Christian Bale's 8 Most Underrated Movies. No Matter What You Tell Me, You Can't Change My Mind.

Everyone knows Bale as Batman. Fine. These are eight Bale movies with strong scores that get way less love than the cape.

#1 got a score that's honestly a crime. I'm fixing it today.

1. 8
   American Hustle (2013)7.6

   Messy movie, four great performances fighting for air.

   Metacritic 90, but audiences rated it above just 62% of movies. Guru's Take 6.8. Bale is the reason to watch. The plot is the reason you check your phone.
2. 7
   The Machinist (2004)7.6

   Bale's most intense commitment is in a $5M movie nobody saw.

   Reported $5M budget, $1.1M domestic. Audiences rated it above 87% of movies, critics just 55%. The paranoia is real, but the last act leans on one idea hard.
3. 6
   3:10 to Yuma (2007)7.6

   The best western of the 2000s that nobody brings up.

   89% on Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic 76, and only $70M worldwide on a reported $48M to $55M budget. Bale and Crowe glaring at each other is the whole show.
4. 5
   The Fighter (2010)9.0

   Bale steals a movie with someone else's name first.

   movie.guru score 9.0, Elite band, on a reported $11M to $25M budget. Wahlberg tops the poster. Bale walks off with the movie anyway.
5. 4
   The Big Short (2015)8.5

   Mortgage math shouldn't be this funny. It is.

   Guru's Take 8.6, CinemaScore A minus, $133M worldwide. It turns a housing collapse into a heist movie. The fourth-wall lectures do drag a little.
6. 3
   Ford v Ferrari (2019)9.3

   It ties The Dark Knight and nobody talks about it.

   movie.guru score 9.3, the exact same as The Dark Knight. Audiences rated it above 99% of movies. Yet nobody quotes it at parties.
7. 2
   Batman Begins (2005)8.8

   Better than The Dark Knight Rises. Not close.

   movie.guru score 8.8 beats Rises' 8.6, and Guru's Take is 8.2 to 7.2. Rises made way more money. Begins did the hard part first.
8. 1
   The Prestige (2006)7.4

   Bale's most underrated movie, period. The 7.4 is wrong.

   movie.guru score 7.4, Metacritic 66. Guru's Take: 8.9, and 1.6M IMDb voters gave it an 8.5. Critics watched a magic trick and checked their watches.

$253 says someone in the comments calls #1 overrated and then rewatches it tonight to double check.

Share it: X | Facebook | Copy link

Current mood: ready to fight about it