Jake Gyllenhaal Movies Ranked by Tomatometer

Critics Consensus: Restless, visually sleek, and powered by a lithe star performance from Jake Gyllenhaal, Nightcrawler offers dark, thought-provoking thrills.

Synopsis: Los Angeles denizen Louis Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal) survives by scavenging and petty theft. He stumbles into a new career as a cameraman and -- armed... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Bill Paxton, Riz Ahmed

Directed By: Dan Gilroy

Critics Consensus: Wildlife's portrait of a family in crisis is beautifully composed by director Paul Dano -- and brought brilliantly to life by a career-best performance from Carey Mulligan.

Synopsis: Fourteen-year-old Joe is the only child of Jeanette and Jerry -- a housewife and a golf pro -- in a small town in the 1960s... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Carey Mulligan, Jake Gyllenhaal, Ed Oxenbould, Bill Camp

Directed By: Paul Dano

Critics Consensus: Finding the human story amidst the action, director Duncan Jones and charming Jake Gyllenhaal craft a smart, satisfying sci-fi thriller.

Synopsis: Helicopter pilot Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) is part of a top-secret military operation that enables him to experience the last few minutes in the life... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga, Jeffrey Wright

Directed By: Duncan Jones

Critics Consensus: Rich in sweet sincerity, intelligence, and good old-fashioned inspirational drama, October Sky is a coming-of-age story with a heart to match its Hollywood craftsmanship.

Synopsis: John Hickam is a West Virginia coal miner who loves his job and expects his sons, Jim and Homer, to follow in his footsteps. But... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Chris Cooper, Laura Dern, Chris Owen

Directed By: Joe Johnston

Critics Consensus: A breezily unpredictable blend of teen romance and superhero action, Spider-Man: Far from Home stylishly sets the stage for the next era of the MCU.

Synopsis: Peter Parker's relaxing European vacation takes an unexpected turn when Nick Fury shows up in his hotel room to recruit him for a mission. The... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Tom Holland, Samuel L. Jackson, Jake Gyllenhaal, Marisa Tomei

Directed By: Jon Watts

Critics Consensus: Stronger rises on the power of its well-chosen ensemble to offer an emotionally resonant fact-based story that transcends inspirational drama clichés.

Synopsis: Jeff Bauman loses both of his legs when two bombs explode during the Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013. After regaining consciousness in the hospital,... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Tatiana Maslany, Miranda Richardson, Clancy Brown

Directed By: David Gordon Green

Critics Consensus: A quiet, dialogue-driven thriller that delivers with scene after scene of gut-wrenching anxiety. David Fincher also spends more time illustrating nuances of his characters and recreating the mood of the '70s than he does on gory details of murder.

Synopsis: In the late 1960s and 1970s, fear grips the city of San Francisco as a serial killer called Zodiac stalks its residents. Investigators (Mark Ruffalo,... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, Robert Downey Jr., Anthony Edwards

Directed By: David Fincher

Critics Consensus: A beautiful, epic Western, Brokeback Mountain's love story is imbued with heartbreaking universality thanks to moving performances by Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal.

Synopsis: In 1963, rodeo cowboy Jack Twist and ranch hand Ennis Del Mar are hired by rancher Joe Aguirre as sheep herders in Wyoming. One night... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, Linda Cardellini, Anna Faris

Directed By: Ang Lee

Critics Consensus: Richard Kelly's debut feature Donnie Darko is a daring, original vision, packed with jarring ideas and intelligence and featuring a remarkable performance from Jake Gyllenhaal as the troubled title character.

Synopsis: In a funny, moving and distinctly mind-bending journey through suburban America, one extraordinary but disenchanted teenager is about to take Time's Arrow for a ride.... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, Drew Barrymore, James Duval

Directed By: Richard Kelly

Critics Consensus: The Sisters Brothers rides familiar genre trails in occasionally unexpected ways - a satisfying journey further elevated by its well-matched leading men.

Synopsis: It's 1851, and Charlie and Eli Sisters are both brothers and assassins, boys grown to men in a savage and hostile world. The Sisters brothers... View Full Synopsis

Starring: John C. Reilly, Joaquin Phoenix, Jake Gyllenhaal, Riz Ahmed

Directed By: Jacques Audiard

Critics Consensus: Okja sees Bong Joon-ho continuing to create defiantly eclectic entertainment -- and still hitting more than enough of his narrative targets in the midst of a tricky tonal juggling act.

Synopsis: For 10 idyllic years, young Mija has been caretaker and constant companion to Okja - a massive animal and an even bigger friend - at... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Ahn Seo-hyun, Tilda Swinton, Jake Gyllenhaal, Giancarlo Esposito

Directed By: Bong Joon Ho

Critics Consensus: The bitingly truthful Lovely & Amazing is a smart and perceptive female character study.

Synopsis: A finely observed comedy, "Lovely & Amazing" is an intimate family portrait of four hapless but resilient women and the bittersweet lessons they learn in... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Catherine Keener, Brenda Blethyn, Emily Mortimer, Raven Goodwin

Directed By: Nicole Holofcener

Critics Consensus: End of Watch has the energy, devotion to characters, and charismatic performances to overcome the familiar pitfalls of its genre and handheld format.

Synopsis: Longtime LAPD partners and friends, Brian Taylor (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Mike Zavala (Michael Peña) patrol one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Los Angeles. Though... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Peña, Natalie Martinez, Anna Kendrick

Directed By: David Ayer

Critics Consensus: A satisfying, well-acted war thriller with surprising dramatic depths, Guy Ritchie's The Covenant tells a solid story with impressive restraint.

Synopsis: Guy Ritchie's The Covenant follows US Army Sergeant John Kinley (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Afghan interpreter Ahmed (Dar Salim). After an ambush, Ahmed goes to Herculean... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Dar Salim, Antony Starr, Alexander Ludwig

Directed By: Guy Ritchie

Critics Consensus: A dark dramedy with exceptional performances from Jennifer Aniston and Jake Gyllenhaal, The Good Girl is a moving and astute look at the passions of two troubled souls in a small town.

Synopsis: Justine (Jennifer Aniston) is the good girl. Thirty years old and working in a Texas discount store, she is dissatisfied by her routine and disgusted... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jennifer Aniston, Jake Gyllenhaal, John C. Reilly, Tim Blake Nelson

Directed By: Miguel Arteta

Critics Consensus: Prisoners has an emotional complexity and a sense of dread that makes for absorbing (and disturbing) viewing.

Synopsis: Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman) faces a parent's worst nightmare when his 6-year-old daughter, Anna, and her friend go missing. The only lead is an old... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis, Maria Bello

Directed By: Denis Villeneuve

Critics Consensus: Well-acted and lovely to look at, Nocturnal Animals further underscores writer-director Tom Ford's distinctive visual and narrative skill.

Synopsis: A successful Los Angeles art-gallery owner's idyllic life is marred by the constant traveling of her handsome second husband. While he is away, she is... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Amy Adams, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Shannon, Aaron Taylor-Johnson

Directed By: Tom Ford

Critics Consensus: Thanks to a strong performance from Jake Gyllenhaal and smart direction from Denis Villeneuve, Enemy hits the mark as a tense, uncommonly adventurous thriller.

Synopsis: A mild-mannered college professor (Jake Gyllenhaal) discovers a look-alike actor and delves into the other man's private affairs.

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Mélanie Laurent, Isabella Rossellini, Sarah Gadon

Directed By: Denis Villeneuve

Critics Consensus: The Guilty is another Americanized remake overshadowed by the original, but its premise is still sturdy enough to support a tense, well-acted thriller.

Synopsis: The film takes place over the course of a single morning in a 911 dispatch call center. Call operator Joe Baylor (Jake Gyllenhaal) tries to... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Ethan Hawke, Riley Keough, Paul Dano

Directed By: Antoine Fuqua

Critics Consensus: Everest boasts all the dizzying cinematography a person could hope to get out a movie about mountain climbers, even if it's content to tread less challenging narrative terrain.

Synopsis: On the morning of May 10, 1996, climbers (Jason Clarke, Josh Brolin) from two expeditions start their final ascent toward the summit of Mount Everest,... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jason Clarke, Josh Brolin, John Hawkes, Robin Wright

Directed By: Baltasar Kormákur

Critics Consensus: Life is just thrilling, well-acted, and capably filmed enough to overcome an overall inability to add new wrinkles to the trapped-in-space genre.

Synopsis: Astronauts (Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson, Ryan Reynolds) aboard the International Space Station are on the cutting edge of one of the most important discoveries in... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson, Ryan Reynolds, Hiroyuki Sanada

Directed By: Daniel Espinosa

Critics Consensus: It plays more like a traditional melodrama than the Susanne Bier film that inspired it, but Jim Sheridan's Brothers benefits from rock-solid performances by its three leads.

Synopsis: Siblings Sam (Tobey Maguire) and Tommy Cahill (Jake Gyllenhaal) are as far apart as brothers can be; while Sam serves his country as a Marine,... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Tobey Maguire, Jake Gyllenhaal, Natalie Portman, Sam Shepard

Directed By: Jim Sheridan

Critics Consensus: Though the story feels rather contrived, Moonlight Mile is redeemed by the good performances of its cast.

Synopsis: When Joe Nast's (Jake Gyllenhaal) plans for marriage change due to an unexpected loss, he wants to be the man he believes everyone wants him... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Dustin Hoffman, Susan Sarandon, Holly Hunter

Directed By: Brad Silberling

Critics Consensus: Gwyneth Paltrow and Anthony Hopkins give exceptional performances in a film that intelligently tackles the territory between madness and genius.

Synopsis: Catherine (Gwyneth Paltrow) is a 27-year-old grieving after the loss of her father (Anthony Hopkins), a genius mathematician whose mind gradually deteriorated from mental illness.... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Gwyneth Paltrow, Anthony Hopkins, Jake Gyllenhaal, Hope Davis

Directed By: John Madden

Critics Consensus: This first person account of the first Gulf War scores with its performances and cinematography but lacks an emotional thrust.

Synopsis: In the late 1980s, Anthony Swofford (Jake Gyllenhaal) enlists as a Marine, training in boot camp under a sadistic drill instructor. Swofford undertakes a sniper... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard, Jamie Foxx, Chris Cooper

Directed By: Sam Mendes

Critics Consensus: If you only watch one art-world satire with horror overtones this year -- or most others -- it should probably be Velvet Buzzsaw.

Synopsis: After paintings by an unknown artist are discovered, a supernatural force enacts revenge on those who have allowed their greed to get in the way... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Toni Collette, John Malkovich

Directed By: Dan Gilroy

Critics Consensus: Jake Gyllenhaal delivers an impressively committed performance, but Southpaw beats it down with a dispiriting drama that pummels viewers with genre clichés.

Synopsis: Billy "The Great" Hope (Jake Gyllenhaal), the reigning junior middleweight boxing champion, has an impressive career, a loving wife and daughter, and a lavish lifestyle.... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Forest Whitaker, Naomie Harris, 50 Cent

Directed By: Antoine Fuqua

Critics Consensus: Demolition benefits from a stellar cast, even if their solid work isn't always enough to prop up a confused story that aims for profundity but too often settles for clichés.

Synopsis: Grieving investment banker Davis Mitchell (Jake Gyllenhaal) returns to work after losing his beloved wife in a tragic car accident. After writing a letter to... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Naomi Watts, Chris Cooper, Judah Lewis

Directed By: Jean-Marc Vallée

Critics Consensus: It's a pleasure to see Hollywood produce a romance this refreshingly adult, but Love and Other Drugs struggles to find a balance between its disparate plot elements.

Synopsis: Handsome pharmaceutical salesman Jamie Randall (Jake Gyllenhaal) always has good luck with women. A chance encounter with Maggie Murdock (Anne Hathaway), a free-spirited Parkinson's patient,... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway, Oliver Platt, Hank Azaria

Directed By: Edward Zwick

Critics Consensus: While it might be a passable diversion for younger viewers, Spirit Untamed is a middling sequel that lacks the essential energy suggested by its title.

Synopsis: An epic adventure about a headstrong girl longing for a place to belong who discovers a kindred spirit when her life intersects with a wild... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Isabela Merced, Julianne Moore, Jake Gyllenhaal, Marsai Martin

Directed By: Elaine Bogan

Critics Consensus: The impressive cast cannot rescue Rendition, which explores complex issues in woefully simplified terms.

Synopsis: Isabella El-Ibrahimi, the wife of an Egyptian engineer, tries desperately to track down her husband after he disappears on an international flight. Meanwhile, a CIA... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Reese Witherspoon, Alan Arkin, Peter Sarsgaard

Directed By: Gavin Hood

Critics Consensus: The Day After Tomorrow is a ludicrous popcorn thriller filled with clunky dialogue, but spectacular visuals save it from being a total disaster.

Synopsis: After climatologist Jack Hall is largely ignored by U.N. officials when presenting his environmental concerns, his research proves true when a superstorm develops, setting off... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Dennis Quaid, Jake Gyllenhaal, Ian Holm, Emmy Rossum

Directed By: Roland Emmerich

Critics Consensus: It doesn't offer much in the way of substance, but Prince of Persia is a suitably entertaining swashbuckler -- and a substantial improvement over most video game adaptations.

Synopsis: In the holy city of Alamut resides the Sands of Time, which gives mortals the power to turn back time. After leading an attack on... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, Ben Kingsley, Alfred Molina

Directed By: Mike Newell

Critics Consensus: Bubble Boy bounces along with lame, offensive jokes that are more tasteless than funny.

Synopsis: A coming-of-age comedy follows the life of Jimmy Livingston (Jake Gyllenhaal), a young man born without immunities and raised in a manufactured world provided by... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Swoosie Kurtz, Marley Shelton, Danny Trejo

Directed By: Blair Hayes

Critics Consensus: Cobbling together an unfinished satire on the healthcare system and contorting it into a dopey romance, Accidental Love is a cynical repurposing of unrealized potential.

Synopsis: A clueless politician falls in love with a waitress whose erratic behavior is caused by a nail stuck in her head.

Starring: Jessica Biel, Jake Gyllenhaal, James Marsden, Catherine Keener

Directed By: David O. Russell