Marvel Studios
Robert Downey Jr. — excuse me , Academy Award winner Robert Downey Jr. — has been acting for over 40 years . The actor rose to prominence in the eighties before achieving outside stardom in the new millennium with his portrayal of Tony Stark , aka Iron Man , in the Marvel Cinematic Universe .
Although his life history has get a line numerous peaks and valleys , Downey Jr. has proven himself a man of impressive resilience ; whenever he ’s seemingly been discarded , he always finds his way back to the top . Downey Jr. will next be watch in anew HBO television show , Park Chan - wook’sThe Sympathizer , which is further proof that he is indeed in the flush of his career . And while he has asterisk in many memorable exposure , these choice few are the best by far .
Marvel Studios
7. Chaplin (1992)
Downey ’s first major decisive hit issue forth in 1992 , and was guided by the confident hand of the belated bully Sir Richard Attenborough . Chaplinpaints a loving portrayal of the whiz ’s living , chronicling his childhood , his former success in vaudeville , his eventual stardom in silent film , and his later triumphs , which culminate with his receiving of the 1972 Honorary Academy Award .
Chaplinearned Downey Jr. his first Oscar nomination and won him a BAFTA Award . It ’s easy to see why . It ’s the type of performance Hollywood loves , as it honored one of its great performers with great forethought and love . However , it ’s also quite by the numbers , avoiding any sort of stance on Chaplin beyond absolute respect . The moving-picture show ’s one major asset is Downey Jr. , who deliver a calling - fix performance as the performing ace . The worker complete Chaplin ’s affectation to a football tee , crafting a remarkably accurate characterization that is both impressive and passably eerie .
Chaplinis available tostream on MGM+ .
6. Tropic Thunder (2008)
Downey Jr. star opposite Ben Stiller and Jack Black in Stiller ’s 2008 satirical warfare comedyTropic roaring . The film follows three swollen-headed actors shoot a war movie , with each trying to prove themselves to their knocker . unbeknown to them , the film ’s theater director has placed them in the middle of the jungle , where they ’ll come into striking with an actual dangerous conflict that will test their acquisition — and , as it plough out , their actual acting talent .
Irreverent , politically wrong , and bitingly uproarious , Tropic Thunderis among the 21st one C ’s good irony , a warfare flick unlike any other . Downey Jr. received his 2nd Oscar nomination for playing prima donna method actor Kirk Lazarus , who goes to extreme lengths to bring his character to biography . satirise the many method actor who get so into their roles that they fall back their grip on reality , Downey Jr. rescue one of the great comedic performance of the 2010s . Tropic Thunder‘s unapologetic humor will not be for everyone , but those who savour a right dose of nervy comedy will surely laugh out aloud .
Tropic Thunderis uncommitted tostream on Peacock .
5. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)
The criminal offense comedyKiss Kiss Bang Bang , Shane Black ’s directorial debut , is among Downey Jr. ’s most underappreciated efforts . The actor star as Harry Lockhart , a clueless criminal who set about misguided for an actor and sent to Los Angeles to train with a real - life-time PI in readiness for a office . When they get involved in a real criminal offense , the twosome will need to bank on their wits to come out on top .
snog Kiss Bang Bangsees Downey Jr. at his most cockeyed , with the doer willing to act like a goof for our amusement . His chemical science with Val Kilmer is unbelievable , as is his speech of Black ’s witty , absurdist dialogue . With this film , Black craft both a sarcasm of and a love letter to the noir literary genre and he blends classic motif with delightfully silly comedy , with the resultant being a unique and endlessly entertaining movie that invites multiple rewatches .
Kiss Kiss Bang Bangis available torent or purchase on Amazonand other digital vendors .
4. Iron Man (2008)
The late nineties and early 2000s were a difficult time for Downey Jr. ’s life history , to the point where many considered his best twenty-four hour period to be behind him . However , like a Hollywood fairy taradiddle , Downey Jr. rose from the ashes thanks to Jon Favreau ’s 2008 superhero hitIron Man . establish on the eponymous Marvel character , the film come across Corinthian Tony Stark become the superhero Iron Man after a life - changing experience as a hostage of a terrorist organisation .
It ’s truly out of the question to overstateIron Man‘s importance , not only for Downey Jr. ’s career , but to the amusement manufacture in general . The film earned decisive acclaim and was commercially successful , layingthe groundwork for the Marvel Cinematic Universeand starting the twenty-first century ’s define franchise — so far , anyway . It also revived Downey Jr. ’s calling , remind everyone of his considerable charm and talent and relaunching him as an A - middlebreaker . The role of Iron Man would become synonymous with him , cementing his legacy as a bona fide screen titan .
Iron Manis available tostream on Disney+ .
3. Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Downey Jr. ’s journeying as Iron Man ended 11 years after his debut with the once - in - a - generation cinematic triumph that wasAvengers : Endgame . A culmination of 10 years of continuous storytelling , Endgamefollows the remain Avengers as they plan an challenging time heist to undo the damage done by Thanos inAvengers : Infinity War .
Larger than life sentence and narratively square , Avengers : Endgamewas the cinematic effect of the 2010s . Downey Jr. ’s Tony Stark make the film ’s best discharge , as the character sacrifices himself to deliver the world . It ’s a beautiful journeying that started inIron Manand which Downey Jr. and MCU overlord Kevin Feige took majuscule care in presenting .
Iron Man ’s noble decease is among the most powerful instant in modern pop culture , feeling bring in yet annihilating . And while there ’s talk thatDowney Jr. will riposte to the MCU , hopefully , he wo n’t . He left the now - struggling franchise at just the right time , and as a certified ikon , no less — why ruin that ?
Avengers : Endgameis usable tostream on Disney+ .
2. Zodiac (2007)
exit it toDavid Fincher to directwhat is peradventure the best and most disturbing thriller of the noughties . star Jake Gyllenhaal , Mark Ruffalo , and Downey Jr. ,Zodiacfollows the manhunt for the ill-famed Zodiac Killer , who terrorized the San Francisco Bay Area during the 1960s and early ’ 70s .
Taut , unnerving , and straight-out unforgettable , Zodiacis amongthe best crime movies everand worthy of the word “ masterpiece . ” Confidently take by Fincher ’s firm hand , the flick presents an urgent and anxiousness - have narrative further enhanced by a trio of awesome performances . Zodiacunderstands the power of subtlety and suggestion ; like the notorious in series Orcinus orca it dramatize , the film taunts its audience with the promise of solution . Yet , Zodiacisn’t concerned in providing them , leaving a chilling and relentless sensation in its unsuspicious audience .
Zodiacis available tostream on PlutoTV .
1. Oppenheimer (2023)
Downey Jr. delivers the functioning of his calling under Christopher Nolan ’s direction . The biographic thrillerOppenheimerstars Cillian Murphy as the titular scientist and chronicle his creation of the nuclear bomb and his severe guilt feelings over his legacy ’s crushing nature .
Winning seven Academy Awards and grossing most $ 1 billion at the box role , Oppenheimeris a cinematic triumph of staggering symmetry . The film does the impossible , sour a talky history about physics into a riveting examination of the nature of bequest and the horrors of war . Downey Jr. is glorious as Lewis Strauss , the tale ’s antagonist , walking a fine line between petty insecurity and barely disguised despite . It ’s a sturdy role to pull out off , but Downey makes it seem effortless , create a memorable villain that will surely rank among the best of the decade .
Oppenheimeris useable tostream on Peacock .
