Cillian Murphy is one of the most consistently interesting actors of the 21st century, remaining one of the tentpoles of the biggest science-fiction films of the last 20 years, but how do his films from the genre rank from worst to best? Murphy is known to modern audiences as a signature villain in Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy and as the gangster Tommy Shelby on the BBC drama Peaky BlindersHowever, his career has largely been defined by his participation in some of the century's signature sci-fi works.

Murphy had been a notable actor on stage and screen before his breakthrough performance in 28 Days Laterbut it was that 2002 film that skyrocketed him into the public consciousness. Not long after, Nolan tapped him to play the corrupt Dr. Jonathan Crane, aka the fear gas-wielding Scarecrow, in Batman Begins, and those back-to-back roles helped solidify Murphy as a versatile actor capable of playing both slimeballs and characters with intense humanity. That perception has continued to this day, with Peaky Blinders developing a small but mighty fan base and his role in the 2021 release A Quiet Place: Part II helping to anchor one of the year's biggest financial successes.

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Murphy is one of those rare actors that's never really given a bad performance. Genre has never been an obstacle for his pursuit of the truth of all his characters and nowhere has that been more clear than in his sci-fi films. Here they are, ranked from worst to best.

10. In Time (2011)

In the wake of Christopher Nolan's sci-fi epic Inceptionit felt like everyone wanted to get in on the whole high-concept sci-fi movie genre. One of the weaker casualties of that trend is this film, which casts Justin Timberlake as a man living in a society where time is currency and people stop aging at 25. Each human is equipped with a clock that begins counting down from that milestone, killing its owner when the count hits zero. It's an intriguing premise, and Cillian Murphy does what he can with the role of a villainous Timekeeper, but so much of the film never transcends the typical action formula. There's a lot of talent on hand, including future Twin Peaks star Amanda Seyfried, composer Craig Armstrong and cinematographer Roger Deakins, but the film's attempts at critiquing a capitalistic society where money is time and time is life are constantly butting up a sexy slick style that consistently fetishizes the culture it's attempting to subvert. The film's futuristic Robin Hood vibe is interesting, but lackluster execution makes it ring hollow.

9. Transcendence (2014)

Wally Pfister, cinematographer of The Dark Knight and Inception, tried his hand at directing with this 2014 sci-fi film about a genius (played by Johnny Depp) whose consciousness is uploaded to the Internet. As would be expected from Pfister's prior work, it's a good-looking movie, but its intellectual depth is fairly shallow; once the upload has happened, it's immediately clear that this can only end badly and that Computer-Depp must be stopped. Cut to a seemingly endless succession of scenes of Kata Mara, WandaVision's Paul Bettany, Morgan Freeman, and Cillian Murphy trying to do just that, action which is rendered as a bunch of overqualified actors acting opposite a computer screen. Murphy does as well as anyone else here, but these characters are mostly thinly-drawn constructs made to parrot a lot of technological mumbo-jumbo, and a final showdown sees any attempt at complexity eschewed for a by-the-book, shoot-em-up finale.

8. A Quiet Place: Part II (2021)

Cillian Murphy as Emmett in A Quiet Place 2.

After a barnstorming opening that shows Krasinski’s work on A Quiet Place wasn’t a fluke, this immediate sequel settles into pretty much the same vibe as the first, minus a lot of the novelty and with a bit more action. This is still a feature-length version of the raptor scene from Jurassic Park, albeit well-executed, and the frustrating patriarchal vibe from the first is maintained. Emily Blunt, who ended the first film cocking a gun ready to take on the incoming horde of alien monsters, is annoyingly stripped of leadership status early on in this film, with Krasinski's deceased father figure replaced right away by new alpha-male Cillian Murphy. However disappointing it may be to see Blunt shunted off for so much of the running time, Murphy is a welcome addition to the story, and when Millicent Simmonds eventually gets to forge her own path, this highly anticipated sequel packs in plenty of good old-fashioned popcorn entertainment.

Related: John Krasinski Pulls Off a Miracle With Cillian Murphy In Quiet Place 2

7. Tron: Legacy (2010)

Eleven years on, Tron: Legacy is arguably one of the most fascinating artifacts in the modern Disney library. Sure, Cillian Murphy only appears for less than five minutes as a scenester tech bro, but it's worth including as a little victory lap post-Inception and as both a bellwether for where Disney was headed and a stark contrast to its current, samey offerings. Legacy is one of the most aesthetically distinct Disney films of the last 20 years, its sleek, glassy look and pulsing Daft Punk soundtrack making it a remarkably cohesive visual feast. It's undeniably a sensory onslaught, and its impetus to celebrate individuality while creating a film that is also inherently nostalgic would become an unfortunate trend for the studio in the years to come. Tron's legacy may be the homogenization of mainstream cinema, but it still stands apart as its own unique, thoroughly entertaining entity.

6. The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

The Dark Knight Rises Scarecrow

Despite ranking below its predecessors, The Dark Knight Rises features Cillian Murphy in his third stint at the villainous Dr. Jonathan Crane. Murphy is the only actor to play his villain in all three of the Christopher Nolan Batman movies, and while his role here is brief, he has a fun few scenes here presiding over a kangaroo court bent on executing Gotham's elite. There's a perception that this third and final entry in the Nolan Dark Knight trilogy isn't good at all, but that couldn't be more incorrect. It's undoubtedly ranked below its two predecessors, and its sprawling, jumping-through-time narrative sees Nolan at his most convoluted and fan-servicey. However, there's too much ambition on display here to ignore, and by the end of the film's unwieldy running time, the filmmaker has resolved his Batman trilogy with a remarkably satisfying ending. Anne Hathaway won the Oscar this year for the Tom Hooper-directed Les Miserables, but her performance here is arguably better, creating a Catwoman that is as much hers as it is a unique asset to Nolan's take on Gotham.

5. Sunshine (2007)

Cillian Murphy in Sunshine

In 2007, Murphy reunited with 28 Days Later collaborator Danny Boyle and Ex Machina and Annihilation writer Alex Garland for this film. The actor plays Dr. Robert Capa, who realizes the Sun is dying and leads a mission to relight it with a giant nuclear warhead. The entire film is ultimately not as solid as it could be; the journey is more interesting than the destination, and the final act devolves into a slasher film-inspired headscratcher. However, this is still three artists playing to their strengths; Boyle's direction is predictably kinetic, Garland's screenplay is meditative and metaphysical, and Murphy's performance is a compelling portrait of stress and anxiety.

4. The Dark Knight (2008)

If his role in the trilogy's final installment is small, it's even tinier in the grounded The Dark KnightRelegated to a brief cameo at the beginning, Cillian Murphy soon retreats to the shadows, ceding villain responsibilities to the seminal and instantly iconic turn as the Joker from Heath Ledger. Much has been written about The Dark Knight, about how it mashed up Michael Mann and the Caped Crusader and reignited a genre, about how its surprise overwhelming success simultaneously made it a magnificent confluence of popular entertainment and director-driven filmmaking that also put such pressure on studios that no superhero movie has ever really felt this personal again. What's gone relatively unremarked upon is that a lot of its power comes from it being a movie about a superhero trying to stop being a superhero, as Batman strives to turn over savior responsibility to Aaron Eckhart's Harvey Dent. The Joker, of course, has other designs, and his reverse-side-of-the-coin approach to Batman's relationship with Gotham City gives the film much of its heat. Undoubtedly one of the most influential films of the 21st century, The Dark Knight is a game-changer that still has yet to be beaten.

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3. Batman Begins (2005)

The genre-defining success of Christopher Nolan's sequel instantly overshadowed this first entry, but Batman Begins may well be the better film. Drop-kicking the neon-drenched kiddie vibe of the previous two Joel Schumacher entries, Nolan reinvigorates the entire superhero genre by focusing first and foremost on Bruce Wayne's trauma. It helps that he has Christian Bale, who grinds the character's operatic tragedy down to its primal essence, but this entire film is really immaculately cast. Liam Neeson shines in one of his best performances, Gary Oldman begins his journey as the unsung heart of this trilogy as James Gordon, and Michael Caine brings some much-needed compassion as Alfred. Cillian Murphy's turn as Scarecrow is one of the genre's most genuinely frightening. So successful is he that it's even more of a surprise when Nolan reveals the big bad to be Neeson's Ra's Al Ghul. Both performances highlight the truth of all the best Batman villains: that they are dark mirror images of their heroic adversary, figures similarly wronged by society who choose conflicting ways to enact justice.

2. Inception (2010)

Cillian Murphy and Leonardo DiCaprio on a plane in Inception

Nothing about Inception should work. It's aggressively over-complicated, featuring a screenplay that is convoluted at the best of times. The fact that it not only does succeed but transcends its nerdy design into pure popcorn entertainment has as much to do with Nolan's stellar execution as it does Cillian Murphy's performance. Leonardo DiCaprio may be leading the charge on the dream and thought stealing at the film's center, but the operation is entirely focused on changing the mind of Murphy's character, a remarkably soulless one-percenter. Murphy gives this potentially black-and-white creep a genuine sense of humanity, and his final scene with the late great Pete Postlethwaite gives the famously cold filmmaker's magnum opus a true emotional climax. With his signature talents, Murphy makes a massive impact on one of the best science-fiction films of the 21st century.

1. 28 Days Later (2002)

Jim walks around a deserted London in 28 Days Later

Two things changed forever with the release of 28 Days Later. The zombie genre was released from the pattern that had been monopolized by George Romero in the '60s and '70s, and audiences were introduced to the singular talents of one Cillian Murphy. His lauded breakthrough performance as Jim, a bike messenger who wakes up and realizes London has been abandoned, is a remarkably grounding force for this haunting masterpiece. Boyle and writer Alex Garland introduced the concept of running zombies here, and the creatures haven't stopped since. What's perhaps more surprising than all of the various game-changing aspects of this watershed film is how, nearly 20 years later, it remains one of the best horror films of the century.

Next: Cillian Murphy's Horror Movies Ranked (Including Quiet Place 2)