10. Free Guy (2021)
First on our top 10 Ryan Reynolds movies list is Free Guy. Video game and real-life merging. Or think of the film like a good Black Mirror episode created by comedic writers and YouTubers like LazarBeam.
Guy (Reynolds) is a non-player character (NPC) in Free City, a massively multiplayer online role-playing video game (MMORPG) developed by Soonami Studio. Unaware that the world he lives in is a video game, he works as a bank teller alongside his best friend, the bank’s security guard Buddy (Lil Rel Howery).
Think of Reynolds as a good guy that has ninja skills that he wasn’t aware of.
Director: Shawn Levy
Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Jodie Comer, Lil Rel Howery, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Joe Keery, Taika Waititi
Release date: August 13, 2021
Runtime: 115 minutes
9. Self/less (2015)
Although People’s Choice Award winner has made a career in comedies, he’s quite believable when he steps into a dramatic role. That leap is made easier when the movie costars Ben Kingsley.
Flirting with immortality is nothing new in movies. But movie fans, including yours truly, will still tune in. Self/less takes us on a science fiction thrill ride as the memories of Young Damian (Reynolds) intersect with Damian (Kingsley).
Director: Tarsem Singh
Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Natalie Martinez, Matthew Goode, Victor Garber, Derek Luke, Ben Kingsley
Release date: July 10, 2015
Runtime: 117 minutes
8. Van Wilder (2002)
Reynolds movies list like ours must reserve room for Van Wilder. That famous college kid that everyone hates and admires simultaneously.
Anyone that has seen Nation lampoon’s Animal house from the 70s knows that Jim Bulishi and company were out of control. And Van Wilder continues the tradition.
Wilder just wants to stay in school. In fact, he’s into his 7th semester. It is now that his father finds out and cuts him off financial assistance. Wilder hatches different schemes to generate cash for tuition.
Director: Walt Becker
Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Kal Penn, Tara Reid, Tim Matheson, Paul Gleason
Release date: April 5, 2002
Runtime: 93 minutes
7. The Proposal (2009)
Playing opposite of Sandra Bullock may be unnerving for some newer actors. And before he was a big celebrity, he was just a newbie in the picture business.
Luckily our leading man was ready to take on his fire-breathing boss Margaret Tate (Sandra Bullock) in the comedy The Proposal.
Andrew has no life and is at the beck and call of Ms. Tate. Tables turn however, when Margaret learns that she will be deported because of an expiring visa. On the fly she announces the engagement to her finance Andrew.
Of course, this is news to him as she just pulled this idea out of her backside. One of the best comedy movies to stream on Amazon for big laughs.
Director: Anne Fletcher
Cast: Sandra Bullock, Ryan Reynolds, Malin Åkerman, Craig T. Nelson, Mary Steenburgen, Betty White
Release date: June 19, 2009
Runtime: 108 minutes
6. The Voices (2015)
A different flick sure, but The Voices deserves the #6 spot on our lineup.
Anytime you can get a psychopath to think they are normal you’re doing a great job. In this case the Deadpool star is our psychopathic killer (In an American Psycho kinda way). He hears voices in his head. And these voices make him do outlandish things.
Crimes like murder are no biggie. He talks things out with his therapist, cat, and dog. Trying to make sense of it all.
Director: Marjane Satrapi
Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Gemma Arterton, Anna Kendrick, Jacki Weaver
Release date: February 6, 2015
Runtime: 104 minutes
5. Life (2017)
The halfway point takes us to the cosmos. A routine space mission to intercept a space probe from Mars gets serious quickly.
Although the camera was spread equally among the other roles, Reynold’s does get a chance to differentiate his star quality if only for a few scenes. But still worth a viewing.
Director: Daniel Espinosa
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson, Ryan Reynolds, Hiroyuki Sanada, Ariyon Bakare, Olga Dihovichnaya
Release date: March 24, 2017
Runtime: 104 minutes
4. Mississippi Grind (2015)
There are other dramas about casinos and betting big or going home. Rounders and Rain Man come to mind. And those are cinematic gems. But gambling films that have a good dose of real life make them tick.
Every gambler needs a good luck charm, and the perpetually unlucky Gerry (Ben Mendelsohn) has Canada’s favorite son.
Director: Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck
Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Ben Mendelsohn, Sienna Miller, Analeigh Tipton, Alfre Woodard
Release date: September 25, 2015
Runtime: 108 minutes
3. Buried (2010)
If you have the slightest bit of claustrophobia forget about watching this film. You won’t make it past the 10-minute mark. But that’s a shame because this is when I knew this Reynolds guy would be around for a long time.
If you think about one actor, in one location, for an hour you’d predict all out boredom. But Buried easily grabs and clings on to your attention for the duration.
You feel for Reynolds and hope that he is rescued. You think he will, and in the next breath you think he won’t. The back and forth that Cortés dangles for us is engaging for certain.
Buried isn’t one of his most popular productions, but it is one that you shouldn’t miss.
Director: Rodrigo Cortés
Cast: Ryan Reynolds
Release date: September 24, 2010
Runtime: 95 minutes
2. Safe House (2012)
Our Critics’ Choice recipient held his own playing opposite acting legend Denzel Washington in this non-stop action release.
In Cape Town, South Africa, junior CIA officer Matt Weston is serving as a “housekeeper“, an operative in charge of securing and maintaining a local CIA safe house in case of an operation. He calls his mentor and immediate superior, David Barlow, and asks about a station in Paris, where he hopes to follow his live-in girlfriend, Ana.
Barlow tells him he’s not qualified for the position, which frustrates Matt as he has not had a “houseguest” during his yearlong assignment, and thus has been unable to gain field experience. Barlow promises to reconsider in a few months.
But it’s not just Denzel and Ryan who put in great performances, fellow actors Brendan Gleeson, Sam Shepard, and Vera Farmiga round things out perfectly.
Director: Daniel Espinosa
Cast: Denzel Washington, Ryan Reynolds, Vera Farmiga, Brendan Gleeson, Sam Shepard, Rubén Blades, Nora Arnezeder, Robert Patrick
Release date: February 10, 2012
Runtime: 115 minutes
1. Deadpool 2016
Screenplays like Deadpool take a minute to get produced in Hollywood. Why? Hollywood is a business and box office success is not guaranteed.
If you provide a simple formula—that has been done before—you’ll get that green light. Offer something outside of that and, well..
This guy just commands the screen whenever he wants. Put a superhero suit on him and add perfect comedic writing and voila–you’ve got one of the best movies by Ryan Reynolds and Deadpool MCU projects simultaneously.
But don’t think for a second this movie works with just any actor. It was literally made for Reynolds and that shows the second you tune in.
Director: Tim Miller
Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, Ed Skrein, T.J. Miller, Gina Carano, Brianna Hildebrand
Release date: February 12, 2016
Runtime: 108 minutes