Movies

Every Gerard Butler Action Movie, Ranked Worst To Best

ByCineShout

Jan 10, 2025
Every Gerard Butler Action Movie, Ranked Worst To Best


How does every Gerard Butler Action Movie rank beside each other, with Den of Thieves hitting theaters in 2025? Butler trained initially to become a lawyer before a change of heart saw him pursue acting inside. Oddly, his breakthrough role came as the titular bloodsucker in Dracula 2000, a movie that didn’t win over audiences or critics. He always seemed on the cusp of stardom without entirely tipping over. That changed significantly thanks to Zack Snyder’s 300 in 2007, where his mega turn as King Leonidas instantly propelled him to the A-list.

Over the years, Butler has made everything from tender dramas like Dear Frankie to rom-coms with P.S. I Love You or animation with the Watchmen horror spinoff Tales of the Black Freighter. However, action has become Butler’s stock-in-trade, whether fantasy blockbusters or gritty cop thrillers. The star has cornered the market in terms of fronting modestly budget, R-rated action flicks with unique hooks – as 2023’s Plane proves. He has more action outings on the way too, as this is where he has slid in as his Hollywood career rolls on.

15

Gods Of Egypt (2016)

Set


The 2016 fantasy movie Gods of Egypt features Gerard Butler, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, and Chadwick Boseman as ancient Egyptian deities. Brenton Thwaites stars as Bek, a mortal hero who teams up with the god Horus to save the world from the evil god Set.

Release Date

February 26, 2016

Runtime

126 Minutes

Director

Alex Proyas

Distributor(s)

Lionsgate

Director Alex Proyas was behind two of the ’90s biggest cult hits, The Crow and Dark City. At his best, he can merge his unique style with rich themes, but sadly, Gods Of Egypt never seemed to connect with critics or audiences. While it boasts inventive visuals and creatures, it’s a strange mash-up of Egyptian deities and mythology with a fantasy blockbuster. Butler stars in the movie as the villain Set, and he is surrounded by a solid cast, but things don’t seem to work well in the final product.

The story follows the Egyptian God of Air, Horus (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), who partners with a human Egyptian thief (Brenton Thwaites) to rescue the love of his life and save the world from the evil Set. The cast is solid, with Chadwick Boseman, Geoffrey Rush, and others involved, but critics complained that mostly predominantly actors of Northwestern European descent played characters of Egyptian descent. This helped doom it critically, and Gods of Egypt ended up as a box office bomb, losing money after advertising costs.

14

Geostorm (2017)

Jacob “Jake” Lawson


Geostorm is a sci-fi thriller starring Gerard Butler as satellite designer Jake Lawson who discovers a problem with an international satellite system developed to counter climate change. When the satellites malfunction, causing a dangerous and gigantic storm that threatens to obliterate the planet, Jake and a group of other officials must race to solve the problem before the storm swallows them whole. 

Release Date

October 20, 2017

Runtime

109minutes

Cast

Jim Sturgess
, Gerard Butler
, Daniel Wu
, Abbie Cornish
, Alexandra Maria Lara
, Ed Harris
, Andy Garcia

Director

Dean Devlin
, Danny Cannon

Distributor(s)

Warner Bros. Pictures

A disaster movie in the vein of Roland Emmerich’s films, Geostorm finds Butler as the designer of a series of weather-controlling satellites. Naturally, these satellites are hacked, and Butler and his brother, Assistant Secretary of State Max Lawson (Jim Sturgess), partner to figure out what’s gone wrong. Despite a fun hook, Geostorm lacks memorable setpieces or even the B-movie thrills of disaster epics like The Day After Tomorrow.

The cast was impressive, with Ed Harris as the U.S. Secretary of State and Abbie Cornish as a Secret Service agent engaged to Max. Despite its big-budget disaster movie settings, audiences mostly stayed away, and while it broke $200 million worldwide, it actually lost the studio $71.6 million (via Deadline). Critics panned it, awarding the movie an 18% Rotten Tomatoes rotten score, and the general audience hated it as well, with a 35% Popcornmeter score.

13

Den Of Thieves 2: Pantera (2025)

Nick “Big Nick” O’Brien

Gerard Butler returns in Den of Thieves 2: Pantera and tries to recapture the lighting in a bottle he achieved with the first movie. In the sequel, he is back as Big Nick O’Brien, and he is tracking down Donnie Wilson (O’Shea Jackson Jr.), the mastermind from the first movie who wasn’t revealed until the twist ending of that movie. However, this time around, Nick wants to be involved in the next big heist, rather than work as a cop trying to bring down the criminal cartel. The movie is based on the 2003 Antwerp diamond heist.

However, early reviews indicate that the movie didn’t quite reach the levels of the first film. The first entry had intense scenes and a lot of tension, as Big Nick was a cop with a bad attitude who went head-to-head with his nemesis, master thief Ray Merrimen (Pablo Schreiber). This movie lacks the dynamic between those characters, and Jackson and Butler cannot capture the same chemistry in the second outing. The sequel is not expected to make its budget back and was dropped in theaters in January 2025.

12

London Has Fallen (2016)

Mike Banning


Following up after the events of Olympus has Fallen, London has Fallen sees the return of the U.S. Secret Service Agent Mike Banning as he travels to the U.K. with the President to attend the funeral of the Prime Minister. Mike finds himself at the center of a deadly terrorist plot to assassinate the world leaders involved with G7 and must once again tap into his impressive repertoire of skills to thwart it.

Release Date

March 4, 2016

Runtime

99minutes

Director

Babak Najafi

Distributor(s)

Focus Features

The second outing in Butler’s Has Fallen movie series, London Has Fallen, sees hero Mike Banning trying to keep President Benjamin Asher (Aaron Eckhart) safe during a terrorist attack. The sequel suffers from some poor CGI for a major release, over-edited action sequences, and weaker villains than the original movie. It boasts one great setpiece with its “one shot” shootout on the streets of London, while Butler gets some fun one-liners.

However, London Has Fallen is easily the low point of the saga. Despite bad reviews (28% on Rotten Tomatoes), the movie was a box office success, ensuring a third movie would be made, and it actually made more money than the first film in the series. The critical consensus (via Rotten Tomatoes) says that the great cast is “loaded with xenophobia and threadbare action-thriller clichés.”

11

Gamer (2009)

Kable / John Tillman

Gamer is an impressive example of how a film with a great concept can fail to reach its full potential. The movie stars Butler as a human avatar for a gamer (Logan Lerman) who will be freed from his real-life deathmatch game after 30 matches. Gamer has all the ingredients to be an action gem like co-helmers Neveldine and Taylor’s Crank. Gamer – which Butler felt was “genius” – has somewhat broad and crass humor, and the action scenes are cut together in a way that makes it hard to follow.


brian taylor movies

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Michael C. Hall delivers a delightful turn as the bad guy, but critics panned the movie, and audiences mostly skipped it. It only made $42 million with a $50 million budget, and critics complained that it has very little of the flair of earlier Neveldine Taylor movie releases. The duo would only get one more chance to direct a blockbuster movie together after this film, and Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance ended up as their final outing together.

10

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life (2003)

Terry Sheridan

In the second Tomb Raider movie, The Cradle Of Life, Lara (Angelina Jolie) teams with an ex-lover (Gerard Butler) to find Pandora’s Box. The sequel was something of an introduction to Butler for American viewers, with the actor being charming and funny while sharing great chemistry with Jolie. Their chemistry helped the sequel work well alongside the superior first film in the series. However, while the first movie was a lot of fun and showcased Jolie in great form as Lara Croft, the second went a little long with its elaborate action sequences.

Other critics praising Butler’s performance as her love interest and eventual antagonist to Lara Croft.

Cradle of Life was a domestic box office bomb, although it did decently well internationally. Despite that, the critical reviews were mostly negative, with praise still going to Jolie for her inspired performance as Croft and other critics praising Butler’s performance as her love interest and eventual antagonist to Lara Croft. However, the movie’s lack of overall success and disappointing drop from the first film ended the franchise until Hollywood rebooted it years later with a new actress in the lead.

9

Hunter Killer (2018)

Joe Glass


hunter killer poster


Hunter Killer is an action thriller starring Gerard Butler and Gary Oldman. The movie revolves around a Navy SEAL crew who work together to rescue the kidnapped Russian President. Despite having Butler and Oldman attached, Hunter Killer was poorly received, with many calling it a typical action flick that didn’t provide the genre with anything new.

Release Date

October 26, 2018

Runtime

122minutes

Cast

Toby Stephens
, Gerard Butler
, Linda Cardellini
, Common
, Gary Oldman

Director

Donovan Marsh

Distributor(s)

Lionsgate

If Olympus Has Fallen was Gerard Butler’s take on Die Hard, then the submarine movie Hunter Killer was his Hunt For Red October. Once again, he’s surrounded by a terrific ensemble (Gary Oldman, the late, great Michael Nyqvist, etc), but it’s in service of a basic action thriller. All of Hunter Killer’s best moments are borrowed from other films. Butler is newly promoted and unconventional Commander Joe Glass and is tasked with finding a U.S. submarine that disappeared while shadowing a Russian sub.

The film does have an interesting premise, where Joe is able to rescue captured Russians and teams with them when he realizes there is a man inside the Russian military who wants to pull off a coup d’etat and start World War III. This is not an action war movie with Russia as the villain, but a film with one man as a villain and Joe setting out to stop him before he causes a war between the two countries. The film was a box office failure and received negative reviews, although some praised it as a guilty pleasure.

8

Plane (2023)

Brodie Torrance

Plane lives up to its no-frills title and finds Butler as a pilot who must save his passengers after they become stranded on a dangerous island. Plane is ruthlessly effective in its setup, doling out just enough character development to let viewers relate to the main characters before things go to hell. It’s more a survival thriller than a straight-up action film, but Plane – which has a great cast – is the type of mid-range, b-level action thriller that theaters could really use more of.

Critics praised the movie, giving it a higher Rotten Tomatoes score than most of Butler’s action films.

Butler also injects his hero with more pathos than he needs to, showing why he’s the current king of such fare. He is also strong alongside Mike Colter (Luke Cage, Evil), who gets to play the tough guy, while Butler gets to play a rare everyman, although one who can really fend for himself. Critics praised the movie, giving it a higher Rotten Tomatoes score than most of Butler’s action films, and it ended up as a small box office success, mostly thanks to its lower budget.

7

Angel Has Fallen (2019)

Mike Banning


Angel Has Fallen Movie Poster


Angel Has Fallen is the third installment in the “Fallen” franchise. Gerard Butler stars as Secret Service agent Mike Banning, who must clear his name after being framed for an assassination attempt on the President of the United States. The film features an ensemble cast that includes Morgan Freeman, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Tim Blake Nelson.

Release Date

August 21, 2019

Runtime

121minutes

Cast

Lance Reddick
, Michael Landes
, Piper Perabo
, Nick Nolte
, Mark Arnold
, Danny Huston
, Morgan Freeman
, Tim Blake Nelson
, Joseph Millson
, Gerard Butler
, Jada Pinkett Smith
, Chris Browning

Director

Ric Roman Waugh

Distributor(s)

Lionsgate

The third – and to date, final – outing in the series, Angel Has Fallen, scales back on the carnage to tell a (slightly) more intimate story. There are shades of The Fugitive as Butler’s Banning goes on the run after being framed for an assassination attempt on Morgan Freeman’s President. Angel Has Fallen’s more grounded action and tone is welcome, though the plotting is strictly by the numbers.


gerard butler mike banning olympus has fallen

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The film also gets a surprising amount of emotional heft out of Banning’s reunion with his estranged survivalist father, played by Nick Nolte. Once again, the movie was a box office success, but it made a little less than the previous movie in the franchise. It also received negative reviews, although this was a movie that proved that audiences wanted something different than critics, and it has a very high 93% fresh Popcornmeter score from viewers.

6

Reign Of Fire (2002)

Creedy


Reign of Fire Movie Poster


In a dragon-ravaged England, a British survivor and an American ally fight to stop fire-breathing dragons seeking global dominance after centuries underground. The Brit, leading survivors, aims to slay the King of the Dragons, driven by his mother’s death in a dragon attack and the hope of safeguarding his still-living love.

Release Date

July 12, 2002

Runtime

102 Minutes

Director

Rob Bowman

Reign Of Fire is a post-apocalyptic creature feature, where Christian Bale and Matthew McConaughey team to take down the dragons that scorched the world. Butler had an early career role as Bale’s best friend, Creedy, and the film is a forgotten gem from the early 2000s. While it would have benefited from another setpiece or two, it’s a unique mix of Mad Max-style adventure and monster movie, with one of McConaughey’s best performances.

Reign Of Fire didn’t do great upon release, but it has since become a cult favorite.

While it seems this might be an epic historical fantasy, it actually takes place in the year 2020, and it had been 20 years since an accident in London awakened dragons who had been sleeping for centuries. They realize humans replaced them as the dominant species and set out to take their rightful place back, and it is up to a small group to stop them. Reign Of Fire didn’t do great upon release, but it has since become a cult favorite.

5

300 (2007)

King Leonidas

300 was based on the Frank Miller graphic novel of the same name, with Butler playing Spartan King Leonidas. Zack Snyder’s pumped-up blockbuster is filled with stylish visuals and gory action, though the story and characterizations are intensely hollow. 300 is meant to serve as eye candy, from its speed-ramped fights to the sweaty shirtless bodies of Butler and co-stars like Michael Fassbender.

There’s little substance to Snyder’s comic book movie 300, but Butler’s full-blooded performance and Snyder’s creative camerawork propelled it to success. It was a huge box office success, making $456 million on a $65 million budget, and it also spawned a sequel without Gerard Butler returning. Critics’ scores were mostly average, but it did help Snyder get the rights to make Watchmen and then move on to the DCEU with his Justice League movies.

4

Greenland (2020)

John Garrity


Greenland is a 2020 thriller directed by Ric Roman Waugh and written by Chris Sparling. Starring     Gerard Butler, Scott Glenn, Morena Baccarin, and Roger Dale Floyd, the film focuses on one family as they fight to survive an “extinction-level” comet that is set to strike Earth.

Release Date

July 29, 2020

Runtime

120minutes

Director

Ric Roman Waugh

Greenland reunited Gerard Butler with director Ric Roman Waugh, who had directed Angel Has Fallen. In contrast to Geostorm’s CG-heavy filmmaking, Greenland tells a disaster story on a more intimate scale. The film follows Butler’s engineer, John Garrity, as he races with his wife and son to safety as a comet races towards the planet. The film has some scenes of destruction, but it became a surprise hit for its focus on emotion over action.

It falls prey to the occasional disaster movie cliché of movies like Armageddon and Deep Impact, but Greenland gets by thanks to its unexpected heart. However, due to it getting released in the United States at the end of 2020, it ended up grinding to a halt at the box office as theaters were still shut down across the nation. Reviews, however, were mostly positive, with a 77% Rotten Tomatoes score and most of the praise going to Butler and the film’s smaller storyline.

3

Olympus Has Fallen (2013)

Mike Banning


Olympus Has Fallen Movie Poster


Olympus Has Fallen an action thriller film and is the first in the franchise. The film follows former army ranger/special service agent Mike Banning who lost his position after the death of the President’s wife. When a North Korean terrorist group attacks the White House, Banning must tune back into his old skill set to save the president and the country from nuclear devastation.

Release Date

March 21, 2013

Runtime

120 Minutes

Director

Antoine Fuqua

Distributor(s)

FilmDistrict

Olympus Has Fallen was one of two White House under siege movies that landed in 2013, alongside White House Down. Despite having half the budget and a more restrictive R-rating, Olympus Has Fallen – which borrowed a 24 plot – won the day. That’s because it was a throwback to ’90s action thrillers, with Butler playing Banning as a one-liner spouting tough guy that was interesting enough to return in two sequels, with diminishing returns.

Butler is a former U.S. Army Ranger who now works as a Secret Service agent and is friends with the current U.S. President.

The film is at its best when embracing its silliness, though director Antoine Fuqua’s attempts to make it more dramatic or political often fall flat. Butler is a former U.S. Army Ranger who now works as a Secret Service agent and is friends with the current U.S. President, Benjamin Asher (Aaron Eckhart). After retiring when he fails to save the President’s wife after an accident, he is called back into duty when an attack on the Capital takes place. Critical reviews were average but the box office was great.

2

Den Of Thieves (2018)

Nick “Big Nick” O’Brien


Written and directed by Christian Gudegast, Den of Thieves is an Action and Heist film starring Gerard Butler, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, and Pablo Schreiber. The film sees a group of ex-Marines that are attempting to steal from the Federal Reserve.

Release Date

January 18, 2018

Runtime

140minutes

Cast

Evan Jones
, Pablo Schreiber
, Brian Van Holt
, Jordan Bridges
, Eric Braeden
, Gerard Butler
, Sonya Balmores
, Oleg Taktarov
, Meadow Williams
, Maurice Compte

Director

Christian Gudegast

Den Of Thieves is essentially a B-grade Heat. Gerard Butler’s cop “Big Nick” is chasing down a highly capable band of thieves led by their leader, Ray Merrimen, a former Marine. Den Of Thieves gave Butler one of his best characters in years. He pictures himself as the ultimate tough guy detective, but his personal life is crumbling. Den Of Thieves – which has a huge twist ending – isn’t a classic by any stretch, but the main players all do great work, and the action hits hard when it arrives.

This ended up as a small success for Butler at the box office, making $80.5 million on a $30 million budget. It received a positive reception from audiences, which awarded it a 63% Rotten Tomatoes score and that allowed it to become a huge hit when it hit streaming. It did so well on streaming that a sequel was released seven years later, although the sequel didn’t match up to the original in terms of action, intrigue, and fun action set pieces.

1

Copshop (2021)

Bob Viddick


Copshop is a thriller directed by Joe Carnahan. Gerard Butler stars as a hitman who gets himself arrested to evade capture. Frank Grillo co-stars as the con artist he’s targeting, who is also in police custody. The film unfolds in a small-town police station, where a rookie cop, played by Alexis Louder, finds herself caught in the deadly standoff between the two men.

Release Date

September 17, 2021

Runtime

107 minutes

Cast

Tracey Bonner
, Robert Walker-Branchaud
, Marshall Cook
, Jose Pablo Cantillo
, Ryan O’Nan
, Frank Grillo
, Christopher Michael Holley
, Toby Huss
, Alexis Louder
, Gerard Butler
, Chad L. Coleman
, Kaiwi Lyman

Director

Joe Carnahan

Copshop is one of the more obscure Gerard Butler Action Movies, and is actually the very best. The film was directed by Joe Carnahan – who largely disowned the producer-based re-edited final cut. It is a ’70s-inspired thriller where Butler’s hitman gets arrested so he can kill Frank Grillo’s con artist inside a remote police station. Copshop is loaded with great characters and performances – with Alexis Louder stealing the show – and is Butler’s most undersung action film.

It feels destined to become a cult favorite in the years ahead, too. The movie has high critical praise, with an 82% on Rotten Tomatoes (Certified Fresh), one of the highest scores for any Gerard Butler action movie. It is also one that fans enjoyed, although with a slightly lower 74%. Most of the positive reviews praised the throw-back nature of the film, and one wonders if it will ever see a release with Carnahan’s original vision intact.

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