Best-Reviewed Summer Blockbusters by Year Since 1975

Critics Consensus: Thanks to an outstanding script, focused direction by Alan Pakula, and a riveting performance from Harrison Ford, Presumed Innocent is the kind of effective courtroom thriller most others aspire to be.

Synopsis: Prosecuting attorney Raymond Horgan (Brian Dennehy) assigns his chief deputy, the taciturn Rusty Sabitch (Harrison Ford), to investigate the rape and murder of colleague Carolyn... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Harrison Ford, Brian Dennehy, Raul Julia, Bonnie Bedelia

Directed By: Alan J. Pakula

Critics Consensus: Well-acted and thematically rich, Boyz N the Hood observes Black America with far more depth and compassion than many of the like-minded films its success inspired.

Synopsis: Tre is sent to live with his father, Furious Styles, in tough South Central Los Angeles. Although his hard-nosed father instills proper values and respect... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Laurence Fishburne, Ice Cube, Cuba Gooding Jr., Nia Long

Directed By: John Singleton

Critics Consensus: As both director and star, Clint Eastwood strips away decades of Hollywood varnish applied to the Wild West, and emerges with a series of harshly eloquent statements about the nature of violence.

Synopsis: When prostitute Delilah Fitzgerald (Anna Thomson) is disfigured by a pair of cowboys in Big Whiskey, Wyoming, her fellow brothel workers post a reward for... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman, Richard Harris

Directed By: Clint Eastwood

Critics Consensus: Jurassic Park is a spectacle of special effects and life-like animatronics, with some of Spielberg's best sequences of sustained awe and sheer terror since Jaws.

Synopsis: In Steven Spielberg's massive blockbuster, paleontologists Alan Grant (Sam Neill) and Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) and mathematician Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) are among a select... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough

Directed By: Steven Spielberg

Critics Consensus: Emotionally stirring, richly drawn, and beautifully animated, The Lion King is a pride within Disney's pantheon of classic family films.

Synopsis: This Disney animated feature follows the adventures of the young lion Simba (Jonathan Taylor Thomas), the heir of his father, Mufasa (James Earl Jones). Simba's... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Matthew Broderick, Jeremy Irons, James Earl Jones, Madge Sinclair

Directed By: Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff

Critics Consensus: The rare family-friendly feature with a heart as big as its special effects budget, Babe offers timeless entertainment for viewers of all ages.

Synopsis: Gentle farmer Arthur Hoggett (James Cromwell) wins a piglet named Babe (Christine Cavanaugh) at a county fair. Narrowly escaping his fate as Christmas dinner when... View Full Synopsis

Starring: James Cromwell, Magda Szubanski, Hugo Weaving, Mary Acres

Directed By: Chris Noonan

Critics Consensus: Blending hand-to-hand combat with breathtaking stunts and slapstick comedy, Supercop reminds us why Jackie Chan is one of the world's great entertainers.

Synopsis: To infiltrate a drug cartel, police Inspector Chan Ka Kui (Jackie Chan) goes undercover in a Chinese prison. There, he earns the trust of Panther... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jackie Chan, Michelle Yeoh, Maggie Cheung, Kenneth Tsang

Directed By: Stanley Tong

Critics Consensus: Thanks to a smart script, spectacular set pieces, and charismatic performances from its leads, Men in Black is an entirely satisfying summer blockbuster hit.

Synopsis: Working for a highly funded yet unofficial government agency, Kay and Jay are the Men in Black, providers of immigration services and regulators of all... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Linda Fiorentino, Vincent D'Onofrio

Directed By: Barry Sonnenfeld

Critics Consensus: A funny, tender, and thought-provoking film, The Truman Show is all the more noteworthy for its remarkably prescient vision of runaway celebrity culture and a nation with an insatiable thirst for the private details of ordinary lives.

Synopsis: He doesn't know it, but everything in Truman Burbank's (Jim Carrey) life is part of a massive TV set. Executive producer Christof (Ed Harris) orchestrates... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jim Carrey, Laura Linney, Noah Emmerich, Natascha McElhone

Directed By: Peter Weir

Critics Consensus: The endearing Iron Giant tackles ambitious topics and complex human relationships with a steady hand and beautifully animated direction from Brad Bird.

Synopsis: In this animated adaptation of Ted Hughes' Cold War fable, a giant alien robot crash-lands near the small town of Rockwell, Maine, in 1957. Exploring... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jennifer Aniston, Eli Marienthal, Harry Connick Jr., Vin Diesel

Directed By: Brad Bird