Whether it’s a high school queen bee, investigative reporter, or hopeless romantic, Rachel McAdams has given incredible performances across several film genres.
McAdams first rose to fame for her breakout role as Regina George in Tina Fey’s Mean Girls (2004). Just two months later, McAdams earned praise for her emotional performance as Allie Hamilton in The Notebook. Both Mean Girls and The Notebook cemented McAdams as a fan-favorite movie star.
After showcasing her thriller chops in Red Eye (2005), McAdams continued to surprise audiences with a mix of genres. She appeared in Married Life (2008) and the romantic drama The Time Traveler’s Wife (2009), then shifted into political intrigue as a junior reporter in State of Play (2009). That same year, she joined the blockbuster Sherlock Holmes (2009), later returning for its sequel A Game of Shadows (2011). McAdams also charmed viewers in Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris (2011) and earned an Academy Award nomination for her role in the acclaimed newsroom drama Spotlight (2015).
Most recently, McAdams returns to the screen in Send Help, where she plays an undervalued employee stranded on a deserted island with her boss (Dylan O’Brien).
Read on to see all of Rachel McAdams’ movies ranked by Tomatometer. — Michael Cahn
Critics Consensus: Effervescent and refreshingly frank about the travails of puberty, this long-awaited adaptation does full justice to Judy Blume's seminal novel.
Synopsis: For over fifty years, Judy Blume's classic and groundbreaking novel Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. has impacted generations [More]
Critics Consensus:Spotlight gracefully handles the lurid details of its fact-based story while resisting the temptation to lionize its heroes, resulting in a drama that honors the audience as well as its real-life subjects.
Synopsis: In 2001, editor Marty Baron of The Boston Globe assigns a team of journalists to investigate allegations against John Geoghan, [More]
Critics Consensus: Putting director Sam Raimi's penchant for diabolical mayhem to great use, Send Help doesn't need any assistance in thrills thanks to a very game Rachel McAdams and Dylan O'Brien along with a viciously clever script.
Synopsis: In "Send Help," two colleagues become stranded on a deserted island, the only survivors of a plane crash. On the [More]
Critics Consensus: It may not boast the depth of his classic films, but the sweetly sentimental Midnight in Paris is funny and charming enough to satisfy Woody Allen fans.
Synopsis: Gil Pender is a screenwriter and aspiring novelist. Vacationing in Paris with his fiancée, he has taken to touring the [More]
Critics Consensus: Beautifully animated and faithful to the spirit of its classic source material, The Little Prince is a family-friendly treat that anchors thrilling visuals with a satisfying story.
Synopsis: The Aviator introduces a girl to a world where she rediscovers her childhood and learns that it's human connections that [More]
Critics Consensus:Doctor Strange artfully balances its outré source material against the blockbuster constraints of the MCU, delivering a thoroughly entertaining superhero origin story in the bargain.
Synopsis: Dr. Stephen Strange's (Benedict Cumberbatch) life changes after a car accident robs him of the use of his hands. When [More]
Critics Consensus: Smart, subtle, and steadily absorbing, A Most Wanted Man proves once again that John le Carre books make for sharp, thoughtful thrillers.
Synopsis: An escaped militant's (Grigoriy Dobrygin) attempt to claim an inheritance gives a German agent (Philip Seymour Hoffman) the chance to [More]
Critics Consensus: With a talented cast turned loose on a loaded premise -- and a sharp script loaded with dark comedy and unexpected twists -- Game Night might be more fun than the real thing.
Synopsis: Max and Annie's weekly game night gets kicked up a notch when Max's brother Brooks arranges a murder mystery party [More]
Critics Consensus:Disobedience explores a variety of thought-provoking themes, bolstered by gripping work from leads Rachel Weisz, Rachel McAdams, and Alessandro Nivola.
Synopsis: New York photographer Ronit Krushka flies to London after learning about the death of her estranged father. Ronit is returning [More]
Critics Consensus: A taut, well-acted political thriller, State of Play overcomes some unsubtle plot twists with an intelligent script and swift direction.
Synopsis: Congressman Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck) is a rising star in Washington; handsome, unflappable and seemingly honorable, he's seen as his [More]
Critics Consensus: Elevated by a brilliant screenplay and outstanding ensemble cast, Mean Girls finds fresh, female-fronted humor in the high school experience.
Synopsis: Teenage Cady Heron (Lindsay Lohan) was educated in Africa by her scientist parents. When her family moves to the suburbs [More]
Critics Consensus:Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness labors under the weight of the sprawling MCU, but Sam Raimi's distinctive direction casts an entertaining spell.
Synopsis: In Marvel Studios' "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness," the MCU unlocks the Multiverse and pushes its boundaries further [More]
Critics Consensus: Guy Ritchie's directorial style might not be quite the best fit for an update on the legendary detective, but Sherlock Holmes benefits from the elementary appeal of a strong performance by Robert Downey, Jr.
Synopsis: When a string of brutal murders terrorizes London, it doesn't take long for legendary detective Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) [More]
Critics Consensus:Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga contains inspired ingredients and laugh-out-loud moments, but they're outnumbered by the flat stretches in this overlong comedy.
Synopsis: Two small-town singers chase their pop star dreams at a global music competition, where scheming rivals, high stakes and onstage [More]
Critics Consensus:Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is a good yarn thanks to its well-matched leading men but overall stumbles duplicating the well-oiled thrills of the original.
Synopsis: When Austria's crown prince is found dead, evidence seems to point to suicide. However, detective Sherlock Holmes deduces that the [More]
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 [More]
Critics Consensus: It's lifted by affable performances from its impeccable cast, and it's often charming -- but Morning Glory is also inconsistent and derivative.
Synopsis: Newly hired as a producer on a national morning-news program called "Daybreak," Becky Fuller (Rachel McAdams) decides to revitalize the [More]
Critics Consensus: It's hard not to admire its unabashed sentimentality, but The Notebook is too clumsily manipulative to rise above its melodramatic clichés.
Synopsis: In the 1940s South Carolina, mill worker Noah Calhoun (Ryan Gosling) and rich girl Allie (Rachel McAdams) are desperately in [More]
Critics Consensus: This family holiday dramedy features fine performances but awkward shifts of tone.
Synopsis: Everett Stone (Dermot Mulroney) wants to bring his girlfriend, Meredith Morton (Sarah Jessica Parker), to meet his bohemian Connecticut family [More]
Critics Consensus:To the Wonder demonstrates Terrence Malick's gift for beautiful images, but its narrative is overly somber and emotionally unsatisfying.
Synopsis: A man (Ben Affleck) reconnects with a childhood sweetheart (Rachel McAdams) after problems arise in his relationship with the Frenchwoman [More]
Critics Consensus: Though it may satisfy fans of the novel, The Time Traveler's Wife's plot contrivances and illogical narrative hamper its big screen effectiveness.
Synopsis: Chicago librarian Henry De Tamble (Eric Bana) suffers from a rare genetic disorder that causes him to drift uncontrollably back [More]
Critics Consensus: For better as well as worse, Passion is vintage De Palma sexploitation -- although with a storyline sillier than most, it fails to generate as much heat as his steamiest work.
Synopsis: A power struggle between two advertising executives (Rachel McAdams, Noomi Rapace) escalates after one steals the other's idea for a [More]
Critics Consensus: Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams do their best with what they're given, but The Vow is too shallow and familiar to satisfy the discriminating date-night filmgoer.
Synopsis: Paige and Leo are happily married newlyweds, but their idyllic life together suddenly shatters when a car accident leaves her [More]
Critics Consensus:Every Thing Will Be Fine finds director Wim Wenders in not so fine form, delivering a film of moral quandary that never leaps off the screen despite its 3-D stylization.
Synopsis: After he causes a car accident, Tomas (James Franco) spends the next 12 years examining the effects of the tragedy [More]
Critics Consensus: Meandering and insubstantial, Aloha finds writer-director Cameron Crowe at his most sentimental and least compelling.
Synopsis: While on assignment in Oahu, Hawaii, military contractor Brian Gilcrest (Bradley Cooper) reconnects with his old flame Tracy Woodside (Rachel [More]
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