Christian Bale’s 10 Best Action Movies, Ranked

Christian Bale‘s best action movies see the actor bringing his trademark committed performances to exciting adventures. Bale’s movie career began when he was a child actor, including his lead role in Steven Spielberg’s Empire of the Sun. It was decades later that Bale reinvented himself as an adult actor with some truly challenging roles.

Though he is still most fondly remembered for his portrayal as Batman in the Dark Knight trilogy, he is an actor who seems dedicated to switching things up. Bale’s best movies cover a wide variety of genres. While he has gotten plenty of acclaim for prestige dramas, he has delivered some hugely enjoyable action movies as well.

10

Terminator Salvation (2009)

As John Connor

Christian Bale might not have seemed like the most likely actor to join the Terminator franchise, but Terminator Salvation was trying something new with the long-running movie series. Set in the aftermath of Judgment Day, Terminator Salvation stars Bale as John Connor, who strikes an uneasy alliance with a human-Terminator hybrid (Sam Worthington).

Without Arnold Schwarzenegger to lean on, the fourth Terminator movie did need a new approach, and this post-apocalyptic world feels like it could have worked. Unfortunately, the story is a mess with the sense of reshoots and studio meddling all over the project. Terminator Salvation‘s original dark ending proves how different the movie was meant to be.

There are some nice action moments, making great use of the wartorn remains of the world. However, even in that respect, the movie falls far behind its predecessors. Bale’s performance is also lacking his typical energy, without much of a character to grab onto.

9

Shaft (2000)

As Walter Wade Jr.

Shaft

Release Date

June 15, 2000

Runtime

99 minutes

Director

John Singleton

Writers

Richard Price, Shane Salerno, John Singleton

Christian Bale may have played one of the most iconic heroes in pop culture history, but he is also pretty fun as a villain. Shaft brings the famed cop character made popular by Richard Roundtree to the big screen again, this time with Samuel L. Jackson in the lead role. The actor fits perfectly into the hard-edged, super-cool hero role.

Bale plays a vile racist and murderer who teams with a drug dealer to take out a witness who could put him behind bars. John Shaft is out to protect the witness, even if that means operating outside of the law. Bale fully embraces the ugliness of the character, giving an entertaining and loathsome performance.

Along with Bale, it is the performances that give this movie life, taking it beyond a fairly standard cop action thriller. Jackson is great in the lead role, while Jeffrey Wright steals the show as the movie’s other main villain. Beyond that, a few shootouts and fights make it a serviceable action movie that’s a little light on the action.

8

Harsh Times (2005)

As Jim Davis

Harsh Times

Release Date

May 5, 2005

Runtime

116 Minutes

David Ayer directed his first movie with Harsh Times, a crime thriller that shares a lot of similarities with some of his other projects, like Training Day. Christian Bale stars as Jim, a former soldier with PTSD who accompanies his best friend, Mike (Freddy Rodríguez), on a violent odyssey around South Central Los Angeles.

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Ayer fills the movie with that gritty and brutal vibe he excels at. There is a tension throughout the film that mayhem will break out at any moment, and often does. However, the movie jumping from one intense confrontation to the next doesn’t ultimately build to much.

Bale is the real reason to watch the movie, as he gives a fiery and complex performance as this troubled man of violence. It is his character who is responsible for much of the tension, as he explodes without warning.

7

Thor: Love And Thunder (2022)

As Gorr The God Butcher

After playing one of DC’s most famous characters, Christian Bale surprised fans by stepping into the MCU, this time playing a villain in a superhero movie. Thor: Love and Thunder sees Thor (Chris Hemsworth) reuniting with his old girlfriend, Jane (Natalie Portman), while taking on the powerful God Butcher known as Gorr (Bale).

Love and Thunder had Taika Waititi returning for the God of Thunder’s fourth solo adventure. Though his comedic approach helped turn the franchise around in Thor: Ragnarok, it felt more forced in the sequel. Many jokes fell flat, and the movie didn’t seem to be taking itself seriously for the most part.

However, the questionable humor has caused Love and Thunder to be viewed as worse than it actually is. There are some genuine emotional moments in the relationship between Jane and Thor, and Bale seems to be having a lot of fun with his over-the-top character. Though Waititi is not a great action director, he brings interesting visuals to the sequences.

6

Reign Of Fire (2002)

As Quinn Abercromby

Fantasy was blended with a post-apocalyptic adventure in the underrated Reign of Fire. The movie imagines a reality in which dragons were real and sleeping dormant under the earth, only to be awakened in the 21st century and commence taking over the world. It is an outlandish premise that the audience simply has to accept.

Christian Bale gets to play the more mild-mannered hero, the leader of a band of survivors who partners with a wild military man, played by Matthew McConaughey, to take down the fantastical beasts. Bale is solid in the role, but McConaughey takes over with his more theatrical character.

Part of the problem with Reign of Fire is that its premise is so ridiculous, yet the movie strikes a surprisingly serious tone throughout. Had it embraced the fun a little more, it could have really worked. However, as it stands, it is an entertaining time, featuring a standout action sequence in which soldiers HALO jump to battle dragons.

5

Equilibrium (2002)

As John Preston

Equilibrium

Release Date

December 6, 2002

Runtime

107 minutes

Equilibrium is the first real action movie lead role for Christian Bale, and it is sadly underseen. The sci-fi actioner is set in the future in which human emotion has been outlawed. Bale stars as a lawman who polices this policy, destroying art that may incite an emotional reaction, only to begin having an emotional awakening himself.

The dystopian sci-fi idea is a solid one, and the futuristic world is built with surprising effectiveness, considering Equilibrium was a fairly modest production. Even more impressive, Equilibrium reinvented gunplay decades before John Wick, making for some unique and energetic action sequences.

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Bale is essential to the movie’s success as his performance perfectly sells the journey of his character, John Preston. He begins as an emotionally numb soldier, only for that stone-faced persona to gradually crack and fade away.

4

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

As Bruce Wayne / Batman

Christopher Nolan got to close out his Dark Knight trilogy in epic fashion with The Dark Knight Rises. Christian Bale returns as the Caped Crusader for the third time, playing him as an older hero who must return after years in hiding when the villainous Bane comes for Gotham.

The Dark Knight Rises is certainly the biggest of the trilogy, and that is part of the problem. The scope is almost too big, with Bane’s plot to hold hostage and cut off from the rest of the world not really feeling like something from a Batman movie. On the other hand, the scale leads to some epic action.

Nolan delivers perhaps his most impressive set piece in the movie’s opening sequence with a thrilling midair plane escape. The first fight between Batman and Bane is also appropriately brutal. It is true that there are many gaps in logic and plot holes to ignore, but the result is still a thrilling blockbuster and satisfying conclusion.

3

Batman Begins (2005)

As Bruce Wayne / Batman

Batman Begins

9/10

Release Date

June 15, 2005

Runtime

140 minutes

By the start of the 21st century, the Batman movie franchise was in dire need of a change. Trying to get away from the campy approach of the much-maligned Batman and Robin, Christopher Nolan was brought in to reboot things with a gritty origin story that got back to the roots of the character.

Nolan succeeded in this task, and a big part of the reason why was that he found the ideal Bruce Wayne/Batman in Christian Bale. The actor brings a dark intensity to the role that makes it seem like he could terrify the villains of Gotham City. Nolan builds a grounded yet thrilling world for this Batman to make his own.

Nolan improved as an action director over the course of the Batman movies, and the fight sequences in Batman Begins are a bit overdone with the editing. However, it is still a hugely entertaining superhero ride that redefines Batman and helped turn Bale into a true movie star.

2

3:10 To Yuma (2007)

As Dan Evans

3:10 to Yuma

Release Date

September 6, 2007

Runtime

122 minutes

Christian Bale stepped into the Western genre in a stylish and entertaining action ride. 3:10 to Yuma stars Bale as a family man and farmer who is pushed to desperation, taking a job escorting a famed outlaw (Russell Crowe) to a prison train while his gang of fellow killers seeks to free him.

Director James Mongold directs the Western with a slickness and style that harkens back to the genre’s classic adventure movies while also having a contemporary feel. Crowe and Bale make for a compelling on-screen team, two men with opposing worldviews, yet find a surprising respect for one another.

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Mangold keeps a fast pace for the adventure from beginning to end. The climactic sequence is a pulse-pounding ride that may not end the way audiences had thought. It stands as a great mix of action and adventure, making for one of the best Western movies of the 21st century.

1

The Dark Knight (2008)

As Bruce Wayne / Batman

While Christopher Nolan proved he could handle the big tentpole movies with Batman Begins, The Dark Knight proved that he could elevate those kinds of movies. Christian Bale is back as Batman, facing off with Joker (Heath Ledger), who is determined to push the hero to the point of breaking his “one rule.”

Nolan uses this Batman story to make his own grand crime epic in the vein of Michael Mann’s Heat. Everything is bigger about this movie, including the villain. Ledger’s performance is rightly the most talked-about aspect of The Dark Knight, but its ambitious storytelling and propulsive pace make for one of the best superhero movies ever.

In just one movie, Nolan elevated his action directing skills, delivering amazing set pieces, including the thrilling opening heist and the show-stopping car chase. Nolan mixes these moments with emotion, high stakes, and a profound examination of Batman as a hero.