and comparing it to his 2014 and 2015 (Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, The Interview, The Mindy Project, The Walk, The Night Before, The Muppets.), the caliber of his projects has dropped a bit. The one recent project that looked like it would be seriously good, Robert Zemeckis's The Walk, did poorly commercially and was a mixed bag artistically.
I think all of this factors into what seems like a slight lull in his career lately. But with another success--a great performance in a well-regarded movie--he'd be back in the conversation again.
He deserved an Oscar for Mysterious Skin (2004), 50/50 (2011), (500) Days Summer (2009).
I think Oscars are also a lot driven by the quality, pedigree and commercial or cultural success of the film that a performance serves. Mysterious Skin was great but little seen, and likely too uncomfortable a subject matter for Oscar voters, but I agree JGL's performance there was worthy of a win. 50/50 didn't have a strongly reputed director and wasn't a strong film (I think it's largely due to JGL's performance that the movie works), and (500) Days of Summer, also not helmed by a strongly reputed director, was a little light for the Academy's tastes, esp. for the Best Actor category.
But I agree that JGL did wonderful work in all three of those movies.
I don't know about underrated. He's pretty popular and generally considered a good actor. Critics usually like him.
my movie review website: http://www.jestersreviews.com