Christian Bale’s 10 best movies ranked
Christian Bale turns 49 today. The Oscar-winner’s films have earned him widespread acclaim as one of the greatest actors of his generation.
His newest films, “Amsterdam” and “The Pale Blue Eye,” are currently streaming on HBO Max and Netflix, respectively.
To wish the Welsh-born actor and four-time Oscar nominee a happy birthday, we’ll share our 10 favorite films of his, plus a few honorable mentions.
10) Out of the Furnace (2013)
Scott Cooper’s underrated drama wherein Bale plays a Pennsylvania steel mill worker whose veteran brother cannot adjust to civilian life and goes missing, sending his older brother on a dangerous path to unlocking the mystery. Melodramatic in spurts, but Bale sells it with his typical commitment to realism and compassion. His scene with Zoe Saldana on a bridge is heartbreaking.
9) Ford v Ferrari (2019)
As real-life racecar driver Ken Miles, Bale gave one of his best performances in years. In 2019′s biggest crowd-pleaser, the Oscar-winner got the coveted role as a plucky underdog literally everyone roots for. Spends most of the film by himself behind a wheel, and he’s convincing driving at high speeds, his best scenes come opposite Caitriona Balfe and Noah Jupe (as his wife and son, respectively), reminding us that he (and we) never forget what we’re driving for.
8) Rescue Dawn (2006)
As real-life U.S. fighter pilot Dieter Dengler, Bale helps to tell the amazing (and harrowing) story of survival after being shot down on a mission over Laos during the Vietnam War in Werner Herzog’s war drama (based on his own documentary “Little Dieter Learns to Fly”). Wholly convincing, Bale leads magnetic costars Steve Zahn and Jeremy Davies through a nightmarish but ultimately satisfying adventure.
7) Batman Begins (2005)
Christopher Nolan jumpstarted the Batman franchise by starting from scratch, as Bruce Wayne begins his fight to free crime-ridden Gotham City from corruption. But who would don the cape and cowl this time? Why not Bale to take on the quiet billionaire internalizing his rage and channeling that into actual purpose to help the people of his home city? As important as any other cog making Nolan’s “Dark Knight” trilogy go, Bale is now a popular choice for best Batman ever.
6) Vice (2018)
Love him or hate him, Adam McKay plays by his own rules and even makes them up as he goes. While frustrating during much of his Oscar-winning financial crisis adaptation “The Big Short,” those choices work in his biopic of former U.S. vice president Dick Cheney, played with alarming accuracy by Christian Bale, who is virtually unrecognizable as the former veep.
5) The Fighter (2010)
David O. Russell’s film tells the inspiring story of Micky Ward, a down-and-out boxer working to escape the shadow of his successful but troubled older boxing brother Dicky Eklund. Bale won his first and only Oscar for his wiry turn as the drug-addicted sibling to a man trying to make his own way in spite of his struggles. More transformative, winning work from the talented Welshman.
4) The Dark Knight (2008)
Christopher Nolan’s masterful take on Batman remains one of the all-time great comic book character adaptations, thanks in large part to the amazing action, Bale’s best turn as Batman and Heath Ledger’s terrifying, Oscar-winning performance as the Joker. Bale and Ledger share precious little screen-time together, but they quickly show why (in 2008) they were two of the best to do it.
3) Empire of the Sun (1987)
Our introduction to Bale came when he played a young English boy struggling to survive under Japanese occupation of China during World War II in Steven Spielberg’s grand but lesser-celebrated epic. Just 12-years-old when he played Jim, Bale carried a Spielberg war film on his back and convinced audiences he had a bright future in Hollywood.
2) American Psycho (2000)
A wealthy New York City investment banking executive hides his alternate psychopathic ego from his co-workers and friends as he delves deeper into his violent, hedonistic fantasies. Already a seasoned actor since his childhood, Bale became a big star after this steely performance in Mary Harron’s adaptation of the Bret Easton Ellis book.
1) The Prestige (2006)
Bale and Hugh Jackman play dueling magicians in 1890s London, as they each attempt to create the ultimate illusion while sacrificing everything they have to outwit each other. Christopher Nolan’s best film benefits from a creepy tone, cerebral script and quietly intense performance from Bale. Are you watching closely? If so, you saw one of the great films in the last 30 years.
Honorable mentions: Newsies (1992), Pocahontas (1995), Reign of Fire (2002), The Machinist (2002), The New World (2005), 3:10 to Yuma (2007), The Dark Knight Rises (2012), American Hustle (2013), The Big Short (2015)
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