Born in Wales in 1974, Christian Bale is one of the British actors who have become internationally known. Bale started his professional acting career in the late 1980s and appeared in over 50 movies and TV movies since then. Christian Bale's best-rated movies are a good option for anyone who wants to see more of the talented actor's work.
Bale has been nominated for multiple awards and won an Oscar for the best supporting role in the 2010 movie Fighter. He remains one of the most diverse actors in current Hollywood and gives a strong performance regardless of which genre he appears in. Despite the variability of his work, Christian Bale's fans made it clear which of his movies they consider the best based on their ratings.
5 Ford V Ferrari (2019)
Some of the best drama movies draw inspiration from real events. In Ford v Ferrari, the focus lies on Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) who stops racing and becomes a constructor after the doctors find out he has a heart condition. One of the members of the team Shelby works with is the excellent British champion but also an arrogant man, Ken Miles (Bale). Henry Ford II hires them to design and build the perfect race car for him. The movie is accessible even to those viewers who have never watched a single race before. Its story is intelligent and surprising, making for a compelling watch regardless of how many details the audience knows about the sport or the people the movie portrays.
Christian Bale proves yet again that he has a wide acting range, and even though his Miles isn't always sympathetic, he's fun to watch. The tension is even higher in the movie not just because of the conflict between the characters but also because car racing is a dangerous sport and no one knows who could get hurt next. Before the leading parts went to Matt Damon and Christian Bale, Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt were considered for the parts. Alternatively, the role of Miles could have gone to Jim Caviezel. Ford v Ferrari was nominated for four Oscars and won two of them.
4 Batman Begins (2005)
No matter how many diverse roles Christian Bale has done since 2005, superhero fans continue to remember him best for his part as Batman in the Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy. In the first movie, Batman takes on the frightening Scarecrow who has the ability to spread fear. Just like the subsequent movies, Batman Begins offers intriguing action scenes, a well-portrayed villain (by Cillian Murphy), and a strong atmosphere of Gotham City.
It also offered funny moments but not as many as other superhero movies, which fits Batman Begins' overall aesthetic well. Christian Bale mastered the American accent in the movie so well that many viewers had no idea he was British if they weren't familiar with his previous work. An interesting bit of trivia is that before the role of Batman went to Bale, Cillian Murphy, who was later cast as Scarecrow, auditioned for it. Another contender for the role was Henry Cavill, who portrayed Superman in the DCEU years later.
3 The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Not every movie trilogy can say it retained a high quality in all three movies. The Batman trilogy by Christopher Nolan managed it. While the first movie focused on fear and the second one on chaos, the third one brings in pain represented by the brutal Bane (Tom Hardy). Bane is so strong that he even breaks Batman, and it's up to Batman to find his lost strength. The movie works with other well-known comic book characters, most notably Catwoman, portrayed by Anne Hathaway.
It keeps a fast pace and offers more than one thought-out action sequence. Its ending is one of the more ambiguous ones but still manages to sufficiently close the series, much to the delight of the audience who were hoping that Batman would get a clear ending in the trilogy. It was the last time Christian Bale would play Batman, as he stated, but thanks to his performance in the entire trilogy, Bale's Batman continues to be one of the more popular movie versions of the iconic superhero.
2 The Prestige (2006)
Christian Bale has worked with Christopher Nolan multiple times, not just in the Batman trilogy, but also in this historical piece about two magicians whose rivalry leads them on a dark path. Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale excel as Robert Angier and Alfred Borden. They used to be friendly, but then Alfred came up with the perfect trick and Robert is trying to find out how he did it.
The story is much more complex than that and requires the audience to focus, otherwise, they might get confused. As such, The Prestige is one of the movies that becomes clearer after multiple screenings. The movie's excellent cast and a strong period atmosphere make it easy to watch it more than once. The movie was nominated for two Oscars and even though it didn't win, it has become iconic since its release.
1 The Dark Knight (2008)
The quality and popularity of this movie are best proved by the fact that despite Christian Bale's excellent performance as Batman, many fans believe that Heath Ledger's Joker stole the movie for himself. The Dark Knight features multiple strong characters. Other than Batman and Joker, the movie also portrays Harvey Dent, played by Aaron Eckhart. In the movie, Batman has to deal with the King of Chaos, the Joker, but even his intelligence and determination might not be enough to save the day.
The movie offers multiple surprising plot twists, memorable action scenes, and great performances from both the main and the supporting cast. The Dark Knight was nominated for eight Oscars, which isn't as usual for superhero movies, and it won two of them. To this day, many Batman fans consider it the best movie about the Caped Crusader that was ever made.