When I naively boasted to Collider’s senior editorial staff that I could absolutely rank the shit out of Gerard Butler’s movies, I made one very important miscalculation – Gerard Butler has made no less than 78,000 films in the past two decades. And while nothing would more enrich my soul than hunkering down to watch several hundred hours of the Swole Scotsman, it’s simply not possible for me to do that and also meet my deadline. So, what I’ve done is ranked all of Gerard Butler’s biggest movies, with the intention of adding more of his films to the list every so often. Think of this as a living document, the Constitution of the United Abdominal Muscles of Gerard Butler’s Filmography.
14. Geostorm
Once you accept the sentence “Gerard Butler is a scientist,” all bets are off. Butler stars as a man who designed a network of satellites that can literally control the weather, but the satellites get hijacked by a madman who wants to take over the world. This film is pure Roland Emmerich 90s disaster trash (it was co-written and directed by Emmerich’s longtime producing partner Dean Devlin), complete with an ensemble cast that includes Ed Harris, Jim Sturgess, Richard Schiff, Andy Garcia, Zazie Beetz, Abbie Cornish, Robert Sheehan, and Eugenio Derbez, several of whom will be dead by the end credits. Butler is thunderously unbelievable as a scientist, and the movie feels incredibly dated even though it was released in 2017. That said, it isn’t hurting anybody, and if you love dopey Emmerich films, you could do worse than Geostorm. And honestly, when else are you going to see Gerard Butler go to space to repair a rogue satellite?
13. Dracula 2000
American audiences got their first real taste of Gerard Butler when he played Dracula in the imaginatively titled 2000 horror film Dracula 2000. Let me be the first to tell you that this movie is both A) dumb as shit, and B) extremely fun to watch. Butler’s performance is little more than smoldering, open-mouthed looks (he doesn’t speak his first line until over 30 minutes into the film), but the script manages to craft an interesting backstory for the famous vampire that pays off with an unexpectedly emotional climax. The best parts of Dracula 2000 are when it updates Brahm Stoker’s story for the modern world – the scene aboard the Demeter now takes place in an airplane, and they pull some genuinely clever tricks with the idea that Dracula’s image doesn’t appear in mirrors or on videotape. However, it is intensely stupid and loaded with generally terrible acting, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing depending on what kind of mood you’re in. And Butler is supremely watchable, even though he has about as many lines as Boba Fett.
12. Plane
Though there is some fun to be found towards the end of Plane, the most recently released entry on this here list, there isn’t a whole lot to be had in the journey to get there. A movie with a premise where Butler plays a man who has to conduct an emergency landing of a plane and then battle off attackers sounds like it could be great fun. Alas, even the explosive ending can’t make up for the general tepidness of the path it took to get there. It does have a solid duo in pilot Brodie Torrance (Butler) and his unexpected ally Louis Gaspare (Mike Colter) as they must survive along with all the passengers until a rescue, though that isn’t enough to make this only occasionally fun film take flight as much as it could have. Still, when it comes to many of Butler’s works, it is the one that goes out with about as big of a bang as one could hope for. One can only hope the planned sequel embraces the potential of its premise more than this first one did. - Chase Hutchinson
11. Olympus Has Fallen
Olympus Has Fallen is like the angry stepbrother of Roland Emmerich’s White House Down. Both movies were released the same year, but Olympus Has Fallen eschews all the shlocky fun of Emmerich’s movie in favor of an overserious action thriller. Gerard Butler plays a Secret Service agent Die Harding his way through the White House after it is taken over by North Korean terrorists, and he does his fair share of hateful killing before the end credits roll. There’s a few embarrassing moments of melodramatic patriotism, such as when President Aaron Eckhart loudly declares “We don’t negotiate with terrorists!” right before the terrorists shoot a woman to death in front of him, and Melissa Leo defiantly growls out the Pledge of Allegiance while the bad guys drag her away. Despite those moments, it’s a reasonably solid action movie, albeit a bit grim (the film begins by dropping Ashley Judd off of a bridge). Butler is totally believable as an emotionally wounded but determined hero who will still rise to the occasion and stab as many people in the brain as necessary to rescue the president. Plus, he has an improbable but tense knife fight with Dylan McDermott, and that’s something.
10. Greenland
Director Ric Roman Waugh’s brutal apocalypse movie stars Butler as John Garrity, a structural engineer whose family is selected to report to a top-secret bunker after a world-ending comet begins to break up and pummel the Earth’s surface. However, Garrity’s diabetic son is denied access, and he and his wife Allison (Morena Baccarin) are separated in the confusion. The movie follows them struggling to reunite and get to some kind of safety as the world literally comes to an end around them. Greenland is an incredibly bleak film about the breakup of society and the horrible things people will do to each other in the name of survival. I came into this movie expecting a level of Roland Emmerich disaster flick seriousness (like in Butler’s other apocalyptic film Geostorm), but that is very much not what this movie is. It’s an incredibly serious, sobering look at the end of the world, with very little hope to be found. Greenland is a better-than-average disaster drama that suffered from its release date - I can think of very few people who would enjoy sitting through such a dark, humorless film about societal collapse in the year of our lord 2020.
9. Den of Thieves
Den of Thieves is a little too long and a little too devoted to Gerard Butler as its star, but if you stick with it, it turns into a rewarding heist film with a shootout climax that echoes Michael Mann’s Heat in terms of stakes and intensity. Butler plays a perpetually drunk scumbag detective hot on the trail of a team of criminal masterminds, attempting to crack their master plan of robbing the Federal Reserve in Los Angeles. The movie is a bit of a slog in parts, and I couldn’t give less of a fig about the B plot concerning Butler’s dissolving marriage, but once we get to the heist in the second half, the whole thing takes off like the Rocketeer. Den of Thieves suddenly transforms into a surprisingly tense crime flick, as we watch the thieves’ genuinely impressive plan unfold with the cops struggling to keep up. Unfortunately, Butler is the weakest link here. He plays the part of a belligerently unlikeable shitheel well enough, but the character is such a tired trope at this point that I could not bring myself to care about him in the slightest and was actually thankful for the spans in which he isn’t onscreen. This conundrum makes Den of Thieves a curious entry on this list – it’s a good Gerard Butler movie, but Gerard Butler isn’t particularly good in it.
8. Reign of Fire
Reign of Fire is one of the most gloriously stupid movies I have ever experienced, and while it is by no means “good,” it is undeniably “a movie featuring bald Matthew McConaughey rocketing through the air and swinging an ax into a dragon’s face” by every possible definition of that very specific phrase. Gerard Butler plays Creedy, Christian Bale’s best friend and second-in-command of a community of survivors living in a post-apocalyptic wasteland plagued by angry dragons. This is pre-yoked Butler, so he’s more of a gangly, warm-hearted presence who undercuts Bale’s dour scowling with some much-needed humor. It’s one of the biggest swings of the early 2000s, essentially a Roland Emmerich disaster film with mythical creatures, and while Reign of Fire never quite has as much fun as its premise promises, Butler’s performance serves as one of the only grounded elements of this pulpy, over-the-top fantasy yarn.
7. The Vanishing
The Vanishing, in addition to just being a well-constructed and chilling thriller, is also the one film on this list that is likely the most underseen and underrated work that Butler has done. Based on a real disappearance of a crew that was working the Flannan Isles Lighthouse in 1900, it is a film that just keeps getting darker and darker the longer it goes on. It centers on three men James (Butler), Thomas (Peter Mullan), and Donald (Connor Swindells) who are beginning a six-week shift working at said remote lighthouse. Each brings their own baggage to the job which will soon become complicated by an unexpected discovery. After a storm, the three men find a boat washed ashore with a body and a wooden chest containing riches beyond any that the men would have ever dreamed of. This stroke of good fortune that could change their lives soon brings with it a heavy cost as they will not only have to defend it from others who come looking but maybe even each other as well. Featuring a trio of great performances who elevate the material in every single moment, it is one of those films that contrast ugly violence with a beautiful setting to leave a mark on your mind that you won’t be able to shake off so easily. - Chase Hutchinson
6. The Ugly Truth
I am ashamed to admit I found The Ugly Truth more charming than I expected. It’s a brisk 90-minute R-rated romcom starring two unfairly attractive people (Gerard Butler and Katherine Heigl) who share some genuine chemistry in-between scenes of John Michael Higgins ranting about a bird in his dressing room and women wrestling in Jello. Heigl is a TV producer forced to hire the aggressively misogynistic Butler to host a relationship advice segment in her failing morning show to boost ratings. But he turns out not to be quite as big a scumbag as he portrays on his show, and surprise! They fall for each other. “It’s not as problematic as I expected” is bizarre praise to shower on a movie, but The Ugly Truth earns it by actually having some insight into Butler and Heigl’s characters and being thoughtful about how it addresses misogyny. (The film blessedly reveals most of Butler’s show is an act based on a history of being wounded by bad relationships, and Heigl calls him out on his bullshit in a scene that is both well-written and expertly performed.) There’s also a relatively fun Cyrano-esque subplot in which Heigl tries to use Butler’s advice to form a relationship with her hot doctor neighbor. It is by no means a perfect film, but The Ugly Truth is strangely adorable.
5. Copshop
When going back through all the movies in Butler’s filmography, Copshop is the one that proves to be the most scrappy and mean entry that is way more fun than it has any business being. Taking place almost entirely in a single police station, it begins with a con artist named Teddy (Frank Grillo) who is trying to hide out in this location in the hopes no one can find him. He has gotten arrested specifically for this purpose as he is desperate for some sort of protection. This all gets thrown out the window when a hitman (Butler) shows up in the cell across from him. With no one to trust and the potential that everyone is a killer, Teddy will have to form an unlikely alliance with one of the department's rookies (Alexis Louder) in order to survive. Gruesome and gritty without ever overstaying its welcome, it is just a solid action thriller from top to bottom. Even as it cuts some corners on much of the setup, once it kicks into gear there is no turning back. When it all culminates in a conclusion where basically everything is either shot or set on fire before taking off into the sunset, it serves as the perfect cherry on top of this uproarious little romp. - Chase Hutchinson
4. The Phantom of the Opera
Gerard Butler, a man who is very much not a singer, does a surprisingly good job in Joel Schumacher’s film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s iconic musical The Phantom of the Opera. The Phantom is a notoriously difficult part to sing (the production originally wanted Hugh Jackman, but he was busy filming Van Helsing because the universe is frequently hilarious), and Webber personally worked with Butler to adapt the songs to Butler’s vocal range. The end result might be somewhat disappointing for purists, but he pulls it off admirably. Also, he’s kind of perfectly cast as the dark, tragic maniac skulking through the opera house and drooling over Christine (Emmy Rossum) from the shadows. Butler does well with brooding pathology (he might have been a good Batman in another timeline), and he manages to convey sympathy and menace frequently within the same scene. He plays perfectly alongside the slightly over-the-top visual spectacle of Schumacher’s adaptation. That said, absolutely nothing can prepare you for a profusely wigged Patrick Wilson bursting into the film singing “Can it be CHRIStine?” Wilson is a fine actor and singer and this moment is in no way meant to be funny, but I laugh my ass off every time.
3. 300
The film that made household names out of Zack Snyder and Gerard Butler’s abs remains just as stylized and weird as it ever was. It’s hard not to stumble backwards in awe when watching some of the truly gonzo moments of 300 – the visuals are striking and unforgettable, the action is gorgeously over-the-top, and the sheer meat factory of mostly-nude Butler and Michael Fassbender chopping their way through hordes of literal monsters is enough to crack the axis of even the most stubborn cishet male. (Indeed, it is the Predator of the 21st century.) However, what made Butler come out of this movie a star wasn’t just his physique, but his charisma as a leading man, and the humanity of his performance as a devoted leader who knows from the outset of his mission that he is doomed. He turns Leonidas into a compelling, relatable character, which is no simple task when you’re playing a king of antiquity. That said, there are plenty of aspects of 300 that have not aged particularly well since 2006. The film is pretty racist in its depiction of the Persians as inhuman mutant wizards, and the slow-mo / speed-up style of action that Snyder made famous has been overplayed to the degree of Creed in the late 90s. Also, I love David Wenham, but his narration is overwrought to the point of self-parody. On the other hand, it is the only movie to date in which Cersei Lannister stabs Jimmy McNulty to death at a toga party. 300 is fuckin’ wild, man.
2. Coriolanus
No list breaking down the best of Butler would be complete without putting Coriolanus right up near the top. An adaptation of the William Shakespeare tragedy, it takes the classic story and brings it into a more modern setting. While this sounds like it could be a disaster, it really works when in the hands of Butler’s co-star and director Ralph Fiennes. Telling the story of Caius Martius Coriolanus (Fiennes) and his mortal enemy Tullus Aufidius (Butler) as their fates become intertwined, it is an adaptation that challenges the confines of its source material while still tapping into its thematic richness. Unabashedly grim in how it all plays out, it sees all involved giving outstanding performances as their characters march towards a conclusion that seems destined for catastrophe. It is a faithful adaptation even as it transposes its story to a modern era, hammering home the timelessness of the tragic tale. - Chase Hutchinson
1. How to Train Your Dragon
How to Train Your Dragon is delightful, you guys. One of the better films to come out of DreamWorks Animation, the movie follows Hiccup (Jay Baruchel)), a young Viking who is a nerdy disappointment to his gruff father, the village chieftain Stoick the Vast (Gerard Butler). Hiccup is too skinny and soft-hearted to join the other Vikings in their dragon hunts, so he builds inventions instead and ends up capturing an incredibly rare dragon he befriends and names Toothless. Hiccup realizes that dragons aren’t the evil monsters the Vikings believe them to be, which puts him in direct conflict with his overbearing father. Butler already exudes gruff dad energy in real life, so his casting in How to Train Your Dragon is spot-on. It’s also quite a good performance, as Stoick’s conflict with Hiccup is the emotional backbone of the film, and Butler mixes a good amount of compassion in with his character’s constant disapproval. It’s a sweet, funny adventure movie with gorgeous visuals (the filmmakers consulted with none other than Roger Deakins to help give the action a “live-action feel”), and it’s easily one of the best entries in Butler’s filmography.