Robert Downey Jr.'s 8 Best Movies, Ranked

Six of these are Tony Stark. The bookends are a burned-out reporter and a man in a hearing room. Iron Man got sandwiched.

Number one has zero repulsor blasts and still outscored all six Tony Starks.

1. 8
   Zodiac (2007)7.4

   Dead last here, and secretly his best performance.

   As Paul Avery, the swaggering reporter who unravels on the Zodiac case, he's electric. The movie.guru score is 7.4. My Guru's Take is 8.9. I'm not budging.
2. 7
   Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)7.4

   Tony builds the villain, then acts shocked. Peak Tony.

   The whole plot is Tony's science project going rogue. Audiences still gave it an A CinemaScore and forgave him faster than Cap ever did. Metacritic: 66.
3. 6
   Avengers: Infinity War (2018)8.3

   Thanos is the lead. Tony is the best supporting actor.

   Tony spends 149 minutes in a galaxy-sized group project and still steals scenes from a giant purple warlord. $2.05 billion worldwide, 8.4 on IMDb from 1.42 million votes.
4. 5
   Captain America: Civil War (2016)8.6

   Team Cap was right. Tony still gives the better performance.

   This is Tony in his guilt era, begging everyone to sign the paperwork. Critics rank it above 83% of notable movies, audiences above 89%, on a $250 million budget.
5. 4
   The Avengers (2012)8.9

   Peak team-up Tony: all ego, zero regrets so far.

   Tony Stark offers an invading demigod a drink, and somehow it's the best scene. Audiences rank it above 98% of notable movies, and all 143 minutes fly.
6. 3
   Iron Man (2008)9.0

   Endgame scored higher. Iron Man is still the better Tony movie.

   He builds a suit in a cave, then tests the next one like a kid with a new bike. 94% on Rotten Tomatoes, 7.9 on IMDb from 1.25 million votes.
7. 2
   Avengers: Endgame (2019)9.3

   Dad Tony is the best version of Tony.

   Tony dials down the quips for a quiet life and a kid, and RDJ makes that the heart of a 181-minute blockbuster. 8.4 on IMDb from 1.5 million votes.
8. 1
   Oppenheimer (2023)9.3

   His best performance has no armor and no punchlines.

   As Lewis Strauss, he swaps the Stark swagger for a buttoned-up Washington operator, and he's quietly chilling. Metacritic 90, A CinemaScore, not one quip.

$81.75 says you've called a messy project in your garage a prototype at least once.

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