(Photo by Paramount/courtesy Everett Collection)
All Leonardo DiCaprio Movies Ranked
Like Paul Rudd or Jennifer Aniston who would follow, Leonardo DiCaprio got his start in the business befitting all future megastars: Starring in a godawful horror movie. 1991’s Critters 3 was DiCaprio’s rite of passage, followed by a bit part in Poison Ivy the next year — and that about ended his association with the genre. By 1993, DiCaprio was applying his striking cherubic looks to dramatic features like This Boy’s Life and breakthrough What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, in which he shared the screen with already-established heartthrob Johnny Depp. Romeo + Juliet made Bill Shakespeare palatable for the mid-’90s teenybopper set, which set the stage for world-storming Titanic, which won all the awards, made all the money, and fashioned DiCaprio as a legend in his own time.
Not to rest on his laurels like on a haphazard dresser floating in the ocean, DiCaprio spent the immediate post-Titanic years seeking only to work with the best directors on edgy material, even as they were in their creative doldrums: Woody Allen with Celebrity, and Danny Boyle with The Beach. The viscerally negative reaction to Beach was enough to get DiCaprio to seemingly pull a disappearing act for what seemed like ages in the pre-Internet world. In reality, not even three years had passed when he re-appeared in Gangs of New York, igniting a rich De Niro-esque relationship with Martin Scorsese that would pay dividends with The Aviator, The Departed, Shutter Island, and The Wolf of Wall Street.
Beyond his conservation efforts (resulting in documentaries like Ice on Fire and Before the Flood), which have kept him from acting, DiCaprio maintains his brand and allure by making each screen performance a major event, going years between narrative films and working only with the biggest-name directors out there: Clint Eastwood (J. Edgar), Christopher Nolan (Inception), Alejandro González Iñárritu (Best Actor and Best Picture-winning The Revenant), and, most recently, Quentin Tarantino (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood).
Read on to see Leonardo DiCaprio’s best movies (and his worst) by Tomatometer!
#27
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Critters. They're cute, cuddly and will eat you alive. This is the third entry in the tongue-in-cheek horror series. This...
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#26
Adjusted Score: 23.893%
Critics Consensus: Critics say The Beach is unfocused and muddled, a shallow adaptation of the novel it is based on. Points go to the gorgeous cinematography, though.
Synopsis: For his first major project after the overwhelming success of Titanic, Leonardo Di Caprio took a risky path in this...
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#25
Adjusted Score: 25.228%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: This historical drama, directed by Agnieszka Holland, focuses on the rocky relationship between the renowned 19th century French poets Arthur...
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#24
Adjusted Score: 33.651%
Critics Consensus: Leonardo DiCaprio plays dual roles with diminishing returns in The Man in the Iron Mask, a cheesy rendition of the Musketeers' epilogue that bears all the pageantry of Alexandre Dumas' text, but none of its romantic panache.
Synopsis: Randall Wallace's visually sensational, alternately corny and brooding version of the Alexander Dumas legend features the Three (Old) Musketeers, a...
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#23
Adjusted Score: 41.716%
Critics Consensus: Entertaining, but too scattered.
Synopsis: When a reporter is assigned to the celebrity beat he anticipates a little excitement. But he never expected this... Quickly,...
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#22
Adjusted Score: 50.729%
Critics Consensus: Leonardo DiCaprio gives a predictably powerhouse performance, but J. Edgar stumbles in all other departments with cheesy makeup, poor lighting, confusing narrative, and humdrum storytelling.
Synopsis: J. Edgar explores the public and private life of one of the most powerful, controversial and enigmatic figures of the...
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#21
Adjusted Score: 47.07%
Critics Consensus: In spite of its young leading man's heroic efforts to hold it all together, a muddled message prevents The Basketball Diaries from compelling as a cautionary tale.
Synopsis: Very loosely based on the memoir of the same name, The Basketball Diaries transposes the late '60s adolescence of writer/artist...
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#20
Adjusted Score: 59.822%
Critics Consensus: While certainly ambitious -- and every bit as visually dazzling as one might expect -- Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby emphasizes visual splendor at the expense of its source material's vibrant heart.
Synopsis: "The Great Gatsby" follows Fitzgerald-like, would-be writer Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire) as he leaves the Midwest and comes to New...
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#19
Adjusted Score: 63.038%
Critics Consensus: Body of Lies relies on the performances of Russell Crowe and Leonardo DiCaprio to elevate it beyond the conventional espionage thriller.
Synopsis: Fresh off of their success with director Martin Scorsese's The Departed, star Leonardo DiCaprio and screenwriter William Monahan team with...
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#18
Adjusted Score: 59.07%
Critics Consensus: The Quick and the Dead isn't quite the draw that its intriguing premise and pedigree suggest, but fans of nontraditional Westerns should have some rootin' tootin' fun.
Synopsis: Director Sam Raimi brings his trademark comic book-influenced visual panache to this post-modern Western. Sharon Stone stars as Ellen, a...
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#17
Adjusted Score: 70.468%
Critics Consensus: Blood Diamond overcomes poor storytelling with its biting commentary and fine performances.
Synopsis: Set against the backdrop of civil war and chaos in 1990's Sierra Leone, "Blood Diamond" is the story of Danny...
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#16
Adjusted Score: 74.996%
Critics Consensus: Brilliantly acted and emotionally powerful, Revolutionary Road is a handsome adaptation of Richard Yates' celebrated novel.
Synopsis: Titanic shipmates Kathy Bates, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Kate Winslet step onboard for director Sam Mendes' tale of suburban malaise in...
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#15
Adjusted Score: 75.864%
Critics Consensus: It may not rank with Scorsese's best work, but Shutter Island's gleefully unapologetic genre thrills represent the director at his most unrestrained.
Synopsis: Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio team up for a fourth time for this adaptation of Shutter Island, a novel by...
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#14
Adjusted Score: 75.376%
Critics Consensus: Baz Luhrmann's visual aesthetic is as divisive as it is fresh and inventive.
Synopsis: The classic Shakespearean romantic tragedy is updated by director Baz Luhrmann to a post-modern Verona Beach where swords are merely...
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#13
Adjusted Score: 79.028%
Critics Consensus: Though flawed, the sprawling, messy Gangs of New York is redeemed by impressive production design and Day-Lewis's electrifying performance.
Synopsis: The violent rise of gangland power in New York City at a time of massive political corruption and the city's...
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#12
Adjusted Score: 78.385%
Critics Consensus: A harrowing, moving drama about a young boy, his single mother, and his abusive stepfather, This Boy's Life benefits from its terrific cast, and features a breakout performance from a young Leonardo DiCaprio.
Synopsis: This Boy's Life is a true-life coming-of-age story about '50s teenager Tobias Wolff (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his mother, Caroline (Ellen...
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#11
Adjusted Score: 93.789%
Critics Consensus: As starkly beautiful as it is harshly uncompromising, The Revenant uses Leonardo DiCaprio's committed performance as fuel for an absorbing drama that offers punishing challenges -- and rich rewards.
Synopsis: Inspired by true events, THE REVENANT is an immersive and visceral cinematic experience capturing one man's epic adventure of survival...
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#10
Adjusted Score: 91.217%
Critics Consensus: Funny, self-referential, and irreverent to a fault, The Wolf of Wall Street finds Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio at their most infectiously dynamic.
Synopsis: Martin Scorsese directs the story of New York stockbroker Jordan Belfort. From the American dream to corporate greed, Belfort goes...
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#9
Adjusted Score: 86.367%
Critics Consensus: Marvin's Room rises above the pack of dysfunctional family dramas thanks to an impeccable cast that includes Meryl Streep, Diane Keaton, and Leonardo DiCaprio.
Synopsis: Featuring an all-star cast, this drama is about two estranged sisters. Bessie has spent 20 years caring for her bed-ridden...
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#8
Adjusted Score: 110.112%
Critics Consensus: Thrillingly unrestrained yet solidly crafted, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood tempers Tarantino's provocative impulses with the clarity of a mature filmmaker's vision.
Synopsis: Quentin Tarantino's ninth feature film is a story that takes place in Los Angeles in 1969, at the height of...
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#7
Adjusted Score: 92.39%
Critics Consensus: With a rich sense of period detail, The Aviator succeeds thanks to typically assured direction from Martin Scorsese and a strong performance from Leonardo DiCaprio, who charts Howard Hughes' descent from eccentric billionaire to reclusive madman.
Synopsis: Martin Scorsese directed this fast-moving, epic-scale biopic documenting the life and loves one of the most colorful Americans of the...
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#6
Adjusted Score: 98.007%
Critics Consensus: Bold, bloody, and stylistically daring, Django Unchained is another incendiary masterpiece from Quentin Tarantino.
Synopsis: Set in the South two years before the Civil War, Django Unchained stars Jamie Foxx as Django, a slave whose...
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#5
Adjusted Score: 98.313%
Critics Consensus: Smart, innovative, and thrilling, Inception is that rare summer blockbuster that succeeds viscerally as well as intellectually.
Synopsis: Visionary filmmaker Christopher Nolan (Memento, The Dark Knight) writes and directs this psychological sci-fi action film about a thief who...
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#4
Adjusted Score: 101.734%
Critics Consensus: A mostly unqualified triumph for James Cameron, who offers a dizzying blend of spectacular visuals and old-fashioned melodrama.
Synopsis: This spectacular epic re-creates the ill-fated maiden voyage of the White Star Line's $7.5 million R.M.S Titanic and the tragic...
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#3
Adjusted Score: 93.483%
Critics Consensus: It's sentimental and somewhat predictable, but those are small complaints, given the tender atmosphere and moving performances at the heart of What's Eating Gilbert Grape.
Synopsis: Gilbert has to care for his brother Arnie and his obese mother, which gets in the way when love walks...
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#2
Adjusted Score: 100.927%
Critics Consensus: Featuring outstanding work from an excellent cast, The Departed is a thoroughly engrossing gangster drama with the gritty authenticity and soupy morality we come to expect from Martin Scorsese.
Synopsis: Legendary director Martin Scorsese takes the helm for this tale of questionable loyalties and blurring identities set in the South...
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#1
Adjusted Score: 101.695%
Critics Consensus: With help from a strong performance by Leonardo DiCaprio as real-life wunderkind con artist Frank Abagnale, Steven Spielberg crafts a film that's stylish, breezily entertaining, and surprisingly sweet.
Synopsis: Based on a true story, Frank W. Abagnale was employed as a doctor, a lawyer, and as a co-pilot for...
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