(Photo by Disney/Everett Collection)
All Kurt Russell Movies Ranked
Even before he became one of the big players of Hollywood’s golden age of action movies during the 1980s and 1990s, Kurt Russell was already a prince on the Disney lot, growing up on-screen in live-action comedies like The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes and The Barefoot Executive. It must’ve been a good education because Russell was able to carry dramatic chops to the violent spectacle films that would become his calling, projecting a world-weary sensitivity that elevated him among action movie peers. Snake Plissken (Escape From New York), R.J. MacReady (The Thing), and Jack Burton (Big Trouble in Little China) are all genre icons, created through a fruitful relationship with director John Carpenter. Tango & Cash, Tombstone, Stargate, Backdraft, and Breakdown are more thrilling fan-beloved productions.
Since partnering with Quentin Tarantino on Death Proof, Russell has been judicious in his selection process, which continues to pay off through critically acclaimed roles. He’s been adding to his Western portfolio (The Hateful Eight, Bone Tomahawk), showed up in a few Fast & Furious movies, played Santa Claus (The Christmas Chronicles and its sequel), and became a living planet in the MCU (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2). And now we’re ranking all Kurt Russell movies by Tomatometer! —Alex Vo
#1
Adjusted Score: 95313%
Critics Consensus: Bone Tomahawk's peculiar genre blend won't be for everyone, but its gripping performances and a slow-burning story should satisfy those in search of something different.
Synopsis: In the Old West, a sheriff (Kurt Russell), his deputy (Richard Jenkins), a gunslinger (Matthew Fox),and a cowboy (Patrick Wilson)...
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#2
Adjusted Score: 93095%
Critics Consensus: Featuring an atmospherically grimy futuristic metropolis, Escape from New York is a strange, entertaining jumble of thrilling action and oddball weirdness.
Synopsis: In 1997, a major war between the United States and the Soviet Union is concluding, and the entire island of...
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#3
Adjusted Score: 87536%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: During World War II, a navy wife helps the war effort by taking a job in the local aircraft factory,...
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#4
Adjusted Score: 117465%
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: Actor Rick Dalton gained fame and fortune by starring in a 1950s television Western, but is now struggling to find...
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#5
Adjusted Score: 108988%
Critics Consensus: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2's action-packed plot, dazzling visuals, and irreverent humor add up to a sequel that's almost as fun -- if not quite as thrillingly fresh -- as its predecessor.
Synopsis: Peter Quill and his fellow Guardians are hired by a powerful alien race, the Sovereign, to protect their precious batteries...
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#6
Adjusted Score: 91731%
Critics Consensus: Grindhouse delivers exhilarating exploitation fare with wit and panache, improving upon its source material with feral intelligence.
Synopsis: Filmmakers Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez pay tribute to exploitation films of the 1970s with two features in one. Tarantino...
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#7
Adjusted Score: 94604%
Critics Consensus: Deepwater Horizon makes effective use of its titular man-made disaster to deliver an uncommonly serious -- yet still suitably gripping -- action thriller.
Synopsis: On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explodes in the Gulf of Mexico, igniting a massive fireball that...
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#8
Adjusted Score: 65497%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Enthusiastic mailroom clerk Steven Post (Kurt Russell) hassles the uppity director of programming, Francis Wilbanks (Joe Flynn), on a daily...
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#9
Adjusted Score: 95677%
Critics Consensus: Serving up a fresh round of over-the-top thrills while adding unexpected dramatic heft, Furious 7 keeps the franchise moving in more ways than one.
Synopsis: After defeating international terrorist Owen Shaw, Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel), Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker) and the rest of the crew...
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#10
Adjusted Score: 93736%
Critics Consensus: Grimmer and more terrifying than the 1950s take, John Carpenter's The Thing is a tense sci-fi thriller rife with compelling tension and some remarkable make-up effects.
Synopsis: In remote Antarctica, a group of American research scientists are disturbed at their base camp by a helicopter shooting at...
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#11
Adjusted Score: 86470%
Critics Consensus: A brainy and suspenseful -- if somewhat uneven -- thriller.
Synopsis: On their cross-country drive, a married couple, Jeff (Kurt Russell) and Amy Taylor (Kathleen Quinlan), experience car trouble after an...
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#12
Adjusted Score: 86288%
Critics Consensus: Kurt Russell's performance guides this cliche-ridden tale into the realm of inspirational, nostalgic goodness.
Synopsis: When college coach Herb Brooks (Kurt Russell) is hired to helm the 1980 U.S. men's Olympic hockey team, he brings...
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#13
Adjusted Score: 62309%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Dexter Riley (Kurt Russell) is a science student at Medfield College who inadvertently invents a liquid capable of rendering objects...
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#14
Adjusted Score: 79673%
Critics Consensus: Robert Zemeckis' pitch-black satire of American culture doesn't always hit the mark, but it's got enough manic comic energy to warrant a spin.
Synopsis: Rudy Russo (Kurt Russell) is an unscrupulous car salesman who aspires to become a politician. In the meantime, however, Rudy...
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#15
Adjusted Score: 80558%
Critics Consensus: Silkwood seethes with real-life rage -- but backs it up with compelling characters and trenchant observations.
Synopsis: This drama is based on the true story of Karen Silkwood (Meryl Streep), who works at a nuclear facility, along...
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#16
Adjusted Score: 79453%
Critics Consensus: Brimming with energy and packed with humor, Big Trouble in Little China distills kung fu B-movies as affectionately as it subverts them.
Synopsis: Kurt Russell plays hard-boiled truck driver Jack Burton, who gets caught in a bizarre conflict within, and underneath, San Francisco's...
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#17
Adjusted Score: 78397%
Critics Consensus: It's not particularly deep, but Backdraft is a strong action movie with exceptional special effects.
Synopsis: Chicago firefighting brothers Stephen (Kurt Russell) and Brian (William Baldwin) have been rivals since childhood. Brian, struggling to prove himself,...
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#18
Adjusted Score: 90517%
Critics Consensus: The Hateful Eight offers another well-aimed round from Quentin Tarantino's signature blend of action, humor, and over-the-top violence -- all while demonstrating an even stronger grip on his filmmaking craft.
Synopsis: While racing toward the town of Red Rock in post-Civil War Wyoming, bounty hunter John "The Hangman" Ruth (Kurt Russell)...
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#19
Adjusted Score: 78123%
Critics Consensus: If you're seeking a stylish modern western with a solid story and a well-chosen ensemble cast, Tombstone is your huckleberry.
Synopsis: Wyatt Earp and his brothers, Morgan and Virgil, have left their gunslinger ways behind them to settle down and start...
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#20
Adjusted Score: 78672%
Critics Consensus: Unlawful Entry may not depict a particularly novel or believable situation, but tense direction and a roundly committed cast make it easy to get caught up in the moment.
Synopsis: Happily married Michael (Kurt Russell) and Karen Carr (Madeleine Stowe) call the police after a failed robbery. Officer Pete Davis...
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#21
Adjusted Score: 78471%
Critics Consensus: This highly derivative superhero coming-of-age flick is moderately entertaining, family-friendly fluff.
Synopsis: At a school in the sky where teens learn how to be superheroes, Will Stronghold (Michael Angarano) lands in a...
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#22
Adjusted Score: 77105%
Critics Consensus: The Fox and the Hound is a likeable, charming, unassuming effort that manages to transcend its thin, predictable plot.
Synopsis: After his mother is killed, Tod the fox (Mickey Rooney) is taken in by the kindly Widow Tweed (Jeanette Nolan)....
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#23
Adjusted Score: 69589%
Critics Consensus: Viewers seeking a fresh holiday viewing option -- or those simply in the mood for Santa Kurt Russell -- should find The Christmas Chronicles well worth a yuletide stream.
Synopsis: Siblings Kate and Teddy Pierce hatch a scheme to capture Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. When the plan goes awry,...
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#24
Adjusted Score: 84270%
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...
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#25
Adjusted Score: 68586%
Critics Consensus: While it's missing some of the magic of the original, The Christmas Chronicles 2 serves up a sweet second helping of holiday cheer that makes the most of its marvelously matched leads.
Synopsis: Teenager Kate Pierce is reunited with Santa Claus when a troublemaker threatens to cancel Christmas -- forever....
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#26
Adjusted Score: 67877%
Critics Consensus: Though formulaic, this horse story's saving grace is its strong performances.
Synopsis: Ben Crane (Kurt Russell) is a horse trainer who is struggling to connect with his precocious daughter, Cale (Dakota Fanning)....
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#27
Adjusted Score: 64350%
Critics Consensus: Executive Decision adheres entertainingly to classic action thriller formula, proving a genre outing doesn't need to win points for originality to be solidly effective.
Synopsis: When terrorists hijack a plane traveling from Greece to Washington, D.C., U.S. Army specialist David Grant (Kurt Russell) and Lt....
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#28
Adjusted Score: 65335%
Critics Consensus: A thriller that plays at social commentary, The Mean Season fumbles with its weightier themes, but does so in a generally watchable way.
Synopsis: After reporting on the murder of a teenage girl, journalist Malcolm Anderson (Kurt Russell) is contacted by the killer (Richard...
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#29
Adjusted Score: 75137%
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...
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#30
Adjusted Score: 62089%
Critics Consensus: Kurt Russell gives a good performance. Too bad there's nothing here that you haven't seen before.
Synopsis: Set in the Los Angeles Police Department in 1992, "Dark Blue" is a thriller that takes place just days before...
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#31
Adjusted Score: 56257%
Critics Consensus: Stargate has splashy visuals and James Spader to recommend it, but corny characterization and a clunky script makes this a portal to ho-hum.
Synopsis: In modern-day Egypt, professor Daniel Jackson (James Spader) teams up with retired Army Col. Jack O'Neil (Kurt Russell) to unlock...
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#32
Adjusted Score: 57706%
Critics Consensus: Escape from L.A. has its moments, although it certainly suffers in comparison to the cult classic that preceded it.
Synopsis: In 2013, the United States president (Cliff Robertson) is exiling all citizens who don't conform to his hyper-conservative views to...
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#33
Adjusted Score: 55419%
Critics Consensus: Tequila Sunrise unites three of its decade's most in-demand stars for a slickly packaged crime drama that looks great without ever going anywhere particularly interesting.
Synopsis: In a seaside California town, best friends Mac (Mel Gibson) and Nick (Kurt Russell) are on opposite sides of the...
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#34
Adjusted Score: 57108%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Students from a cash-strapped college, in need of a computer, convince businessman A.J. Arno (Cesar Romero) to donate one. When...
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#35
Adjusted Score: 47542%
Critics Consensus: It boasts a terrific cast led by the always-watchable Kurt Russell and Terence Stamp, but The Art of the Steal wastes its stars on a formulaic plot that borrows too obviously from superior heist pictures.
Synopsis: Crunch Calhoun, a motorcycle daredevil and art thief, agrees to help his brother with one last heist. As Crunch gathers...
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#36
Adjusted Score: 48667%
Critics Consensus: Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell's comedic chops elevate waterlogged material, but not even their buoyant chemistry can keep Overboard's creepy concept afloat.
Synopsis: Snobbish and wealthy Joanna Stayton (Goldie Hawn) is living a life of leisure with her husband, Grant (Edward Herrmann), when...
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#37
Adjusted Score: 48215%
Critics Consensus: An ambitious mix of genres, Vanilla Sky collapses into an incoherent jumble. Cruise's performance lacks depth, and it's hard to feel sympathy for his narcissistic character.
Synopsis: Tom Cruise and Cameron Crowe reunite after "Jerry Maguire" for "Vanilla Sky," the story of a young New York City...
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#38
Adjusted Score: 22072%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A man (Brian Presley) seeks counsel from his longtime mentor (Kurt Russell) when he gets a unique opportunity to revisit...
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#39
Adjusted Score: 41326%
Critics Consensus: This remake of The Poseidon Adventure delivers dazzling special effects. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem that any of the budget was left over to devote to the script.
Synopsis: After a huge tidal wave capsizes a luxury liner in the North Atlantic, individual survivors (Josh Lucas, Kurt Russell, Jacinda...
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#40
Adjusted Score: 29581%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Married banker Jack Dundee (Robin Williams) has lived his life regretting a botched play he made in a high school...
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#41
Adjusted Score: 35010%
Critics Consensus: Brutally violent and punishingly dull, this cookie-cutter buddy cop thriller isn't even fun enough to reach "so bad it's good" status.
Synopsis: Police officers Ray Tango (Sylvester Stallone) and Gabe Cash (Kurt Russell) are narcotics experts working to bring down drug lord...
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#42
Adjusted Score: 27283%
Critics Consensus: Despite the swashbuckling charms of Kurt Russell's seafaring antics, Captain Ron capsizes in its hackneyed narrative waters.
Synopsis: When mild-mannered Martin Harvey (Martin Short) finds out that he has inherited a vintage yacht, he decides to take his...
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#43
Adjusted Score: 5710%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A Wall Street banker connects a small-town art gallery to a global conspiracy, putting his own family in grave danger....
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#44
Adjusted Score: 18004%
Critics Consensus: While the premise sounds promising, the movie turns out to be a tedious and unnecessarily violent heist movie that's low on laughs and leaves no cliche unturned.
Synopsis: It's International Elvis Week in Las Vegas, where the strip is flooded by a sea of King wannabes decked out...
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#45
Adjusted Score: 19782%
Critics Consensus: A boring genre film and a waste of a good set.
#46
Adjusted Score: 20022%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A widower (Kurt Russell) with a daughter loves an unwed mother (Kelly McGillis) amid a mountain feud in 1930s North...
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91%
87%
59%
