One of the greatest stars of 21st century cinema,Russell Crowehas been entertaining audiences all over the world for decades. Defined by his endeavor and his versatility, many of Crowe’s most famous roles are his heroic lead parts, but he has also flourished as heinous villains and even in smaller parts amid vast, ensemble casts. To highlight his talents further, he has also narrated docuseries and tried his hand at directing with some success.
However, it is undeniably in acting where his legacy has been established and consolidated, winning several significant accolades including the Academy Award for Best Lead Actor for his performance in the iconic historical epicGladiator, an achievement he followed up immediately with another Oscar-nominated performance inA Beautiful Mind. Crowe’s resumé is extensive and full of acclaimed projects, many of which have received high rankings on IMDb.The best Russell Crowe movies on IMDb are a healthy mix of comedies, blockbusters, and searing dramas, showcasing his versatility as a performer.
12’The Next Three Days' (2010)
IMDb Rating: 7.3/10
A rewarding remake of the 2008 French filmPour Elle(‘Anything For Her’),The Next Three Daysexcels as a grounded action thriller that offers plenty of excitement in its simple and effective premise. The life of a married couple is uprooted when Lara (Elizabeth Banks) is arrested for murdering her boss despite her insistence that she is innocent. When her last chance to appeal the verdict fails, John (Crowe) puts together a plan to break her out of prison.
Although the film has some pacing issues and is occasionally contradictory in its tone,it does largely thrive as a riveting action flick with firm, established stakes, and characters in a predicament that is easy to care for. While critics were divided on the film, general audiences proved to be more welcoming, with its 7.3 rating on IMDb a solid and respectable score. It alsofeaturesLiam Neesonin a supporting role. –Ryan Heffernan
The Next Three Days
11’The Nice Guys' (2016)
IMDb Rating: 7.4/10
A career highlight fromShane Blackthat makes exceptional use of its brilliant comedy duo in Crowe andRyan Gosling, 2016’s neo-noir black comedyThe Nice Guyshas become one of the biggest cult classics of the 2010s. Set in the seediness of 1970s L.A., it follows the uneasy alliance between a tough enforcer and a hapless P.I. as they investigate the disappearance of a young woman, a case that ends up having ties to significant political figures.
Hilarious and hectic,The Nice Guyshas overcome its disastrous box office display with stunning immediacy to be widely regarded as one of the best comedy movies in recent years. It holds up well on multiple rewatches as a ridiculously entertaining buddy cop movie that brought out the comedic genius in both of its leading stars. As its popularity has steadily grown, interest ina possibleNice Guyssequelhas materialized.
The Nice Guys
10’Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World' (2003)
IMDb Score: 7.5/10
Made in 2003,Peter Weir’sMaster and Commander: The Far Side of the Worldis based on three ofPatrick O’Brian’s novels and is set in the Napoleonic Wars. It recounts the start of the friendship between Captain Jack Aubrey and his ship’s surgeon and, when the occasion calls for it, naturalist Stephen Maturin.
Crowe plays a young commander of a British man-o'-war ordered to hunt down and destroy a French frigate, convincing audiences that he could indeed have filled the role. His tremendous performance receives considerable help from Weir’s direction and some of the best naval action sequences ever filmed, plus a great performance fromPaul Bettanyas Maturin. Considered by some to be amongthe most historically accurate movies,Master and Commanderbeautifully brings the early 19th-century naval experience to life with epic grandiosity.
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
9’Les Misérables' (2012)
Adapted from the celebrated eponymous musical,Les Misérablesasks Crowe to not only play an early 19th-century French police inspector but to sing his way through the plot. Crowe stars as Javert, the film’s de-facto antagonist with a decades-long obsession to bring Jean Valjean to justice.
Here, Crowe is part of an ensemble cast that includesHugh Jackman,Anne Hathaway,Amanda Seyfried, andEddie Redmayne. Jackman and Hathaway were standouts, receiving Oscar nominations for their roles, with Hathway winning Best Supporting Actress. However, Crowe’s role as the initially vindictive and ultimately tragic inspector adds significantly to the film’s emotional depth. His singing has attracted much criticism from fans and audiences, andthe Oscar-winning film hasn’t aged exactly well. However,Crowe’s impressive commitment toLes Misérablescannot be denied.
Les Misérables
8'3:10 to Yuma' (2007)
IMDb Score: 7.6/10
Considered one ofthe best Westerns of the last 20 years, 2007’s3:10 to Yumais the second film made from a 1953 Elmore Leonard short story. The first version, made 50 years before, is also considered one of the great Westerns! The film follows Ben Wade (Crowe), a captured outlaw who must be taken to prison on the 3.10 train to Yuma. The problem is getting him to the train without his gang rescuing him.
Crowe stars as a ruthless but congenial villain, whileChristian Baleplays one of the posse’s deputized to escort him to his train. The pair become, if not friends, then allies of a sort, finding more in common with each other than either would like to admit.3:10 to Yumadeftly handles thought-provoking themes of morality, loyalty, and sympathywhile still delivering a thrilling Western that ranks among the genre’s best modern entries.
3:10 to Yuma
A small-time rancher agrees to hold a captured outlaw who’s awaiting a train to go to court in Yuma. A battle of wills ensues as the outlaw tries to psych out the rancher.
7’The Insider' (1999)
IMDb Score: 7.8/10
Based on a magazine article about Jeffrey Wigand, a tobacco company whistle-blower,1999’sThe Insideris a brilliantly made, tension-filled drama. More importantly, it’s a vital story about how the media - when all else fails - can be an essential channel for telling the public the truth about crucial issues.
An extraordinary cast is capped withAl Pacinoplaying a television producer trying to film Wigand’s story, often against opposition from his own broadcaster. Crowe stuns as Wigand, delivering a tense, determined, absorbing performance that earned him a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Actor. Crowe isThe Insider’s beating heart, perfectly enhancing the film’s anxious tone with his modulated, precise performance.
The Insider
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6’American Gangster' (2007)
Released the same year as3.10 to Yuma,American Gangsterhas Crowe playing on the side of the angels in this crime drama set in Harlem. Thefilm tells the true storyof heroin kingpinFrank Lucas(Denzel Washington) and the policeman, Detective Richie Roberts (Crowe), who eventually brought him down. Roberts discovers Lucas is shipping his heroin from Thailand to the US in the coffins of dead soldiers being returned from the war in Vietnam. Roberts offers Lucas a deal: rat on the army of corrupt cops and DEA officers for a chance at a lighter sentence.
The twist at the end is that Roberts subsequently becomes a defense attorney, and Lucas is his first client, something so absurd it could only happen in real life. Directed byRidley Scott,American Gangsteris tight, thrilling, and visceral, offering a worthy showcase for the Oscar-winning duo at its center.
American Gangster
5’Zack Snyder’s Justice League' (2021)
IMDb Score: 7.9/10
Russell Crowe’s most obvious credit in the DCEU comes inMan of Steel, the film that launched the superhero franchise, where he appears as Jor-El, Kal-El’s (Henry Cavill) father who sends him to Earth when Krypton is destroyed. While the character was killed off in a flashback scene inMan of Steel, Crowe returned to the franchise, albeit in an uncredited cameo, inZack Snyder’s Justice League.
The much-anticipated re-release of 2017’sJustice League, the 2021 film was an extended version of the major crossover event, one that more accurately displayedZack Snyder’s original vision throughout its four-hour runtime. Its 7.9 score on IMDb is indicative of it being not only a hit with fans of Snyder and superhero films, buta thoroughly enjoyable action blockbuster that far surpasses the original 2017 releaseand stands amongthe best films in the DCEU. –Ryan Heffernan
Zack Snyder’s Justice League
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4’Cinderella Man' (2005)
IMDb Score: 8.0/10
ThisRon Howardfilm from 2005 tells the story of boxerJames Braddock, who, against all the odds, won the World Heavyweight Title in 1935 when he defeated fellow AmericanMax Baer(Craig Bierko). An honorable, determined, and courageous man, Braddock became a hero for all Americans struggling through the Great Depression and was nicknamed ‘The Cinderella Man’ by sports writer Damon Runyon.
Cinderella Manfeatures a tough andphysically resilient character who also possesses great moral and emotional strength that is right up Crowe’s street. Together with Howard’s directing and the appeal of a hero for the common people,Cinderella Manmakes for a film that is both entertaining and fulfilling and remains one ofthe all-time best boxing movies.
Cinderella Man
Cinderella Man, directed by Ron Howard, stars Russell Crowe as boxer James J. Braddock, whose comeback during the Great Depression inspires a nation. Renée Zellweger plays his supportive wife Mae, while Paul Giamatti portrays his loyal manager Joe Gould. The film follows Braddock’s journey from washed-up fighter to unexpected champion, capturing the era’s struggles and hopes.
3’L.A. Confidential' (1997)
IMDb Score: 8.2/10
Although not his first American film - that wasthe underrated 1995 WesternThe Quick and the Dead- this 1997 production firmly set Crowe’s feet on the path of Hollywood stardom. Almost universally acclaimed on its release and based on the James Elroy novel of the same name,L.A. Confidential’s story about corruption and crime in post-war Hollywood can still be held up as the neo-noir crime film par excellence.
With outstanding performances fromGuy Pearce,James Cromwell, and an Oscar-winningKim Basinger,L. A. Confidentialis among the best films from the 90s. Crowe is exceptional as Detective ‘Bud’ White, an honorable if excessively brutal, cop who hates men who harm women.Mysterious and stylish,L. A. Confidentialis a neo-noir masterpiece and one of Crowe’s best efforts.
