ROTTEN TOMATOES: Total Recall: Robert Downey, Jr.'s Best Movies

Total Recall: Robert Downey, Jr.'s Best Movies

by Jeff Giles

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87%

8. Back to School

It's often remembered as the decade of action heroes with impossible physiques, but the '80s were also a golden era for another type of character: the quirky, anti-establishment wiseacre, a part which Robert Downey, Jr. happened to play extremely well. Case in point: 1986's Back to School, in which Downey, as campus weirdo Derek Lutz, gave audiences an early example of the easy charm and deadpan wit that he'd bring to The Pick-Up Artist and Johnny Be Good the following year. (He'd also show off his dramatic chops in Less Than Zero, but that's another story.) Though it was far from his first film, and really only a supporting role, Back to School gave the former SNL cast member his first major hit -- both at the box office and among critics like the New York Times' Nina Darnton, who called it "a good-natured potpourri of gags, funny bits, populist sentiment and anti-intellectualism."

89%

7. Zodiac

He's done a number of projects over the last 15 years, but to many people, David Fincher will always be best remembered for the splash he made with 1995's serial killer thriller Seven -- so when word got out that Fincher was directing an adaptation of Robert Graysmith's memoir about the years he spent trying to track down the Zodiac Killer, it seemed like a perfect fit, and it came as no surprise that a long list of highly regarded thespians -- including Jake Gyllenhaal, Chloe Sevigny, Mark Ruffalo, Philip Baker Hall, and, of course, Robert Downey, Jr. -- signed on for what were often little more than extended cameos. As the liquor-loving reporter Paul Avery, Downey has one of Zodiac's larger roles, acting as a sort of besotted, bitterly cynical Jiminy Cricket to Gyllenhaal's curiously, dangerously driven cartoonist-turned-investigator. Zodiac failed to meet expectations at the box office, but critics were almost unanimous in their appreciation, sending it to 89 percent on the Tomatometer on the strength of reviews from the likes of the Boston Globe's Wesley Morris, who called it "a long work of completely sustained suspense and dark humor."

93%

6. Baby It's You

For most kids, dropping out of high school is a gateway to parental disapproval and a series of unrewarding jobs -- but when your dad is a renowned avant garde filmmaker who has been featuring you in his movies since you were five, the ordinary rules don't always apply. Such was the case for Robert Downey, Jr. after he dropped out in 1982, two years after making an appearance in his dad's ill-fated, MAD Magazine-branded spoof Up the Academy: instead of moving into his parents' basement and getting a job delivering pizza, he moved to New York and scored a small role in John Sayles' Baby It's You. Though it wasn't a major part, and the movie wasn't a hit, it helped set up Downey's 1980s hot streak -- and Baby earned positive notices from critics like Film Freak Central's Walter Chaw, who deemed it "a peculiarly absorbing and sticky film."

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(1-20 of 35 posts) | Reply

Solonik -. writes:
on Apr 22 2009 04:14 PM

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang was hilarious.

(Reply to this)

jokerboy1991 writes:
on Apr 22 2009 04:39 PM

In reply to this comment (#2435821)
Yeah it was great, I have actually always really liked Chaplin which not enough people seem to like.

(Reply to this)

Trufire writes:
on Apr 22 2009 06:07 PM

I had heard of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang before but never really knew what it was about. Now that I have seen that trailer, it is definitely going on my netflix que. :) Looks hilarious!

(Reply to this)

ledawg1138 writes:
on Apr 22 2009 06:19 PM

Uhh, I haven't heard of the top four. But I've heard of many the rest, and seen most.

(Reply to this)

rt_hire_me writes:
on Apr 22 2009 06:20 PM

Glad to see Back to School on the list. Funny, funny flick. And watching Zodiac, it was obvious the difference an actor like Downey can make. Every time he was on the screen the movie suddenly became really interesting.

Seen U.S. Marshals? I hope he and Tommy Lee Jones were well paid because that was a complete embarrassing waste. A boom mic actually appears top of frame when they are on the plane.

(Reply to this)

sunsaz writes:
on Apr 22 2009 08:41 PM

Since he plays supporting roles in most of these films (especially the top ones), would've been interesting to see his best feature roles.

(Reply to this)

Dario Z. writes:
on Apr 22 2009 09:29 PM

If you're gonna include on the list movies in wich he appears 5 minutes on screen why not also give us chaplin where he is absolutely fantastic

(Reply to this)

Dario Z. writes:
on Apr 22 2009 09:32 PM

now i see why chaplin isn't there, it only score 65%. A ridiculous score if you ask me...

(Reply to this)

ledawg1138 writes:
on Apr 22 2009 10:16 PM

In reply to this comment (#2436119)
Yes, I've seen "US Marshalls". Let's just leave it at that.

(Reply to this)

Jeff F. writes:
on Apr 22 2009 10:44 PM

Let us not forget his role in Natural Born KIllers. You actually wanted him to get killed in the end!!

(Reply to this)

Sheephouse writes:
on Apr 23 2009 12:24 AM

Why isn't "Less Than Zero" on here. I always thought that was one of his finer roles. Or if "Back to School" is on there...then "Weird Science" should be also. Haha.

(Reply to this)

Kobo B. writes:
on Apr 23 2009 04:01 AM

This article is a sham. Any list without Chaplin is a bogus list. Give us Downey's best movies, not "the best movies Downey happened to be in". For the record,I'd add Restoration in here too.

(Reply to this)

collex writes:
on Apr 23 2009 07:59 AM

This is what also bug me in RT list about an actor best movie: they don't pick the best movie of an actor, they pick the best movie an actor appeared in. I mean, I don't consider a movie in which RDJ happened 5 minutes to be one of the RDJ best movie. If I'm an extra in a movie that has 100% on the tomatometer, does that mean it's my best movie?

On the other hand, this young RDJ clip was awesome.

(Reply to this)

JamesEarl writes:
on Apr 23 2009 04:20 PM

I was hoping that A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints would appear on this list. I thoroughly enjoyed that film.

(Reply to this)

Rackon writes:
on Apr 23 2009 07:22 PM

I can;t take this list seriously either, especially when it leaves out several of his best performances: Less Than Zero, Chaplin, Restoration and Natural Born Killers.

Less Than Zero was a breakout movie for Downey as a dramatic actor. Downey showed astonishing range in his Academy Award nominated role in Chaplin, and went on to prove his versatility, dramatic chops and charm as Merivel in Restoration. He is out-of-his-mind good in Natural Born Killers, which is admittedly a hard movie to watch - but RD is brilliant in it.

I'll agree with Zodiac, True Believer, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang,Iron Man and Tropic Thunder. (Nice to see some love for True Believer.)

But I would much rather watch his comedic turns in Chances Are than Back To School or Weird Science - MUCH. And much as I love John Sayles, Downey is barely in Baby It's You.

(Reply to this)

vitajex writes:
on Apr 24 2009 08:37 AM

I watched Chaplin last night, just because I'd been watching his old movies lately.

Downey was absolutely brilliant in that film and I still feel that it's a shame that he didn't win Best Actor.

I think in 25 years, most people will say that his performance was better than Al Pacino's in "Scent of a Woman". I like Pacino and I like 'Scent', but Downey played 60 years of Chaplin's life.

What I found odd about 'Chaplin' though was that there was no mention of the Hearst incident.

(Reply to this)

Wendy H. writes:
on Apr 24 2009 10:31 AM

His performance in Chaplin was incredible and I think it's crazy you didn't post it in his top ten! What were you thinking? Definitely Oscar worthy. The one time I thought the Academy really got it wrong. Everyone should see him in Chaplin if you haven't already!

(Reply to this)

Barbara M. writes:
on Apr 24 2009 10:49 AM

I was sure that the number one movie on this list would be Chaplin and was stunned to see it omitted. RT has lost all credibility with me.

(Reply to this)

filmmaniac123 writes:
on Apr 24 2009 01:37 PM

I loved Iron Man (my fave movie tied to Dark Knight) and Tropic Thunder. Zodiac is good, and Chaplin was Oscar- Worthy. He would be my favorite actor if he made more good movies. He's my second favorite next to Daniel Craig. Downey's awesome though.

(Reply to this)

filmmaniac123 writes:
on Apr 24 2009 02:04 PM

yeah

(Reply to this)

8. Back to School

7. Zodiac

6. Baby It's You

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