Total Recall: Gary Oldman's Best Movies
We count down the best-reviewed work of the Lawless star.
Shia LaBeouf and Tom Hardy are the stars of this weekend's Prohibition drama Lawless, and we don't have anything against either of them -- but we're just as intrigued by the involvement of a certain Mr. Gary Oldman, whose (by most accounts too-brief) appearance adds another chapter to one of Hollywood's most fascinating careers. From indie flicks to blockbuster franchises, Oldman's done it all, and we knew we couldn't pass up the opportunity to look back on some of his filmography's brightest critical highlights. It's time for Total Recall!
81%
10. Kung Fu Panda 2
It somehow seems sort of... wrong to make room on this list for the sequel to an animated comedy about an overweight martial arts warrior who also happens to be a talking panda. But it's also absolutely fitting -- Gary Oldman's filmography is nothing if not eclectic, and although he's made quite a name for himself playing villains and assorted shadowy characters in critically respected dramas, he's also capable of being pretty funny, as evidenced by his role as a cretinous, power-hungry peacock named Lord Shen in Kung Fu Panda 2. "It may not tread new narrative ground," argued USA Today's Scott Bowles, "but Panda echoes some worthy tales that parents heard a long time ago at a theater far, far away."
83%
9. State of Grace
Director Phil Joanou opened his career with a better-than-average teen comedy (Three O'Clock High) and a well-intentioned, albeit indulgent rockumentary (U2: Rattle and Hum) -- which is to say that few could have expected that he had it in him to helm a drama as tense and gripping as 1990's State of Grace. Starring Sean Penn as an undercover cop whose latest case tests his loyalty to his best friend (played by Oldman) -- not to mention his affection for his friend's sister (Robin Wright) -- Grace exploited an instantly recognizable formula while transcending it thanks to outstanding acting from its leads. Janet Maslin of the New York Times singled Oldman out in particular, writing that he "gives an electrifying performance that both establishes a tragic, terrifying character and explains why that character's world is such a perilous place."
83%
8. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Nearly 30 years after making his film debut, Gary Oldman earned his first Academy Award nomination for his work in Tomas Alfredson's impeccably cast adaptation of the classic John le Carr� novel Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. Alfredson's comma-free screen version surrounded Oldman with an impressive array of talented actors, including Colin Firth, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hardy, John Hurt, Toby Jones, and Mark Strong -- and while its languid pace and 127-minute running time annoyed critics accustomed to a little more bang for their spy-thriller buck, the majority agreed with the Philadelphia Inquirer's Steven Rea, who enthused, "Just watching Gary Oldman and his trenchcoated brethren march down the damp, ill-lit streets of Cold War London is enough to make you shiver."
84%
7. JFK
Oldman has made a habit of playing real-life people during his film career, but none of them have been more notorious than the role he took in Oliver Stone's JFK. Just one in a series of famous faces to pop up during the 189-minute political conspiracy epic, Oldman appeared as Lee Harvey Oswald, the assassin whose bullet murdered our 35th president. ... Or did it? Stone's undeniably well-crafted film may not have answered any questions, but it was an unqualified hit at the box office and the Academy, where it garnered eight Oscar nominations. Observed Entertainment Weekly's Owen Gleiberman, "If Stone hasn't exactly solved the Kennedy assassination, he has captured -- with a dark cinematic flair that leaves you reeling -- why it still looms like a sickening nightmare."
85%
6. Batman Begins
After a few fallow years that saw him taking roles in little-seen indie films in order to stay close to home, Oldman resurfaced at the megaplex in the middle aughts with roles in two of the young century's biggest franchises: Harry Potter and Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy. Starring as Jim Gordon, a key figure in Batman's life and career, Oldman rounded out a stellar cast -- and helped wipe off the Day-Glo coating left behind from the last couple of entries in the series. "Here's how any great franchise should start," pointed out Desson Thomson of the Washington Post. "With care, precision and delicately wrought atmosphere."
Kevin Barton
The fact that Leon: The Professional is absent, makes this list completely obsolete. I mean, that's one of his best performances!
Aug 29 - 05:04 PM
Whereis Reemaal
EEVEEEEERRRRRRYYYYYYOOOOONNNNNEEEEEEEE!!!!
Aug 29 - 05:33 PM
Steve Moseley
ROFL!
Aug 29 - 10:43 PM
Derek Lucas
Awesome..... LOL!
Sep 1 - 03:56 AM
Christoph M
It's hard to believe that the same man who played the quiet, contemplating police commissioner in batman also played one of the most deranged madmen ever seen on screen (on par with Batman's own Joker I would argue) in The Professional. Those two performances exemplify the two polar opposite extremes of his acting career, but it's what lies in between that makes up the meat of his career. This is an actor I've literally never seen a bad performance from. Even in the occasional bad film he's been in, he provides a silver lining. His performances are eminently inquiring and worth watching.
Aug 29 - 08:20 PM
Big Brother
I thought you were talking about Sid Viscious until I read "In The Professional". In retrospect though, with either description you could have probably have been referring to a half dozen Oldman roles each. Would have like to see Brams Stoker's Dracula in there too. I though Oldman knocked it out of the park in that and perhaps more impressively carried Keanu Reeves into respectability in a non-Neo role. One of the few actors where I think you could have justified going with 20 picks and not been out of line.
Aug 29 - 11:13 PM
Dmitriy Kropivnitskiy
Many people tend to forget his very short, but memorable role in True Romance, but since we are talking about Oldman playing a psychopath...
Aug 30 - 05:07 PM
Michael Hernandez
Add his small role in TRUE ROMANCE as further depth to his range.
Aug 31 - 04:59 PM
Todd Garry
I am amazed that The Professional is not on this list. Man did that performance stick with me for months after I saw it. I just think back to the scene in the bathroom when he encounters Natalie Portman. I will never get the scene out of my head when he pops the pill and turns his head and bites down on it. Some of the best acting ever.
Aug 29 - 09:06 PM
Connor Johnson
This list appears to only be concerned with the Tomatometer scores of Oldman's films. RottenTomatoes is usually like that, but sometimes it decides to throw curve-balls.
Aug 29 - 09:33 PM
Anthony Pittore
That's all these lists EVER consist of. They only go by Tomatometer score, obviously.
Aug 31 - 12:08 PM
Peter Leahy
I agree. And how about Romeo Is Bleeding? I thought that was an excellent film, and one of his craziest. A wild performance for Lena Olin as well.
Aug 31 - 11:02 AM
Eddie Griffin
True Romance and Romeo is Bleeding. Kung Foo Panda?! Come on...
Aug 31 - 11:44 AM
Ebony Williams
I agree with you wholeheartedly. It was top notch acting without even saying a word in that moment and scared the hell out me. True psychopath. JFK was one of my all-time favorite movies when i was like 18. I watched it more than 50 times. HE didn't have much to say in the movie, but he was memorable. Whoever did this article rated the movie and not Gary Oldman. The Professional should have most definitely been on this list.
Aug 31 - 06:27 PM
Jason Wilkerson
There are so many great Oldman performances that it's guaranteed not all of the favorites can make the list. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, The Fifth Element, The Professional, True Romance, Immortal Beloved, Nil By Mouth, etc. None of those made the list, and he was brilliant in them all, but they only have so much space here...
Sep 4 - 09:54 AM
Will Bigelow
The Fifth Element and True Romance are also absent while all three Batman movies are there (they are good movies, but Gary Oldman doesn't really showcase his acting).
Aug 30 - 10:11 AM
karl anderson
I agree... I think we would have got the point with one Batman...they could have skipped 2 of them and thrown in True Romance , My Immortal Beloved or even Dracula....... Very hard to believe that Tinker Taylor was his first Oscar nom. though...Wow
Aug 30 - 06:04 PM
Dave J
I find it funny that users scream for Oldman's performance in "The Professional" but it is mentioned on another list on the second page and that everybody act like they've seen everything Oldman has done!
Aug 30 - 04:31 PM
Lulie Swanepoel
Have to agree with you Kevin. Also, where is Immortal Beloved?
Aug 31 - 02:34 AM
Broderick VanHelsing
Well, it was a couple tomatoes short of making the list. If only Kung-Fu Panda wasn't so darned good.
Aug 31 - 07:07 AM
Robert May
Could not agree more
Aug 31 - 10:03 AM
Jordan DiPalma
These lists are always based entirely on the movies' critical ratings, and in this case Léon's rating is just shy of the tenth place score (it has 79%, KFP2 has 81%). You may notice, though, that at the end there is a list of Oldman's best movies based on audience ratings, and in that list Léon: The Professional is in second.
Aug 31 - 01:51 PM
Paul King
For me, his role in Leon was the most enjoyable to watch. Absolutely superb.
Sep 1 - 07:13 AM
John Sherman
EVERYONE!!!!!!!
Sep 1 - 06:32 PM
Ryan Wilkins
I guess you missed the part where this is Gary Oldman's "Best Reviewed Movies" and not the list of the movies that YOU liked best.
Sep 2 - 06:49 PM
Adam Shindler
What? they didn't?
I am sick and tired of this mickey mouse Bullshit!
Sep 3 - 12:11 PM
Steven Bailey
I had no idea that was Oldman in the Professional. Great film and an incredible performance!
Sep 3 - 07:40 PM
Steven Bailey
Also shout out to Portman's performance in that film as well.
Sep 3 - 07:40 PM
Jason Wilkerson
It doesn't make it obsolete at all, this is a man who has had many brilliant performances over his career. I think Sid Vicious was his best role, and his role in Leon is probably my second favorite, but I can't argue for any of these films to be absent from the list either.
Sep 4 - 09:50 AM
Christopher Herrera
The Professional? Romeo is Bleeding? Two great roles falling by the wayside ><
Sep 7 - 03:58 PM