50 Disaster Movies, Ranked by Tomatometer

(Photo by Jasin Boland/©Warner Bros./Courtesy Everett Collection. SAN ANDREAS.)


San Andreas hits 10 years!


Combining spectacle with human drama, disaster movies are some of the largest, most epic canvases filmmakers can work on. And now we’re ranking some of the best and worst disaster movies, from Certified Fresh to Fresh to Rotten movies, all ranging from earthquakes (San Andreas), asteroids (Deep Impact), tsunamis (The Impossible), airplanes (Airport), fires (The Towering Inferno), boats (Titanic), and just about everything mother nature can throw at us (2012).

And now, the latest weather report: Twisters has gone Certified Fresh, just as we’ve re-visited the the 1996 original’s disaster zone and added as many new reviews as we could. Hit F5 on the Twister movie page and you’ll encounter over 70 reviews added recently!

So put on a helmet, wear a lifejacket, and hunker down in your fallout shelter as brace for the disaster movies ranked!

#1

Titanic (1997)
Tomatometer icon 88% Popcornmeter icon 69%

#1
Critics Consensus: A mostly unqualified triumph for James Cameron, who offers a dizzying blend of spectacular visuals and old-fashioned melodrama.
Synopsis: Two young lovers from different backgrounds meet and fall in love on the ill-fated maiden voyage of the unsinkable R.M.S. [More]
Directed By: James Cameron

#2

Contagion (2011)
Tomatometer icon 85% Popcornmeter icon 63%

#2
Critics Consensus: Tense, tightly plotted, and bolstered by a stellar cast, Contagion is an exceptionally smart -- and scary -- disaster movie.
Synopsis: When Beth Emhoff returns to Minnesota from a Hong Kong business trip, she attributes the malaise she feels to jet [More]
Directed By: Steven Soderbergh

#3

The Wave (2015)
Tomatometer icon 83% Popcornmeter icon 65%

#3
Critics Consensus: Well-acted and blessed with a refreshingly humanistic focus, The Wave is a disaster film that makes uncommonly smart use of disaster film clichés.
Synopsis: A Norwegian geologist (Kristoffer Joner) and his family (Ane Dahl Torp, Jonas Hoff Oftebro) fight for survival when a massive [More]
Directed By: Roar Uthaug

#4

Deepwater Horizon (2016)
Tomatometer icon 82% Popcornmeter icon 82%

#4
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 [More]
Directed By: Peter Berg

#5

The Impossible (2012)
Tomatometer icon 81% Popcornmeter icon 84%

#5
Critics Consensus: The screenplay isn't quite as powerful as the direction or the acting, but with such an astonishing real-life story at its center, The Impossible is never less than compelling.
Synopsis: A couple and their three sons encounter terror, courage and compassion following the December 2004 tsunami that devastated Thailand. [More]
Directed By: J. A. Bayona

#6

Black Sea (2014)
Tomatometer icon 81% Popcornmeter icon 58%

#6
Critics Consensus: Black Sea may not be particularly deep, but thanks to Kevin Macdonald's judicious direction and a magnetic performance from Jude Law, it remains an efficiently well-crafted thriller.
Synopsis: Soon after losing his salvage job, former naval officer Robinson (Jude Law) assembles a misfit crew of unemployed sailors for [More]
Directed By: Kevin Macdonald

#7

Greenland (2020)
Tomatometer icon 77% Popcornmeter icon 63%

#7
Critics Consensus: Beware, comets of Greenland: Gerard Butler is here to protect Earth -- and show audiences an improbably entertaining time.
Synopsis: John Garrity, his estranged wife and their young son embark on a perilous journey to find sanctuary as a planet-killing [More]
Directed By: Ric Roman Waugh

#8

Twisters (2024)
Tomatometer icon 75% Popcornmeter icon 90%

#8
Critics Consensus: Summoning a storm of spectacle and carried along by the gale force winds of Glen Powell's charisma, Twisters' forecast is splendid with a high chance of thrills.
Synopsis: Daisy Edgar-Jones stars as Kate Cooper, a former storm chaser haunted by a devastating encounter with a tornado during her [More]
Directed By: Lee Isaac Chung

#9

A Night to Remember (1958)
Tomatometer icon 100% Popcornmeter icon 91%

#9
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: The sinking of the Titanic is presented in a highly realistic fashion in this tense British drama. The disaster is [More]
Directed By: Roy Ward Baker

#10

Threads (1984)
Tomatometer icon 100% Popcornmeter icon 91%

#10
Critics Consensus: An urgent warning against nuclear conflict, Threads is a chilling hypothetical that achieves visceral horror with its matter-of-fact presentation of an apocalypse.
Synopsis: Young lovers Ruth (Karen Meagher) and Jimmy (Reece Dinsdale) decide to get married after Ruth unexpectedly gets pregnant. But their [More]
Directed By: Mick Jackson

#11

The Day After (1983)
Tomatometer icon 86% Popcornmeter icon 69%

#11
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: In the mid-1980s, the U.S. is poised on the brink of nuclear war. This shadow looms over the residents of [More]
Directed By: Nicholas Meyer

#12

The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
Tomatometer icon 81% Popcornmeter icon 76%

#12
Critics Consensus: The Poseidon Adventure exemplifies the disaster film done right, going down smoothly with ratcheting tension and a terrific ensemble to give the peril a distressingly human dimension.
Synopsis: En route from New York City to Greece on New Year's Eve, majestic passenger ship the S.S. Poseidon is overtaken [More]
Directed By: Ronald Neame, Irwin Allen

#13

Sharknado (2013)
Tomatometer icon 77% Popcornmeter icon 35%

#13
Critics Consensus: Proudly, shamelessly, and gloriously brainless, Sharknado redefines "so bad it's good" for a new generation.
Synopsis: A monstrous storm devastates Los Angeles, leaving the streets flooded and infested with sharks. [More]
Directed By: Anthony C. Ferrante

#14

Airport (1970)
Tomatometer icon 72% Popcornmeter icon 54%

#14
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: In this large-ensemble disaster movie, Mel Bakersfeld (Burt Lancaster), the general manager of a Chicago-area airport, must contend with a [More]
Directed By: George Seaton

#15

The Burning Sea (2021)
Tomatometer icon 71% Popcornmeter icon 45%

#15
Critics Consensus: The Burning Sea falls back on disaster movie formula, but the end results are gripping enough to satisfy.
Synopsis: In 1969, the Norwegian government announces their discovery of one of the world's largest oil fields in the neighboring North [More]
Directed By: John Andreas Andersen

#16

Snakes on a Plane (2006)
Tomatometer icon 69% Popcornmeter icon 49%

#16
Critics Consensus: Snakes on a Plane lives up to its title, featuring snakes on a plane. It isn't perfect, but then again, it doesn't need to be.
Synopsis: FBI agent Nelville Flynn (Samuel L. Jackson) boards a flight from Hawaii to Los Angeles, escorting a witness to trial. [More]
Directed By: David R. Ellis

#17

The Towering Inferno (1974)
Tomatometer icon 69% Popcornmeter icon 72%

#17
Critics Consensus: Although it is not consistently engaging enough to fully justify its towering runtime, The Towering Inferno is a blustery spectacle that executes its disaster premise with flair.
Synopsis: Classic 1970s disaster movie about a fire that breaks out in a state-of-the-art San Francisco high-rise building during the opening [More]

#18

Twister (1996)
Tomatometer icon 68% Popcornmeter icon 59%

#18
Critics Consensus: A high-concept blockbuster that emphasizes special effects over three-dimensional characters, Twister's visceral thrills are often offset by the film's generic plot.
Synopsis: During the approach of the most powerful storm in decades, university professor Dr. Jo Harding (Helen Hunt) and an underfunded [More]
Directed By: Jan de Bont

#19

The Last Voyage (1960)
Tomatometer icon 60% Popcornmeter icon 56%

#19
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Cliff (Robert Stack) and Laurie Henderson (Dorothy Malone) are vacationing on an cruise ship with their young daughter when disaster [More]
Directed By: Andrew L. Stone

#20

Outbreak (1995)
Tomatometer icon 60% Popcornmeter icon 56%

#20
Critics Consensus: A frustratingly uneven all-star disaster drama, Outbreak ultimately proves only mildly contagious and leaves few lasting side effects.
Synopsis: A dangerous airborne virus threatens civilization in this tense thriller. After an African monkey carrying a lethal virus is smuggled [More]
Directed By: Wolfgang Petersen

#21

White Squall (1996)
Tomatometer icon 57% Popcornmeter icon 65%

#21
Critics Consensus: Though it gets occasionally bogged down by touchy-feely sentiment, White Squall benefits greatly from Jeff Bridges' assured lead performance and Ridley Scott's visceral, exciting direction.
Synopsis: In 1960, a hardy group of prep school students boards an old-fashioned sailing ship. With Capt. Christopher Sheldon (Jeff Bridges) [More]
Directed By: Ridley Scott

#22

Noah's Ark (1928)
Tomatometer icon 57% Popcornmeter icon 43%

#22
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: The same couple (Dolores Costello, George O'Brien) appear in parallel dramas of the Deluge and World War I. [More]
Directed By: Michael Curtiz

#23

Don't Look Up (2021)
Tomatometer icon 56% Popcornmeter icon 78%

#23
Critics Consensus: Don't Look Up aims too high for its scattershot barbs to consistently land, but Adam McKay's star-studded satire hits its target of collective denial square on.
Synopsis: Kate Dibiasky (Jennifer Lawrence), an astronomy grad student, and her professor Dr. Randall Mindy (Leonardo DiCaprio) make an astounding discovery [More]
Directed By: Adam McKay

#24

Volcano (1997)
Tomatometer icon 48% Popcornmeter icon 32%

#24
Critics Consensus: Volcano's prodigious pyrotechnics and Tommy Lee Jones' crotchety sneers at lava aren't quite enough to save this routine disaster film.
Synopsis: When a massive earthquake rocks the city of Los Angeles, Emergency Management department head Mike Roark (Tommy Lee Jones) returns [More]
Directed By: Mick Jackson

#25

San Andreas (2015)
Tomatometer icon 48% Popcornmeter icon 52%

#25
Critics Consensus: San Andreas has a great cast and outstanding special effects, but amidst all the senses-shattering destruction, the movie's characters and plot prove less than structurally sound.
Synopsis: A seemingly ideal day turns disastrous when California's notorious San Andreas fault triggers a devastating, magnitude 9 earthquake, the largest [More]
Directed By: Brad Peyton

#26

The 33 (2015)
Tomatometer icon 49% Popcornmeter icon 59%

#26
Critics Consensus: The 33 offers an appropriately inspirational account of real-life heroism, but its stirring story and solid performances are undermined by a flawed focus and an overreliance on formula.
Synopsis: Disaster strikes on Aug. 5, 2010, as a copper and gold mine collapses in Chile, trapping 33 men underground. With [More]
Directed By: Patricia Riggen

#27

The Hurricane Heist (2018)
Tomatometer icon 47% Popcornmeter icon 23%

#27
Critics Consensus: The Hurricane Heist is a throwback to the overblown action thrillers of yesteryear -- and a thoroughly middling example of why they don't make 'em like this anymore.
Synopsis: The rural town of New Hope, Ala., has a pair of super-sized problems heading its way: There's a hurricane bearing [More]
Directed By: Rob Cohen

#28

The Perfect Storm (2000)
Tomatometer icon 47% Popcornmeter icon 63%

#28
Critics Consensus: While the special effects are well done and quite impressive, this film suffers from any actual drama or characterization. The end result is a film that offers nifty eye-candy and nothing else.
Synopsis: Based on a true story, the film tells of the courageous men and women who risk their lives every working [More]
Directed By: Wolfgang Petersen

#29

The High and the Mighty (1954)
Tomatometer icon 46% Popcornmeter icon 59%

#29
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: On a flight from Hawaii to California, the engine dies on the plane Dan is flying. As he prepares for [More]
Directed By: William A. Wellman

#30

The Day After Tomorrow (2004)
Tomatometer icon 45% Popcornmeter icon 50%

#30
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 [More]
Directed By: Roland Emmerich

#31

Deep Impact (1998)
Tomatometer icon 45% Popcornmeter icon 43%

#31
Critics Consensus: A tidal wave of melodrama sinks Deep Impact's chance at being the memorable disaster flick it aspires to be.
Synopsis: A comet is hurtling toward Earth and could mean the end of all human life. The U.S. government keeps the [More]
Directed By: Mimi Leder

#32

Earthquake (1974)
Tomatometer icon 44% Popcornmeter icon 36%

#32
Critics Consensus: The destruction of Los Angeles is always a welcome sight, but Earthquake offers little besides big actors slumming through crumbling sets.
Synopsis: When a major earthquake hits Los Angeles, the various residents of the city cope with the chaos and destruction. Successful [More]
Directed By: Mark Robson

#33

Armageddon (1998)
Tomatometer icon 43% Popcornmeter icon 73%

#33
Critics Consensus: Lovely to look at but about as intelligent as the asteroid that serves as the movie's antagonist, Armageddon slickly sums up the cinematic legacies of producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Michael Bay.
Synopsis: When an asteroid threatens to collide with Earth, NASA honcho Dan Truman (Billy Bob Thornton) determines the only way to [More]
Directed By: Michael Bay

#34

Aftershock (2012)
Tomatometer icon 42% Popcornmeter icon 24%

#34
Critics Consensus: Aftershock hints at an inventive twist on horror tropes, but ultimately settles for another round of mind-numbing depravity that may alternately bore and revolt all but the most ardent gore enthusiasts.
Synopsis: Mayhem and death follow when an earthquake traps a group of tourists (Eli Roth, Andrea Osvárt) in a Chilean town. [More]
Directed By: Nicolás López

#35

The Cassandra Crossing (1977)
Tomatometer icon 42% Popcornmeter icon 52%

#35
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Terrorists have planted a deadly virus on a transcontinental train. On board are the glamorous Jennifer Chamberlain (Sophia Loren) and [More]
Directed By: George P. Cosmatos

#36

2012 (2009)
Tomatometer icon 40% Popcornmeter icon 47%

#36
Critics Consensus: Roland Emmerich's 2012 provides plenty of visual thrills, but lacks a strong enough script to support its massive scope and inflated length.
Synopsis: Earth's billions of inhabitants are unaware that the planet has an expiration date. With the warnings of an American scientist [More]
Directed By: Roland Emmerich

#37

The Core (2003)
Tomatometer icon 39% Popcornmeter icon 34%

#37
Critics Consensus: A B-movie with its tongue planted firmly in cheek, The Core is so unintentionally (intentionally?) bad that it's a hoot.
Synopsis: Geophysicist Dr. Josh Keyes (Aaron Eckhart) discovers that an unknown force has caused the earth's inner core to stop rotating. [More]
Directed By: Jon Amiel

#38

Raise the Titanic (1980)
Tomatometer icon 38% Popcornmeter icon 30%

#38
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A U.S. admiral (Jason Robards) and his team (Richard Jordan, David Selby) compete with Russians in an attempt to salvage [More]
Directed By: Jerry Jameson

#39

Hurricane (1979)
Tomatometer icon 38% Popcornmeter icon 39%

#39
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A Navy captain's (Jason Robards) daughter (Mia Farrow) flirts with an ensign and a well-heeled native (Dayton Ka'Ne) in windy [More]
Directed By: Jan Troell

#40

Moonfall (2022)
Tomatometer icon 35% Popcornmeter icon 69%

#40
Critics Consensus: Whether Moonfall is so bad it's good or simply bad will depend on your tolerance for B-movie cheese -- but either way, this is an Emmerich disaster thriller through and through.
Synopsis: In Moonfall, a mysterious force knocks the Moon from its orbit around Earth and sends it hurtling on a collision [More]
Directed By: Roland Emmerich

#41

Hard Rain (1998)
Tomatometer icon 34% Popcornmeter icon 34%

#41
Critics Consensus: Hard Rain is an implausible heist movie soaked in disaster movie trappings.
Synopsis: The small town of Huntingburg is forced to evacuate when torrential rains bring rising flood waters. The local sheriff (Randy [More]
Directed By: Mikael Salomon

#42

Poseidon (2006)
Tomatometer icon 33% Popcornmeter icon 43%

#42
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 [More]
Directed By: Wolfgang Petersen

#43

The Hindenburg (1975)
Tomatometer icon 31% Popcornmeter icon 39%

#43
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Nazi Germany's prized airship is threatened with sabotage, so Col. Franz Ritter (George C. Scott) is charged with its safety. [More]
Directed By: Robert Wise

#44

Dante's Peak (1997)
Tomatometer icon 28% Popcornmeter icon 39%

#44
Critics Consensus: The movie works when things are on fire, but everything else - from dialogue to characters - is scathingly bad.
Synopsis: Volcanologist Harry Dalton (Pierce Brosnan) and Mayor Rachel Wando (Linda Hamilton), finally convince the unbelieving populace that the big one [More]
Directed By: Roger Donaldson

#45

Pompeii (2014)
Tomatometer icon 27% Popcornmeter icon 34%

#45
Critics Consensus: This big-budget sword-and-sandal adventure lacks the energy and storytelling heft to amount to more than a guilty pleasure.
Synopsis: In 79 A.D., Pompeii, a bustling port city, stands in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius. Milo (Kit Harington), a former [More]
Directed By: Paul W.S. Anderson

#46

Daylight (1996)
Tomatometer icon 29% Popcornmeter icon 37%

#46
Critics Consensus: The opening's got a great fiery explosion and Stallone puts in another earnest, sympathetic performance, but all else in Daylight feels designed to annoy the audience into submission.
Synopsis: A group of armed robbers fleeing the police head for the New Jersey Tunnel and run right into trucks transporting [More]
Directed By: Rob Cohen

#47

Into the Storm (2014)
Tomatometer icon 21% Popcornmeter icon 42%

#47
Critics Consensus: Clumsily scripted and populated with forgettable characters, Into the Storm has little to offer beyond its admittedly thrilling special effects.
Synopsis: Professional storm-chasers run toward danger to track a series of deadly tornadoes menacing a town over the course of a [More]
Directed By: Steven Quale

#48

Geostorm (2017)
Tomatometer icon 18% Popcornmeter icon 35%

#48
Critics Consensus: Lacking impressive visuals, well-written characters, or involving drama, Geostorm aims for epic disaster-movie spectacle but ends up simply being a disaster of a movie.
Synopsis: After an unprecedented series of natural disasters threatened the planet, the world's leaders came together to create an intricate network [More]
Directed By: Dean Devlin

#49

The Swarm (1978)
Tomatometer icon 9% Popcornmeter icon 19%

#49
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Scientist Dr. Bradford Crane and army general Thalius Slater join forces to fight an almost invisible enemy threatening America; killer [More]
Directed By: Irwin Allen

#50

Meteor (1979)
Tomatometer icon 5% Popcornmeter icon 14%

#50
Critics Consensus: Meteor is a flimsy flick with too much boring dialogue and not enough destruction. At least the pinball game is decent.
Synopsis: In this disaster movie, Americans and Soviets must put aside their differences to save civilization from a huge meteor bearing [More]
Directed By: Ronald Neame

(Photo by United Artists)

All Sean Connery Movies Ranked

Footballer. Bodybuilder. Navy soldier. Milkman. No, these aren’t the declassified origins of MI6 agent James Bond, but of the actor who would embody him: Sean Connery. An appropriately colorful past for a strappng Scot, Connery saved the best career change for his mid-20s when he turned down a sports contract to pursue theater and acting in the 1950s. Bit parts came quick, leading into 1959 when the very Scottish actor was cast in the very Irish movie, Darby O’Gill and the Little People, which still sticks out in his filmography as one of the rare times Connery has sung on-camera, and his only solo.

Another movie where Connery sings? You know its name: Dr. No, the first James Bond film ever adapted from the espionage books by Ian Fleming, in which Connery has a very brief duet with Ursula Andress. A tremendous financial success back then (and Certified Fresh now), it not only launched the 007 series but a whole international spy genre that would dominate the ’60s, and hang ripe for parody and resurrection for decades to come. Sequels like From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball, and You Only Live Twice came in rapid annual fashion.

After being freed from MI6 service and starting in the ’70s, fans never had to wait long for a new on-screen appearance from Connery, who put out two or three movies a year through the late-’90s. The Man Who Would Be King, Murder on the Orient Express, A Bridge Too Far, and Zardoz were among the most notable (and in the last’s case, peculiar) of the ’70s. And the ’80s would see him in Terry Gilliam’s Time Bandits, 007 swan song Never Say Never Again, action classic Highlander, and The Untouchables – the only time he’s ever been nominated for an acting Oscar.

He closed the decade with fan-favorite Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade as Indy’s dad, and started the ’90s with The Hunt for Red October. He then began to settle more into older statesman and mentor roles – First Knight, Entrapment, Finding Forrester — which probably seemed less appealing as the reviews came in worse and worse. The Avengers was a widely-publicized box office bomb, while The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen became but another embarrassing bullet point on Alan Moore’s list of why he hates Hollywood. But Connery was always a forceful presence, no matter the film he found himself in. The actor retired from acting after League, with only a vocal performance in homegrown Scottish animated movie Sir Billi to tide audiences over in the last 15 years, and in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, we sadly lost Sir Sean Connery at the age of 90.

Now, we celebrate a life in film as we rank all Sean Connery movies by Tomatometer! Alex Vo

#51

Sir Billi (2013)
Tomatometer icon 0%

#51
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Directed By: Sascha Hartmann

#50
Critics Consensus: There should have been only one.
Synopsis: In this sci-fi/fantasy sequel, Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert) has become an elderly man after losing his immortality. Living in a [More]
Directed By: Russell Mulcahy

#49

Meteor (1979)
Tomatometer icon 5%

#49
Critics Consensus: Meteor is a flimsy flick with too much boring dialogue and not enough destruction. At least the pinball game is decent.
Synopsis: In this disaster movie, Americans and Soviets must put aside their differences to save civilization from a huge meteor bearing [More]
Directed By: Ronald Neame

#48

The Avengers (1998)
Tomatometer icon 5%

#48
Critics Consensus: A TV spinoff that lacks enough energy to spin, The Avengers is an ineptly written, woefully miscast disaster.
Synopsis: A charismatic evil genius named Sir August de Wynter (Sean Connery) discovers a way to harness the weather and utilize [More]
Directed By: Jeremiah S. Chechik

#47
#47
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Morgan Leafy (Colin Friels) is a British diplomat living in Kinjanja, an African nation recently freed from British rule. Arthur [More]
Directed By: Bruce Beresford

#46
#46
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A 1930s Scottish doctor (Sean Connery) goes climbing in the Alps with an infatuated niece (Betsy Brantley) he passes off [More]
Directed By: Fred Zinnemann

#45
Critics Consensus: Just ordinary. LXG is a great premise ruined by poor execution.
Synopsis: A team of extraordinary figures culled from great adventure literature (including Alan Quatermain, vampiress Mina Harker from Dracula, the Invisible [More]
Directed By: Stephen Norrington

#44

Medicine Man (1992)
Tomatometer icon 17%

#44
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Brilliant, eccentric research scientist Richard Campbell (Sean Connery), after living for six years in the Amazon jungle, has possibly discovered [More]
Directed By: John McTiernan

#43

Just Cause (1995)
Tomatometer icon 26%

#43
Critics Consensus: Just Cause you round up a phenomenal cast, that doesn't mean you have everything you need for a solid legal thriller -- and this film is forgettable proof.
Synopsis: Paul Armstrong (Sean Connery), a law professor who staunchly fights the death penalty, is lured into defending a death row [More]
Directed By: Arne Glimcher

#42

Wrong Is Right (1982)
Tomatometer icon 27%

#42
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Patrick Hale (Sean Connery) is a slick television journalist with impressive ratings. When Hale travels to the Middle East to [More]
Directed By: Richard Brooks

#41

Rising Sun (1993)
Tomatometer icon 32%

#41
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: When a prostitute is found dead in a Los Angeles skyscraper occupied by a large Japanese corporation, detectives John Conner [More]
Directed By: Philip Kaufman

#40

Family Business (1989)
Tomatometer icon 35%

#40
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Vito (Dustin Hoffman) is the son of Jessie (Sean Connery), a professional criminal who has trained his son in the [More]
Directed By: Sidney Lumet

#39

Entrapment (1999)
Tomatometer icon 40%

#39
Critics Consensus: A poorly developed plot weighs down any potential chemistry between the movie's leads.
Synopsis: Insurance investigator Virginia "Gin" Baker (Catherine Zeta-Jones), looking into a stolen Rembrandt painting, suspects that accomplished thief Robert "Mac" MacDougal [More]
Directed By: Jon Amiel

#38

Shalako (1968)
Tomatometer icon 50%

#38
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: While guiding a hunting party of clueless European aristocrats, cowboy Bosky Fulton (Stephen Boyd) leads them into hostile Apache territory. [More]
Directed By: Edward Dmytryk

#37

First Knight (1995)
Tomatometer icon 45%

#37
Critics Consensus: This unimaginative reimagining of Arthurian legend dispenses with the magic without achieving a convincing realism in the bargain, suffering from fatal miscasting and a lack of romance.
Synopsis: Handsome swordsman Lancelot (Richard Gere) is incredibly skilled at fighting, but when he meets the lovely Guinevere (Julia Ormond), he [More]
Directed By: Jerry Zucker

#36

Cuba (1979)
Tomatometer icon 45%

#36
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Pre-revolutionary Cuba is the setting for this drama about British mercenary Robert Dapes (Sean Connery), who is sent to Havana [More]
Directed By: Richard Lester

#35

Zardoz (1974)
Tomatometer icon 49%

#35
Critics Consensus: Zardoz is ambitious and epic in scope, but its philosophical musings are rendered ineffective by its supreme weirdness and rickety execution.
Synopsis: In the future, Earth is ruled by Eternals, an advanced and secret sect of beings who reign over a savage [More]
Directed By: John Boorman

#34

Dragonheart (1996)
Tomatometer icon 48%

#34
Critics Consensus: Dragonheart gives us medieval action, a splendidly mulleted Dennis Quaid, and Sean Connery as a talking dragon -- and, unfortunately, a story that largely fails to engage.
Synopsis: Disillusioned knight Bowen (Dennis Quaid) befriends Draco (Sean Connery), the last of the dragons, and the two begin scamming village [More]
Directed By: Rob Cohen

#33

The Presidio (1988)
Tomatometer icon 41%

#33
Critics Consensus: The Presidio is too well-cast and competently directed to be truly painful, but action fans have no shortage of more compelling options.
Synopsis: Ex-military policeman Jay Austin (Mark Harmon) is now a San Francisco detective. When his former MP partner is killed at [More]
Directed By: Peter Hyams

#32

Outland (1981)
Tomatometer icon 59%

#32
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Thriller about an honest marshal in a corrupt mining colony on Io, Jupiter's sunless third moon, who is determined to [More]
Directed By: Peter Hyams

#31

Playing by Heart (1998)
Tomatometer icon 62%

#31
Critics Consensus: It's overly talky, but Playing By Heart benefits from witty insights into modern relationships and strong performances from an esteemed cast.
Synopsis: In this tale of how love binds 11 random people from Los Angeles, a married couple (Sean Connery, Gena Rowlands) [More]
Directed By: Willard Carroll

#30
#30
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: John Milius fictionalizes the historical story of President Roosevelt's attempts to deal with the kidnapping of an American citizen by [More]
Directed By: John Milius

#29
#29
Critics Consensus: Diamonds are Forever is a largely derivative affair, but it's still pretty entertaining nonetheless, thanks to great stunts, witty dialogue, and the presence of Sean Connery.
Synopsis: While investigating mysterious activities in the world diamond market, 007 (Sean Connery) discovers that his evil nemesis Blofeld (Charles Gray) [More]
Directed By: Guy Hamilton

#28

A Bridge Too Far (1977)
Tomatometer icon 59%

#28
Critics Consensus: A Bridge Too Far is a war movie too long, although top-notch talent on both sides of the camera keeps the end result consistently watchable.
Synopsis: Late in 1944, the Allies seem to have the upper hand in the European land war. A combined British and [More]
Directed By: Richard Attenborough

#27

The Rock (1996)
Tomatometer icon 68%

#27
Critics Consensus: For visceral thrills, it can't be beat. Just don't expect The Rock to engage your brain.
Synopsis: FBI chemical warfare expert Stanley Goodspeed (Nicolas Cage) is sent on an urgent mission with a former British spy, John [More]
Directed By: Michael Bay

#26
#26
Critics Consensus: While the rehashed story feels rather uninspired and unnecessary, the return of both Sean Connery and a more understated Bond make Never Say Never Again a watchable retread.
Synopsis: An aging James Bond (Sean Connery) makes an uncharacteristic mistake during a routine training mission, leading M (Edward Fox) to [More]
Directed By: Irvin Kershner

#25

Highlander (1986)
Tomatometer icon 69%

#25
Critics Consensus: People hate Highlander because it's cheesy, bombastic, and absurd. And people love it for the same reasons.
Synopsis: When the mystical Russell Nash (Christopher Lambert) kills a man in a sword fight in a New York City parking [More]
Directed By: Russell Mulcahy

#24

The Hill (1965)
Tomatometer icon 75%

#24
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Five British soldiers are sent to a detention camp in the Libyan Desert, including Sergeant Major Roberts (Sean Connery), whose [More]
Directed By: Sidney Lumet

#23

The Offence (1973)
Tomatometer icon 73%

#23
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A veteran British police inspector, Sgt. Johnson (Sean Connery), has grown increasingly disturbed by the rapes and murders he has [More]
Directed By: Sidney Lumet

#22

The Russia House (1990)
Tomatometer icon 70%

#22
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: While visiting Moscow, British publisher Barley Blair (Sean Connery) learns of a manuscript detailing the Soviet Union's nuclear missile capabilities. [More]
Directed By: Fred Schepisi

#21

Robin and Marian (1976)
Tomatometer icon 73%

#21
Critics Consensus: Robin and Marian gives the legendary characters a somber sendoff, finding ample success in the romantic chemistry between Sean Connery and Audrey Hepburn while yielding diminishing returns in its attempts at relevant satire.
Synopsis: Long after their original adventures in Sherwood Forest, Robin Hood (Sean Connery) and his trusty sidekick, Little John (Nicol Williamson), [More]
Directed By: Richard Lester

#20
#20
Critics Consensus: With exotic locales, impressive special effects, and a worthy central villain, You Only Live Twice overcomes a messy and implausible story to deliver another memorable early Bond flick.
Synopsis: During the Cold War, American and Russian spacecrafts go missing, leaving each superpower believing the other is to blame. As [More]
Directed By: Lewis Gilbert

#19

The Anderson Tapes (1971)
Tomatometer icon 75%

#19
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: John Duke Anderson is a burglar (Sean Connery) recently released from prison who returns to his ex-girlfriend (Dyan Cannon) after [More]
Directed By: Sidney Lumet

#18
#18
Critics Consensus: Laboriously paced and overly talky, The Great Train Robbery nevertheless pulls off a thrillingly staged finale anchored by winning performances from Donald Sutherland and Sean Connery.
Synopsis: Edward Pierce (Sean Connery) is a master thief of the Victorian Era who's never found a heist he couldn't pull [More]
Directed By: Michael Crichton

#17
#17
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: In the 14th century, William of Baskerville (Sean Connery), a renowned Franciscan monk, and his apprentice, Adso of Melk (Christian [More]
Directed By: Jean-Jacques Annaud

#16

Finding Forrester (2000)
Tomatometer icon 74%

#16
Critics Consensus: Despite the predictability of its plot and its similarity to Good Will Hunting, Finding Forrester has an honest, solid feel to it and good rapport between Connery and Brown.
Synopsis: A unique relationship develops between an eccentric, reclusive novelist and a young, amazingly gifted scholar-athlete. After the novelist discovers that [More]
Directed By: Gus Van Sant

#15

The Untouchables (1987)
Tomatometer icon 83%

#15
Critics Consensus: Slick on the surface but loaded with artful touches, Brian DePalma's classical gangster thriller is a sharp look at period Chicago crime, featuring excellent performances from a top-notch cast.
Synopsis: After building an empire with bootleg alcohol, legendary crime boss Al Capone (Robert De Niro) rules Chicago with an iron [More]
Directed By: Brian De Palma

#14

Marnie (1964)
Tomatometer icon 80%

#14
Critics Consensus: A coolly constructed mystery revolving around a character who's inscrutable to a fault, Marnie finds Hitchcock luring audiences deeper into the dark.
Synopsis: Mark Rutland (Sean Connery) is a customer of one Mr. Strutt, whose business was robbed by his secretary, the mysterious [More]
Directed By: Alfred Hitchcock

#13

Thunderball (1965)
Tomatometer icon 85%

#13
Critics Consensus: Lavishly rendered set pieces and Sean Connery's enduring charm make Thunderball a big, fun adventure, even if it doesn't quite measure up to the series' previous heights.
Synopsis: Led by one-eyed evil mastermind Emilio Largo (Adolfo Celi), the terrorist group SPECTRE hijacks two warheads from a NATO plane [More]
Directed By: Terence Young

#12

The Longest Day (1962)
Tomatometer icon 83%

#12
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: In 1944, the U.S. Army and Allied forces plan a huge invasion landing in Normandy, France. Despite bad weather, General [More]

#11
Critics Consensus: Lighter and more comedic than its predecessor, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade returns the series to the brisk serial adventure of Raiders, while adding a dynamite double act between Harrison Ford and Sean Connery.
Synopsis: An art collector appeals to Jones to embark on a search for the Holy Grail. He learns that another archaeologist [More]
Directed By: Steven Spielberg

#10
#10
Critics Consensus: Perfectly cast and packed with suspense, The Hunt for Red October is an old-fashioned submarine thriller with plenty of firepower to spare.
Synopsis: Based on the popular Tom Clancy novel, this suspenseful movie tracks Soviet submarine captain Marko Ramius (Sean Connery) as he [More]
Directed By: John McTiernan

#9

The Red Tent (1971)
Tomatometer icon 89%

#9
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: In his apartment in Rome in the 1960s, the elderly and guilt-stricken Gen. Umberto Nobile (Peter Finch) recalls the tragic [More]
Directed By: Mikhail Kalatozov

#8

Time Bandits (1981)
Tomatometer icon 92%

#8
Critics Consensus: Time Bandits is a remarkable time-travel fantasy from Terry Gilliam, who utilizes fantastic set design and homemade special effects to create a vivid, original universe.
Synopsis: Young history buff Kevin (Craig Warnock) can scarcely believe it when six dwarfs emerge from his closet one night. Former [More]
Directed By: Terry Gilliam

#7

The Molly Maguires (1970)
Tomatometer icon 90%

#7
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A Pennsylvania company plants a spy (Richard Harris) among an Irish coal miner's (Sean Connery) secret society of saboteurs. [More]
Directed By: Martin Ritt

#6
Critics Consensus: Murder, intrigue, and a star-studded cast make this stylish production of Murder on the Orient Express one of the best Agatha Christie adaptations to see the silver screen.
Synopsis: Having concluded a case, detective Hercule Poirot (Albert Finney) settles into what he expects will be a relaxing journey home [More]
Directed By: Sidney Lumet

#5
#5
Critics Consensus: The second James Bond film, From Russia with Love is a razor-sharp, briskly-paced Cold War thriller that features several electrifying action scenes.
Synopsis: Agent 007 (Sean Connery) is back in the second installment of the James Bond series, this time battling a secret [More]
Directed By: Terence Young

#4

Dr. No (1962)
Tomatometer icon 95%

#4
Critics Consensus: Featuring plenty of the humor, action, and escapist thrills the series would become known for, Dr. No kicks off the Bond franchise in style.
Synopsis: In the film that launched the James Bond saga, Agent 007 (Sean Connery) battles mysterious Dr. No, a scientific genius [More]
Directed By: Terence Young

#3
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Based on a short story by Rudyard Kipling, this adventure film follows the exploits of Peachy Carnehan (Michael Caine) and [More]
Directed By: John Huston

#2

007: Goldfinger (1964)
Tomatometer icon 99%

#2
Critics Consensus: Goldfinger is where James Bond as we know him comes into focus - it features one of 007's most famous lines ("A martini. Shaken, not stirred.") and a wide range of gadgets that would become the series' trademark.
Synopsis: Special agent 007 (Sean Connery) comes face to face with one of the most notorious villains of all time, and [More]
Directed By: Guy Hamilton

#1
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Just-fired Darby O'Gill (Albert Sharpe) does not want to tell his daughter, Katie (Janet Munro), that his position has been [More]
Directed By: Robert Stevenson

Geostorm: the disaster movie with the disaster to end all disasters, disaster for days, isn’t being screened in advance. Not a good sign! C’mon studios, can’t you see how nice critics are being to The Snowman? Well, if Geostorm somehow receives a particularly Rotten score, it won’t be without company as we’ll see in this week’s gallery of 24 disastrous disaster movies that got less than 50% on the Tomatometer!

Thanks to ComingSoon.net for sharing a press release from the American Film Institute: Sir Sean Connery has been selected by the American Film Institute’s (AFI) Board of Trustees to receive the 34th AFI Life Achievement Award, the highest honor for a career in film, it was announced today by Sir Howard Stringer, chair of the AFI Board of Trustees.

The award will be presented to Connery at a gala tribute in Los Angeles on June 8, 2006.

"Sir Sean Connery is an international film icon," said Stringer. "Though best remembered for creating one of the great film heroes of all time, his talents transcend typecasting, and his body of work not only stands the test of time, but illuminates a career more extraordinary than James Bond himself. Sir Sean is an artist of the highest order, and AFI is honored to present him with its 34th Life Achievement Award."

"In Sir Sean, AFI has found a perfect honoree for its Life Achievement Award," added Bonnie Hammer, President, USA Network and SCI FI Channel. "A celebration of his outstanding work guarantees a tribute as entertaining as it is deserved."

USA Network will broadcast the 34th AFI Life Achievement Award tribute in June 2006. Bob Gazzale, who served as executive producer and writer of AFI’s Tributes to George Lucas, Meryl Streep and Robert De Niro, will continue in these roles.

Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Sean Connery grew up in a two-room flat, working odd jobs from a young age to earn extra money for his family. After three years in the navy he played football (soccer) semi-professionally, but it was his hobby of weightlifting that pushed him into the spotlight. Connery represented Scotland in the Mr. Universe pageant and shortly thereafter began to model. He finally caught the acting bug and entered the theater, touring with "South Pacific."

Connery first hit the big screen in "Lilacs in the Spring," in 1954. He arrived to screens in America with "Tarzan’s Greatest Adventure" and "Darby O’ Gill and the Little People," both in 1959.

With a bit part in the 1962 WWII epic "The Longest Day," he could have been lost amongst the film’s star-studded cast, but of course he wasn’t, and ‘James Bond’ was found. Harry Saltzman may have recognized Connery’s refined disposition, but it was Cubby Broccoli that glanced out the window and noticed this man slinking down a street in London, "like a panther." It was then that he knew he had found Bond. And, though Ian Fleming‘s image of James Bond may not resemble Sean Connery, to the world he soon would be the iconic Bond of the big screen.

Cast as Agent 007 in "Dr. No," Connery inaugurated one of the longest-running series in film history. He starred as Bond in "From Russia with Love," "Goldfinger," "Thunderball," "You Only Live Twice," "Diamonds are Forever" and "Never Say Never Again." His salary from "Diamonds are Forever" went to kick-start the Scottish International Education Trust, which helps many young Scottish students fund their education. The trust also funds a drama chair at Glasgow’s Strathclyde University.

Connery later starred in Alfred Hitchcock‘s "Marnie," as well as in such films as "Woman of Straw," "The Hill," "The Red Tent," "Murder on the Orient Express," "The Wind and the Lion," "The Man Who Would be King," "Robin and Marian," "A Bridge Too Far," "Outland," "Zardoz," "Five Days One Summer," "Meteor," "The Name of the Rose," "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," "The Russia House," "The Hunt for Red October," "Medicine Man," "Rising Sun," "Just Cause," "First Knight" and "The Avengers."

Connery headlined opposite Nicolas Cage in the 1996 summer blockbuster hit "The Rock," and provided the voice and personality for the animated dragon in "Dragonheart." He also led an all-star cast in Miramax’s "Playing by Heart," working alongside Gena Rowlands, Angelina Jolie, Gillian Anderson and Dennis Quaid. Following, Connery produced Twentieth Century Fox’s thriller "Entrapment," in which he starred opposite Catherine Zeta-Jones and then produced and starred in "Finding Forrester" which was directed by Gus Van Sant and co-starred newcomer Rob Brown. Connery next starred in "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen," which was released in July 2003 by Twentieth Century Fox.

In addition to receiving both the Best Supporting Actor Oscar and the Golden Globe Award in 1987 for his performance in "The Untouchables," Connery has received numerous other accolades. They include, among others, the Legion d’Honneur and Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres (the highest honors given in France), and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Best Actor award for "The Name of the Rose" in 1987, as well as the Lifetime Achievement Award — special BAFTA silver mask presented by H.R.H. Princess Anne to a British actor or actress who has made an outstanding contribution to world cinema — presented in 1990.

In 1995 he was presented with the Cecil B. DeMille Award for "outstanding contribution to the entertainment field" given by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association at its annual Golden Globe Awards. In 1997, Connery was honored with a Gala Tribute by the Film Society of Lincoln Center for his lifetime career and, in April 1998, BAFTA honored him with their highest award, The British Academy Fellowship. In 1999, Connery was a Kennedy Center Honors recipient and in 2000 he was appointed a Knight Bachelor in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List. Connery’s proudest moment, and in his mind, his greatest honor to date, came when he received the Freedom of the City of Edinburgh in 1991.

The highest honor given for a career in film, the AFI Life Achievement Award was established by the AFI Board of Trustees on February 26, 1973. It is presented to a single honoree each year based on the following criteria as mandated through a resolution passed by the AFI Board of Trustees:

"The recipient should be one whose talent has in a fundamental way advanced the film art; whose accomplishment has been acknowledged by scholars, critics, professional peers and the general public; and whose work has stood the test of time."

In 1993, the trustees extended the criteria to encompass "individuals with active careers and work of significance yet to be accomplished."

Sir Sean Connery joins an esteemed group of individuals who have been chosen for this distinguished honor since its inception in 1973.

1973 John Ford
1974 James Cagney
1975 Orson Welles
1976 William Wyler
1977 Bette Davis
1978 Henry Fonda
1979 Alfred Hitchcock
1980 James Stewart
1981 Fred Astaire
1982 Frank Capra
1983 John Huston
1984 Lillian Gish
1985 Gene Kelly
1986 Billy Wilder
1987 Barbara Stanwyck
1988 Jack Lemmon
1989 Gregory Peck
1990 Sir David Lean
1991 Kirk Douglas
1992 Sidney Poitier
1993 Elizabeth Taylor
1994 Jack Nicholson
1995 Steven Spielberg
1996 Clint Eastwood
1997 Martin Scorsese
1998 Robert Wise
1999 Dustin Hoffman
2000 Harrison Ford
2001 Barbra Streisand
2002 Tom Hanks
2003 Robert De Niro
2004 Meryl Streep
2005 George Lucas