(Photo by Focus Features)
All Charlize Theron Movies Ranked
Charlize Theron launched a career turning heads in 1996’s Two Days in the Valley as one of the quirky neo-noir’s femme fatales. The big breakthrough for the South African actress came but a year later, playing the satanic bait in The Devil’s Advocate. Thanks, Keanu! Theron suddenly became inescapable, working with some big name directors (Woody Allen, John Frankenheimer, Robert Redford) on their worst movies (The Curse of the Jade Scorpion, Reindeer Games, The Legend of Bagger Vance). Then 2003 brought her international recognition (The Italian Job) and a significant Oscar win (Monster). Ever since, she’s fluctuated between catnip for fanboys (AEon Flux, Hancock, Prometheus) and dramatic art (North Country and the Jason Reitman collaborations Young Adult and Tully), and sometimes she’s found that rarefied sweet spot in-between (Mad Max: Fury Road).
Recently, she launched another potential action franchise with The Old Guard, and continued apace in another (F9). And now we’re ranking all Charlize Theron movies by Tomatometer! —Alex Vo
#1
Adjusted Score: 118860%
Critics Consensus: With exhilarating action and a surprising amount of narrative heft, Mad Max: Fury Road brings George Miller's post-apocalyptic franchise roaring vigorously back to life.
Synopsis: Years after the collapse of civilization, the tyrannical Immortan Joe enslaves apocalypse survivors inside the desert fortress the Citadel. When... [More]
Directed By: George Miller
#2
Adjusted Score: 107790%
Critics Consensus: Kubo and the Two Strings matches its incredible animation with an absorbing -- and bravely melancholy -- story that has something to offer audiences of all ages.
Synopsis: Young Kubo's (Art Parkinson) peaceful existence comes crashing down when he accidentally summons a vengeful spirit from the past. Now... [More]
Directed By: Travis Knight
#3
Adjusted Score: 96834%
Critics Consensus: A light, sweet, and thoroughly entertaining debut for director Tom Hanks, That Thing You Do! makes up in charm what it lacks in complexity.
Synopsis: Wily band manager Mr. White helps a small town band achieve big time success when they release a Beatles-style pop... [More]
Directed By: Tom Hanks
#4
Adjusted Score: 102715%
Critics Consensus: Tully delves into the modern parenthood experience with an admirably deft blend of humor and raw honesty, brought to life by an outstanding performance by Charlize Theron.
Synopsis: A new comedy from Academy Award®-nominated director Jason Reitman ("Up in the Air") and Academy Award®-winning screenwriter Diablo Cody ("Juno").... [More]
Directed By: Jason Reitman
#5
Adjusted Score: 97869%
Critics Consensus: A sharp and deceptively layered comedy that's further fueled by the odd couple chemistry of its leads, this Long Shot largely hits its marks.
Synopsis: Fred Flarsky is a gifted and free-spirited journalist who has a knack for getting into trouble. Charlotte Field is one... [More]
Directed By: Jonathan Levine
#6
Adjusted Score: 88492%
Critics Consensus: Charlize Theron gives a searing, deglamorized performance as real life serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster, an intense, disquieting portrait of a profoundly damaged soul.
Synopsis: Shortly after moving to Florida, longtime prostitute Aileen Wuornos (Charlize Theron) meets young and reserved Selby Wall (Christina Ricci) and... [More]
Directed By: Patty Jenkins
#7
Adjusted Score: 96643%
Critics Consensus: The Old Guard is occasionally restricted by genre conventions, but director Gina Prince-Bythewood brings a sophisticated vision to the superhero genre - and some knockout action sequences led by Charlize Theron.
Synopsis: A group of mercenaries, all centuries-old immortals with the ablity to heal themselves, discover someone is onto their secret, and... [More]
Directed By: Gina Prince-Bythewood
#8
Adjusted Score: 87724%
Critics Consensus: Despite its somewhat dour approach, Young Adult is a funny and ultimately powerful no-holds-barred examination of prolonged adolescence, thanks largely to a convincing performance by Charlize Theron.
Synopsis: Mavis Gary (Charlize Theron) is a successful writer of teen literature who returns to her hometown with a dual mission:... [More]
Directed By: Jason Reitman
#9
Adjusted Score: 99286%
Critics Consensus: Atomic Blonde gets enough mileage out of its stylish action sequences -- and ever-magnetic star -- to make up for a narrative that's somewhat less hard-hitting than its protagonist.
Synopsis: Sensual and savage, Lorraine Broughton is the most elite spy in MI6, an agent who's willing to use all of... [More]
Directed By: David Leitch
#10
Adjusted Score: 88175%
Critics Consensus: Ridley Scott's ambitious quasi-prequel to Alien may not answer all of its big questions, but it's redeemed by its haunting visual grandeur and compelling performances -- particularly Michael Fassbender as a fastidious android.
Synopsis: The discovery of a clue to mankind's origins on Earth leads a team of explorers to the darkest parts of... [More]
Directed By: Ridley Scott
#11
Adjusted Score: 82494%
Critics Consensus: The Road's commitment to Cormac McCarthy's dark vision may prove too unyielding for some, but the film benefits from hauntingly powerful performances from Viggo Mortensen and Kodi McPhee.
Synopsis: America is a grim, gray shadow of itself after a catastrophe. A man (Viggo Mortensen) and his young son (Kodi... [More]
Directed By: John Hillcoat
#12
Adjusted Score: 80148%
Critics Consensus: Though some of Paul Haggis's themes are heavy-handed, In the Valley of Elah is otherwise an engrossing murder mystery and antiwar statement, featuring a mesmerizing performance from Tommy Lee Jones.
Synopsis: A police detective (Charlize Theron) helps a retired Army sergeant (Tommy Lee Jones) search for his son, a soldier who... [More]
Directed By: Paul Haggis
#13
Adjusted Score: 78137%
Critics Consensus: Despite some iffy plot elements, The Italian Job succeeds in delivering an entertaining modern take on the original 1969 heist film, thanks to a charismatic cast.
Synopsis: After a heist in Venice, Steve (Edward Norton) turns on his partners in crime, killing safecracker John Bridger (Donald Sutherland)... [More]
Directed By: F. Gary Gray
#14
Adjusted Score: 76262%
Critics Consensus: The Cider House Rules derives affecting drama from wonderful performances, lovely visuals, and an old-fashioned feel.
Synopsis: The film follows the life of Homer Wells (Tobey Maguire), a precocious orphan who leaves his lifelong home and his... [More]
Directed By: Lasse Hallström
#15
Adjusted Score: 76282%
Critics Consensus: Though sometimes melodramatic and formulaic, North Country is nonetheless a rousing, powerful story of courage and humanity.
Synopsis: Single mother Josey Aimes (Charlize Theron) is part of a group of the first women to work at a local... [More]
Directed By: Niki Caro
#16
Adjusted Score: 67167%
Critics Consensus: The Life and Death of Peter Sellers struggles to truly capture its subject's singular genius, but remains a diverting tribute -- and a showcase for the talents of Geoffrey Rush.
Synopsis: A biographical film about Peter Sellers' turbulent rise from popular BBC radio performer to one of the world's most gifted... [More]
Directed By: Stephen Hopkins
#17
Adjusted Score: 86200%
Critics Consensus: Bombshell benefits from a terrific cast and a worthy subject, but its impact is muffled by a frustrating inability to go deeper than the sensationalistic surface.
Synopsis: The provocative real story of three whip-smart, ambitious, strong women who anchored one of America's most powerful news networks --... [More]
Directed By: Jay Roach
#18
Adjusted Score: 84342%
Critics Consensus: The Fate of the Furious opens a new chapter in the franchise, fueled by the same infectious cast chemistry and over-the-top action fans have come to expect.
Synopsis: With Dom and Letty married, Brian and Mia retired and the rest of the crew exonerated, the globe-trotting team has... [More]
Directed By: F. Gary Gray
#19
Adjusted Score: 67416%
Critics Consensus: Featuring strong performances and direction, The Yards is a richly textured crime thriller with an authentic feel.
Synopsis: After serving time in prison for taking the fall for a group of his friends, Leo just wants to get... [More]
Directed By: James Gray
#20
Adjusted Score: 66623%
Critics Consensus: Though it is ultimately somewhat undone by its own lofty ambitions, The Devil's Advocate is a mostly effective blend of supernatural thrills and character exploration.
Synopsis: Aspiring Florida defense lawyer Kevin Lomax (Keanu Reeves) accepts a high-powered position at a New York law firm headed by... [More]
Directed By: Taylor Hackford
#21
Adjusted Score: 63590%
Critics Consensus: A labyrinthine thriller with a host of memorable characters, 2 Days in the Valley is an uneven but intriguing thriller/black comedy.
Synopsis: Dosmo Pizzo (Danny Aiello), an ordinary guy, finds himself involved in a murder-for-hire scheme. He is betrayed by his partner,... [More]
Directed By: John Herzfeld
#22
Adjusted Score: 74927%
Critics Consensus: F9 sends the franchise hurtling further over the top than ever, but director Justin Lin's knack for preposterous set pieces keeps the action humming.
Synopsis: Vin Diesel's Dom Toretto is leading a quiet life off the grid with Letty and his son, little Brian, but... [More]
Directed By: Justin Lin
#23
Adjusted Score: 57691%
Critics Consensus: Well intentioned and passionate, this docu-drama about the 1999 WTO protests is heavier on politics than character development.
Synopsis: In 1999, members of the World Trade Organization arrive in Seattle for negotiations that are closed to the public. Concerned... [More]
Directed By: Stuart Townsend
#24
Adjusted Score: 56725%
Critics Consensus: Beguiling effects transcend a predictable plot.
Synopsis: As a child living in Africa, Jill Young (Charlize Theron) saw her mother killed while protecting wild gorillas from poachers... [More]
Directed By: Ron Underwood
#25
Adjusted Score: 56174%
Critics Consensus: While it isn't terribly original, and it seems to have a political agenda that may rankle some viewers, Astro Boy boasts enough visual thrills to please its target demographic.
Synopsis: In futuristic Metro City, a brilliant scientist named Tenma builds Astro Boy (Freddie Highmore), a robotic child with superstrength, X-ray... [More]
Directed By: David Bowers
#26
Adjusted Score: 51774%
Critics Consensus: Trial and Error gets some laughs out of the comedic chemistry between its pleasantly mismatched leads, although the results are still somewhat less than memorable.
Synopsis: Lawyer Charlie (Jeff Daniels) is sent by his boss (Lawrence Pressman) to a small Nevada town to file a continuance... [More]
Directed By: Jonathan Lynn
#27
Adjusted Score: 60324%
Critics Consensus: While it offers an appropriately dark take on the fairy tale that inspired it, Snow White and the Huntsman is undone by uneven acting, problematic pacing, and a confused script.
Synopsis: Queen Ravenna (Charlize Theron), who seized control of her kingdom by marrying and killing its rightful ruler, needs the life... [More]
Directed By: Rupert Sanders
#28
Adjusted Score: 52823%
Critics Consensus: The Addams Family's starry voice cast and eye-catching animation aren't enough to outweigh its saccharine handling of the delightfully dark source material.
Synopsis: Members of the mysterious and spooky Addams family -- Gomez, Morticia, Pugsley, Wednesday, Uncle Fester and Grandma -- are readily... [More]
#29
Adjusted Score: 49050%
Critics Consensus: The writing for Scorpion is not as sharp as Woody Allen's previous movies as most of the jokes fall flat.
Synopsis: Woody Allen stars as CW Briggs, the top insurance investigator in New York in 1940-or so he keeps telling the... [More]
Directed By: Woody Allen
#30
Adjusted Score: 47859%
Critics Consensus: Despite the talent involved in The Legend of Bagger Vance, performances are hindered by an inadequate screenplay full of flat characters and bad dialogue. Also, not much happens, and some critics are offended by how the film glosses over issues of racism.
Synopsis: During the Great Depression, Georgia socialite Adele Invergordon (Charlize Theron) announces a publicity-garnering high-stakes match at her struggling family golf... [More]
Directed By: Robert Redford
#31
Adjusted Score: 45732%
Critics Consensus: De Niro and Goodings Jr. manage to turn in performances that make this by-the-numbers inspirational movie watchable.
Synopsis: Carl Brashear (Cuba Gooding Jr.) is an ambitious sharecropper who joins the U.S. Navy to become the world's first black... [More]
Directed By: George Tillman Jr.
#32
Adjusted Score: 51139%
Critics Consensus: Though it begins with promise, Hancock suffers from a flimsy narrative and poor execution.
Synopsis: A scruffy superhero named Hancock (Will Smith) protects the citizens of Los Angeles but leaves horrendous collateral damage in the... [More]
Directed By: Peter Berg
#33
Adjusted Score: 46832%
Critics Consensus: Gringo rounds up a bafflingly overqualified cast for a misfire of a comedy that's fatally undermined by its messy plot, poorly conceived characters, and obvious debts to better films.
Synopsis: Mild-mannered U.S. businessman Harold Soyinka finds himself at the mercy of backstabbing colleagues, local drug lords and a black ops... [More]
Directed By: Nash Edgerton
#34
Adjusted Score: 43967%
Critics Consensus: Entertaining, but too scattered.
Synopsis: The career and personal life of writer Lee (Kenneth Branagh) are at a standstill, so he divorces his bashful wife,... [More]
Directed By: Woody Allen
#35
Adjusted Score: 40572%
Critics Consensus: This heavily symbolic, melodramatic multi-narrative drama lacks emotional resonance.
Synopsis: In the present, Sylvia (Charlize Theron) appears to lead a confident life as a restaurant manager but she cleverly hides... [More]
Directed By: Guillermo Arriaga
#36
Adjusted Score: 42874%
Critics Consensus: While it offers a few laughs and boasts a talented cast, Seth MacFarlane's overlong, aimless A Million Ways to Die in the West is a disappointingly scattershot affair.
Synopsis: Mild-mannered sheep farmer Albert Stark (Seth MacFarlane) feels certain that the Western frontier is trying to kill him, then he... [More]
Directed By: Seth MacFarlane
#37
Adjusted Score: 36050%
Critics Consensus: As critical as it is about sensationalism in the media, 15 Minutes itself indulges in lurid violence, and its satire is too heavy-handed to be effective.
Synopsis: At the center of "15 Minutes" is a New York City double murder that must be solved. But the fast-paced... [More]
Directed By: John Herzfeld
#38
Adjusted Score: 33018%
Critics Consensus: Altogether ooky, and not in a good way.
Synopsis: Everyone's favorite spooky family is back in the animated comedy sequel, The Addams Family 2. In this all new movie... [More]
#39
Adjusted Score: 28101%
Critics Consensus: Despite a decent cast, subpar acting and a contrived plot disappointed reviewers.
Synopsis: Just released from prison, all Rudy Duncan (Ben Affleck) wants is to start a new life with Ashley (Charlize Theron),... [More]
Directed By: John Frankenheimer
#40
Adjusted Score: 26332%
Critics Consensus: Dark Places has a strong cast and bestselling source material, but none of it adds up to more than a mediocre thriller that gets tripped up on its own twists.
Synopsis: A woman (Charlize Theron) confronts traumatic, childhood memories of the murder of her mother and two sisters when she investigates... [More]
Directed By: Gilles Paquet-Brenner
#41
Adjusted Score: 30228%
Critics Consensus: The Huntsman: Winter's War is visually arresting and boasts a stellar cast, but neither are enough to recommend this entirely unnecessary sequel.
Synopsis: Betrayed by her evil sister Ravenna (Charlize Theron), heartbroken Freya (Emily Blunt) retreats to a northern kingdom to raise an... [More]
Directed By: Cedric Nicolas-Troyan
#42
Adjusted Score: 18680%
Critics Consensus: Despite some sharp performances, Sleepwalking suffers from a grimness of tone and sluggish pacing.
Synopsis: When her boyfriend is arrested for marijuana possession, Joleen Reedy (Charlize Theron) and her 11-year-old daughter, Tara (AnnaSophia Robb), take... [More]
Directed By: William Maher
#43
Adjusted Score: 18236%
Critics Consensus: With its plot about child kidnapping and endangerment, Trapped is an exploitative thriller, more queasy than suspenseful.
Synopsis: When Will (Stuart Townsend) and Karen (Charlize Theron) Jennings are held hostage and their daughter is abducted, a relentless plan... [More]
Directed By: Luis Mandoki
#44
Adjusted Score: 18407%
Critics Consensus: Head in the Clouds aspires to soapy melodrama, but gets lost in its own lather, never mining romance from its central love affair or achieving authenticity in its period setting.
Synopsis: Gilda Besse (Charlize Theron) is a rising photographer living in Paris in the 1930s. She invites Guy Malyon (Stuart Townsend),... [More]
Directed By: John Duigan
#45
Adjusted Score: 18064%
Critics Consensus: Schmaltzy and manipulative, Sweet November suffers from an implausible plot and non-existent chemistry between its leads.
Synopsis: Nelson Moss (Keanu Reeves) and Sara Deever (Charlize Theron) have nothing in common except an hour spent in DMV hell.... [More]
Directed By: Pat O'Connor
#46
Adjusted Score: 17385%
Critics Consensus: Despite the best efforts of its talented leads, The Astronaut's Wife moves at a snail's pace and fails to generate enough intrigue to keep viewers engaged.
Synopsis: When astronaut Spencer Armacost (Johnny Depp) returns to Earth after a mission that nearly cost him his life, he decides... [More]
Directed By: Rand Ravich
#47
Adjusted Score: 11465%
Critics Consensus: The humor is on the level of a corny sitcom, and the tone is condescending.
Synopsis: Candy (Charlize Theron) and Lonnie Earl (Billy Bob Thornton) are just crazy about each other. The problem: she's married to... [More]
Directed By: Jordan Brady
#48
Adjusted Score: 12453%
Critics Consensus: Aeon Flux lacks the gravity-defying pace of its animated predecessor, and, despite some flash, is largely a dull affair.
Synopsis: In the 25th century, the Earth's population has dwindled to a surviving five million following a devastating virus that almost... [More]
Directed By: Karyn Kusama
#49
Adjusted Score: 9501%
Critics Consensus: The Last Face's noble intentions are nowhere near enough to carry a fundamentally misguided story that arguably demeans the demographic it wants to defend.
Synopsis: Miguel (Javier Bardem), a Spanish doctor, puts himself in harm's way to deliver medical treatment to the victims of military... [More]
Directed By: Sean Penn
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