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This summer, Robert Downey, Jr. will be starring in what's sure to be one of the biggest films of the summer: Iron Man. And as much as we're all excited about his role as the inventor-turned-hero, (and in honor of the new trailer), we thought it would be a good idea to take a look at some of our favorite films that he's done in the past.


Kiss Kiss Bang Bang: 83%
Part of the early-aughts comeback that found Downey releasing his first album (and turning down an offer to open for Duran Duran!), Kiss Kiss Bang Bang teams Downey up with Val Kilmer in Shane Black's adaptation of Brett Halliday's "Bodies Are Where You Find Them." Black puts Downey's shifty energy to excellent use as a fourth-wall-breaking small-time crook who somehow winds up tailing a gay detective (Kilmer) in preparation for a role in a movie he isn't acting in. (Don't ask.) Critics responded, sending the film to 83 percent on the Tomatometer; David Edelstein singled out Downey's performance, asking, "Is there any leading man more fun to watch?"




Soapdish: 75%
His days as an '80s leading man over, Downey shifted smoothly into character-actor status with vehicles like this Michael Hoffman-directed 1991 sendup of daytime soaps and the actors who star in them. As the producer of the fictional soap The Sun Also Sets, Downey sat in the center of a cast that included Sally Field, Kevin Kline, Elisabeth Shue, Whoopi Goldberg, and Cathy Moriarty; Kline may have been the one who netted the Golden Globe nomination, but you could easily argue that Downey was the glue that held the whole thing together, leading critics such as Rita Kempley to label Soapdish "pure joy."




Short Cuts: 94%
The long skid that Downey started with pictures like Chances Are and Heart and Souls came to a stop here, with an appearance in Robert Altman's critically beloved 1993 ensemble piece. Just one of 20-odd leads in the film, here Downey plays Lily Tomlin's sadism-lovin' son-in-law. His Short Cuts performance ushered in a run of supporting roles in less commercial (and often independently made) films such as Restoration and Hugo Pool.






Zodiac: 89%
By 2007, Downey had fully gotten his mojo back, and his turn as perpetually soused San Francisco Chronicle reporter Paul Avery in David Fincher's taut, brooding Zodiac is compelling proof. Downey's performance as Avery is actually as good an on-screen metaphor as any for his acting career in a nutshell -- all the flippancy he shows early on is little more than a thin mask keeping people from seeing what he's really capable of. Though he isn't asked to carry the film -- and probably shouldn't have, given a cast that includes Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, Chloe Sevigny, and Anthony Edwards -- his performance is a key ingredient in this surprisingly sprightly 158-minute film.




Wonder Boys: 84%
It was a failure at the box office, but Curtis Hanson's adaptation of the Michael Chabon novel about a graying professor and novelist (Michael Douglas) locked in a futile struggle to avoid dealing with the havoc he's wreaked on his personal relationships (and avoid the persistent editor, played by Downey, who wants a look at his long-gestating second novel), was a critical favorite. Admittedly, Douglas and Frances McDormand got most of the critical love, but Downey's periodic bursts of levity are a crucial component of the film -- and they helped convince producers that the then-on-parole actor was still up to snuff.




Those are our favorites, but what are yours? Chaplin? Back to School? Less Than Zero? Tell us which of his past movies you think hold his essential performances.