If you ask someone to name the greatest film actors of all time, Robert De Niro would be on that list almost unquestionably. The list of classics he has appeared at the front and center of is truly astonishing, and his inimitable ability to drop a mesmerizing performance at the drop of a hat will always be a quality admired by all actors.
For some reason, he has also involved himself into some... um... not quite as iconic stuff. We’ve used IMDb to rank the five best films he has ever been in, as well as the five worst.
WORST: The Bridge Of San Luis Rey (5.1)
According to IMDb, the fifth-worst film from the career of Robert De Niro is one very few people have heard of. Despite bagging Robert De Niro, Kathy Bates, F Murray Abraham and Harvey Keitel in various roles, the Mary McGuckian film just didn’t hit the mark.
Everything from the pacing of the film to the actual storyline itself was panned pretty much universally upon release. Not De Niro’s finest hour.
BEST: Taxi Driver (8.3)
One of De Niro’s earliest collaborations with genius filmmaker Martin Scorsese is one of the many films on this list considered to be up there with the greatest works of cinema in film history.
De Niro stars as Travis Bickle as he descends into madness under the weight of planning an assassination on both a pimp and a presidential candidate at the same time. His ability to craft insanity, innocence, and malice into the same character is a true testament to De Niro’s ability.
WORST: Godsend (4.8)
2004 can’t have been a good year for De Niro. Godsend was released just a few months before The Bridge Of San Luis Rey, and achieved almost identical results both at the box office and among critics.
Despite De Niro putting in the standout performance, the overarching issue of almost nothing that happens in the film being at all realistic makes for a rather dreadful watch.
BEST: Once Upon A Time In America (8.4)
The film that inspired the title of the most recent Quentin Tarantino film is a Hollywood classic that clocks in at a staggering four hours and ten minutes in its full form. It’s another crime drama, allowing De Niro one of the roles he is most comfortable at excelling with, but in this instance he excels to another level.
He plays Noodles in both his mid-20s and mid-60s to an incredibly high standard, without even having been the first choice for the role. An impressive feat that I’m sure director Sergio Leone would agree was a wise choice.
WORST: Freelancers (4.6)
Coming up with just about the most boring title possible for a film that advertises itself as an action film probably wasn’t the best start for Freelancers.
The trio of lead roles is an interesting one to say the least, as it puts the Hollywood royalty of Robert De Niro and Forrest Whittaker against controversial rapper 50 Cent. One of the issues with the film is that 50 Cent can’t really act. It’s also boring, cliched and unnecessary.
BEST: Joker (8.5)
For a film as new as Joker to achieve an 8.5 average is a truly impressive feat. It might have been a divisive one that led to a few people deciding they’d never engage with the franchise again, but in general, it was seen as a great way to get to know Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker.
De Niro brought Murray Franklin to life. His initial introduction as a talk show host might seem a little distant from what we’d normally expect from De Niro, but his impact on the degradation of Arthur Fleck into the Joker is pretty on the nose.
WORST: The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle (4.1)
Now, if you’ve seen De Niro put in one of his world-beating performances in Godfather II or Goodfellas, the one thing this intense, hard-headed and brutal man could never do is play a major part in a half-animated kids film. Right?
Well, not exactly. The 2000 film The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle somehow got De Niro to play Fearless Leader in this dreadful attempt to revive the series.
BEST: Goodfellas (8.7)
A fair few years after his appearance in The Godfather Part II, De Niro returned to a life of crime, this time in what might well be Martin Scorsese’s best film ever: Goodfellas. De Niro stars as James Conway, a truck hijacker and gangster, alongside the likes of Ray Liotta and Joe Pesci.
As everyone knows, the film was a huge critical and commercial success, raking in overwhelmingly positive reviews of everything from the acting to the storyline, and receiving an incredible six Academy Award nominations.
WORST: Sam’s Song (3.4)
For any film to achieve a 3.4 on IMDb is an impressive feat. For it to be a film that stars Robert De Niro is even more impressive. In fairness, it did come out in 1969, before both of De Niro’s breakout roles, but still. It’s just boring.
He stars as a political filmmaker (yawn) who ends up in Long Island amongst a group of rich yet shallow individuals. We never realized De Niro was capable of a poor performance, but here’s the proof.
BEST: The Godfather: Part II (9.0)
In a move completely impossible to predict incorrectly, The Godfather Part II sits at the top of this list, scoring an incredibly impressive 9.0 average even after thousands upon thousands of reviews.
De Niro plays the young version of Vito Corleone in the Francis Ford Coppola classic, and proves exactly why he is both considered one of the greatest film actors in history, as well as why this sequel is one of the best films ever made.