ROTTEN TOMATOES: Total Recall: Christian Bale's Best Movies

Total Recall: Christian Bale's Best Movies

by Jeff Giles

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85%

5. Howl's Moving Castle

After escaping from what he called "Merchant Ivorydom" with his deliriously over-the-top turn as Patrick Bateman in 2000's American Psycho, Bale used the newfound variety of the scripts coming his way to try his hand at a number of new things -- and though not all of them turned out the way they were planned (2002's Reign of Fire comes to mind), they allowed him to try his hand at everything from art-house fare like 1998's Velvet Goldmine to big-budget action like Fire and 2000's Shaft, as well as taking his second stab at voiceover work with the English-dubbed version of Hayao Miyazaki's Howl's Moving Castle. Taking over for Takuya Kimura as the voice of the wizard Howl, Bale was at least nominally the star of the U.S. version of the film, but as with all Miyazaki films, the cast took a back seat to the director's singular visual style, which prompted critics like Variety's David Rooney to exclaim, "the tireless volley of ideas and inventions make this a delight that should connect with kids and adults in both dubbed and original-language versions."

89%

4. Little Women

By all rights, a book's fifth trip to the big screen shouldn't be a magnet for audiences, let alone positive reviews, but Gillian Armstrong's 1994 take on Louisa May Alcott's Little Women proved the exception to the rule, earning a very respectable 89 percent on the Tomatometer -- not to mention $50 million at the box office, proving once again that a timeless story can succeed no matter how many times it's told. Women continued a string of period pieces for Bale, one which started with 1992's Newsies and 1993's Swing Kids -- but where those films were critical and commercial flops, this was something of a prestige picture, even if most of the heavy lifting was done by the titular leading ladies (a list that included Susan Sarandon, Kirsten Dunst, Claire Danes, and Winona Ryder). Here, Bale plays Laurie, the family friend-turned-paramour whose on-again, off-again presence in the life of Amy (played by Dunst and Samantha Mathis) is one of the movie's subplots -- and one of the reasons Women received effusive praise from critics like Janet Maslin of the New York Times, who wrote, "ladies, get out your hand-hemmed handkerchiefs for the loveliest Little Women ever on screen."

89%

3. Rescue Dawn

It must have come as awfully small consolation after being imprisoned, tortured, and watching friends die horrible deaths, but before his death in 2001, Dieter Dengler could at least take pride in having lived a life so incredibly fascinating that it provided the inspiration for both an acclaimed documentary and a critically lauded dramatization -- both of them directed by the one and only Werner Herzog. After befriending Dengler during the making of his 1997 documentary Little Dieter Needs to Fly, Herzog decided he wasn't finished telling the story of the former Navy pilot's escape from a Laotian POW camp, and set about streamlining Dengler's experiences for Rescue Dawn. Though the liberties Herzog took were criticized by surviving members of Dengler's escape party, that didn't prevent Dawn from earning largely positive reviews from critics -- many of whom focused on Bale's physically harrowing journey into Dengler's painful past, such as the Boston Globe's Ty Burr, who predicted that audiences will "hang on Bale's muscular portrayal of a man who refuses to say die."

88%

2. 3:10 to Yuma

Elmore Leonard's 1953 short story took its second trip to the big screen with this James Mangold Western, which managed to revisit Delmer Daves' 1957 original -- and substitute Bale and Russell Crowe for Van Heflin and Glenn Ford -- without provoking many unfavorable comparisons. It didn't hurt, of course, that the source material provides a classic example of the good vs. evil showdown that fans of the genre have always loved; all any Yuma update needed was a pair of solid actors to hold it down, and Mangold chose his wisely. Audiences rewarded the new 3:10 to Yuma with a healthy $70 million worldwide gross -- and critics responded too, lauding Mangold's direction and Bale and Crowe's performances in equal measure. Writing for the Houston Chronicle, Bruce Westbrook called it "cathartic and intelligent" and "the best Western since Unforgiven," going on to add, "while a wildly eventful action-adventure and outlaw shoot-'em-up, it's also a vibrant story of heroism, villainy and hard-earned redemption."

94%

1. The Dark Knight

Having already brought an end to the candy-colored, Schumacher-wrought nightmare that gripped the Batman franchise in the late 1990s, Nolan and Bale had fans primed for a successful second act -- but even after the smashing success of Batman Begins, few could have guessed just how popular The Dark Knight would be in the summer of 2008. A sprawling superhero epic that somehow managed to make room for jaw-dropping visuals, a compelling storyline, and stellar performances, Knightclimbed out from under months of intense speculation -- not to mention the shadow cast by Heath Ledger's shocking death -- with a worldwide gross in excess of $1 billion, a towering stack of positive reviews, and a posthumous Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Ledger. Amidst all this, it was easy for Bale's work to be overshadowed -- and really, it's Ledger's electric performance as the Joker that powers the movie -- but without Bale providing a steady counterweight, it wouldn't have been, in the words of Richard Roeper, "a rich, complex, visually thrilling piece of pop entertainment, as strong as any superhero epic we've ever seen."

Check out Bale's complete filmography, as well as the rest of our Total Recall archives.

Finally, here's a clip personally selected by RT's own Jen Yamato from her favorite Bale flick, Newsies:

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(1-20 of 134 posts) | Reply

Cslroy writes:
on May 21 2009 08:53 AM

I know American Psycho has a 66% but come on. That should be here just for him alone.

(Reply to this)

Gimy writes:
on May 21 2009 08:53 AM

american psycho not even on here? seriously?? thats probably his best performance and the movie that made me a fan of his(never seen the earlier work). american psycho is classic. dude is a beast as an actor. its sad he doesn't have loads of awards, dude is very deserving...

(Reply to this)

arendr writes:
on May 21 2009 08:54 AM

Man, this guy has made some fantastic films.

(Reply to this)

Kevin E. writes:
on May 21 2009 08:58 AM

Best actor of his generation!

(Reply to this)

JohnnyJonJon writes:
on May 21 2009 09:07 AM

Little Women should be listed at 89%. Good list though. I'm gonna go and play some Huey Lewis now.

(Reply to this)

arendr writes:
on May 21 2009 09:17 AM

My only quibble is that 3:10 to Yuma, while a pretty good movie, isn't THAT good.

(Reply to this)

Astro C. writes:
on May 21 2009 09:28 AM

That Howling Castle and Little Women are in but not Equilibrium is strange.

The first two are not "Christian Bale movies". He doesn't even star in them. He's support cast at best.

It's like saying Apocalypse Now is a great Harrison Ford film.

(Reply to this)

cypress550 writes:
on May 21 2009 09:30 AM

i agree that american psycho should be on here. bale does some awesome movies.

(Reply to this)

Myth writes:
on May 21 2009 09:33 AM

I agree with many of the statements above. Bale's role in American Psycho made me a fan, and it deserves an honorable mention as well (in fact I'm still shocked its only at 66% because it is easily one of my top 3 or 4 movies of all time). Additionally, I agree with arendr about 3:10 to Yuma. Found it disappointing and I can't believe it got 89%. Should have been around 70%.

(Reply to this)

ninja13 writes:
on May 21 2009 11:00 AM

3:10 to Yuma was okay. My favorites for Bale are The prestige and Batman Begins. TDK was not His film, And T4 will probably be the same.

(Reply to this)

TombstoneLawDog writes:
on May 21 2009 11:09 AM

I agree with most of what people wrote, here, especially about American Psycho- I would've liked to have seen it added in lieu of some of these movies which were rated higher but in which Bale had a lesser role. Commanding performance in a bizarre role. Should also quiet the folks who claim Bale only does 'brooding.' The scene in AP where he kills Paul Allen (Jared Leto) is F#CKING classic. The scene where he's crying on his phone to his lawyer is painful(ly good). I also still periodically work the phrase 'not if you want to keep your spleen' into as many conversations as I can. ...sadly, the opportunity doesn't come up that often.

"Mergers and Acquisitions? I have a friend who does that!"

"That's not what I said."

(Reply to this)

Josh H. writes:
on May 21 2009 11:11 AM

American Psycho definitely should have been on here, regardless of its rating his acting alone gives it at least the 6th spot on this list,if not higher...

(Reply to this)

Fathom writes:
on May 21 2009 11:12 AM

Equilibrium and ESPECIALLY American Psycho should be here. I understand that they aren't listed because of the math related to this site's specific tomato mater.. but seriously.. making a list like this without those 2 movies is an insult to Christian Bale.

(Reply to this)

SIRxxxTMG writes:
on May 21 2009 11:12 AM

American Psycho is so underrated.

(Reply to this)

Salty Gritts writes:
on May 21 2009 11:16 AM

Of all the movies Bale has been in the 3 that showcase his ability as an actor the best are The Machinist, American Psycho, and Rescue Dawn. For me, if you want to see Bale's range, ability, and commitment to a role you should watch those 3 movies. It's almost hard to believe that its the same guy in all 3. Empire of the Sun gets an honorable mention, but I don't find it as telling of his ability as the other 3 mentioned. Great actor, who I think doesn't get the credit he deserves because in every mainstream movie he has been in he has had to compete with another big name for recognition (aside from Batman Begins).

(Reply to this)

WallEField writes:
on May 21 2009 11:25 AM

American Psycho shouldn't be here because it's not amongst his best reviewed, not is it all that well-reviewed period. Luckily people eventually realized it was a pretty lame film, except for the fanboys who think Bale can do no wrong and just running around naked with a chainsaw makes him automatically "cool". PS: The character in American Psycho was a dork, and was *meant* to be a dork. Everyone who thinks that character is cool is officially a dork too.

(Reply to this)

Fathom writes:
on May 21 2009 11:26 AM

"Of all the movies Bale has been in the 3 that showcase his ability as an actor the best are The Machinist, American Psycho, and Rescue Dawn"

Definitely agree.

Well, I agree with everything Salty Gritts said, couldn't have said it better myself!

(Reply to this)

bethehero7404 writes:
on May 21 2009 12:04 PM

I gave 3:10 to Yuma a shot. I hate Westerns but the combination of an Elmore Leonard story, Christian Bale and Russell Crowe film sounded great. I watched 10 minutes and was bored to tears. Batman Begins and Dark Knight are phenominal and The Prestige was great too.

(Reply to this)

gbwillner writes:
on May 21 2009 12:09 PM

In reply to this comment (#2489221)
Heheheh..... I see what you did there.

WHack!!!!!!!

(Reply to this)

Dave J. writes:
on May 21 2009 12:12 PM

I agree with Astro boy, Christian Bale is neither the first or second star of Little women or I'm not there for that matter, this a real crazy list for anyone that likes movies.

(Reply to this)

5. Howl's Moving Castle

4. Little Women

3. Rescue Dawn

2. 3:10 to Yuma

1. The Dark Knight

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