Every Good Kevin Costner Movie, Ranked

Hollywood multi-hyphenate Mike Binder, perhaps best known for his HBO series The Mind of the Married Man, wrote and directed this romantic comedy drama starring Joan Allen as a woman whose husband has disappeared and who must balance her newfound relationship with former baseball star and current talk radio host (Costner) with her relationship with her four daughters (Keri Russell, Erika Christensen, Evan Rachel Wood, and Alicia Witt). The chemistry between Allen and Costner was widely praised, and Costner was frequently singled out for his more playful and comedic character, which, at the time, was a stark contrast from his more serious recent roles.

"If Allen owns The Upside of Anger, she is generous enough to loan it to Costner, who, despite the dim, glazed eyes, is more alive here than he's been in years." —Robert Wilonsky, Dallas Observer

Released in November of 2020 in the heart of the COVID-19 Pandemic, Let Him Go is a tense thriller about two parents played by Costner and Diane Lane (paired again after portraying the Kents in Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice) who attempt to reunite with their grandson, who's being held against his will by a sketchy family in the boonies. The film was praised for Costner's and Lane's performances and for establishing itself as a strong drama about grief that evolves into a surprisingly violent thriller. Perhaps this seldom seen neo-Western is ripe for rediscovery, since Costner is getting into the saddle again.

"Let Him Go isn't subtle, but as a genre film it's original and shrewdly made, with a floridly gripping suspense. And Lane and Costner give it their all in a casual way that only pros this seasoned and gifted can. They turn the movie into an unlikely thing: a touchingly bone-weary romance steeped in vengeance." —Owen Gleiberman, Variety

Kevin Costner's breakout role was his scene-stealing turn as Jake in Lawrence Kasdan's mid-'80's crowd-pleasing revisionist western, Silverado. The story about the town of Silverado being taken over by corruption in the form of a diabolical sheriff (Brian Dennehy) and the band of gunslingers that aim to set things right stuck out like a sore thumb in 1985 with audiences largely staying away in theaters but later embracing the movie on video and on cable. Costner's manic, almost childlike comedic performance managed to stand out in a sea of killer performances from Kevin Kline, Danny Glover, Scott Glenn, Linda Hunt, Jeff Goldblum, Rosanna Arquette, and John Cleese.

"This movie is more sophisticated and complicated than the Westerns of my childhood, and it is certainly better looking and better acted." —Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun Times

Speaking of westerns, Kevin Costner's last feature film as both director and star prior to Horizon was 2003's Open Range. Based on the novel The Open Range Men by Lauran Paine, the adaptation stars Costner and Robert Duvall as a couple of ranch hands who find themselves lost to changing times. When their friend goes to a neighboring town and is harmed by a corrupt marshal (Michael Gambon) and his cohorts, payback is going to be bloody. As an early 2000s Western, the film was modestly praised and modestly seen by audiences on its release; it currently appeals to western heads and is known for its unhinged third-act shootout.

"It's a real and rare pleasure to see Costner and Duvall together—these masters of intense passivity, who know how to be watched when they're listening." —Richard Corliss, Time

Costner returned to the subject of 1991's JFK, but this time he's inside the White House as he plays White House assistant Kenneth P. O'Donnell in a dramatization of Kennedy's handling of the Cuban missile crisis. This claustrophobic potboiler also stars Bruce Greenwood as JFK, Steven Culp as Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, and Dylan Baker as Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. Costner once again works with Australian director Roger Donaldson, who memorably directed him in No Way Out, and even though the story is told through O'Donnell's eyes, critics were more taken with Greenwood's portrayal of JFK in this story.

"One of the most exciting American movies about recent political history since, ironically, Oliver Stone's JFK." —Shawn Levy, The Oregonian

Writer/director John Wells is primarily known for his work on television shows like E.R., Shameless, and Animal Kingdom, but in 2010 he made his first film for the big screen, The Company Men, about white-collar workers losing their jobs to corporate downsizing. Ben Affleck plays a young man who must change his life after being downsized. Costner plays his blue-collar brother-in-law, who gives him work in his time of need. Reviews were solid and Costner was frequently singled out for his work even amongst the likes of Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Cooper, Rosemarie DeWitt, and Maria Bello. 

"The cast doesn't treat The Company Men like a slideshow. They take something overly schematic and imbue it with real anxiety, shame, and humility." —Noel Murray, The A.V. Club

Clint Eastwood followed up his Academy Award-winning Unforgiven with a very different violent tale, that of an escaped convict, played by Costner, who strikes up a friendship with a young boy that he has kidnapped. Eastwood plays a sheriff on their trail and he's accompanied by a criminologist (Laura Dern) and a sharpshooter (Bradley Whitford). At the time, Costner playing such a menacing criminal was a stark contrast to his then run of heroic charmers. The film and Costner's performance were critically praised, but it had the impossible task of coming out so soon after Eastwood's Oscar triumph. Ultimately, the film made back its $30 million budget and its reputation has only grown over time. 

"Eastwood grabs the reins and draws Costner's scrappiest performance since Bull Durham. In going beyond chase-yarn duty, Eastwood and Costner do themselves proud." —Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

Sometimes notorious, sometimes brilliant writer Aaron Sorkin wrote and directed this based-on-a-true-story tale of Molly Bloom (Jessica Chastain), a talented skier and high-stakes poker organizer who ends up on the wrong side of the law. After ending up on the outs with the Russian mob and getting arrested, Molly works with defense attorney Charlie Jaffey (Idris Elba) to help her avoid serious jail time. Costner has a small, but notable role as Molly's estranged dad, who's interested in making amends for his past wrongs. The film received decent reviews and was a modest success, making nearly $60 million on a reported $30 million budget. 

"Molly's Game isn't the deepest movie you'll see, but it's both finely tuned and big-hearted. It's a rouser." —David Edelstein, Vulture

One of Costner's earliest films was originally made for the small screen but received a big-screen glow up from Paramount once they saw the final cut. The San Francisco-set (why does SF always fall victim to movie attacks?) story of what happens to a community after a nuclear attack is a bleak drama that shows the painful details of how society moves on—or doesn't—after such a traumatic event. Costner has one memorable scene as a grieving father, which displays his dramatic range. His scene partner, Jane Alexander, was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role. In less than a decade after this film, Costner would not only be nominated for an Oscar, he would also win multiple trophies. 

"Lynne Littman's unforgettable, uncompromising and understated Testament is quite simply the most powerful anti-nuclear dramatic film ever made and stars Jane Alexander, superb as a woman trying to hold her family together in the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust." —Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times

Perhaps the peak of Costner's career to date was directing and starring in 1990's Dances With Wolves. Costner plays former Civil War Lieutenant Dunbar who, while looking to bask in the American frontier, befriends and antagonizes the indigenous Sioux (native actors Graham Greene and Wes Studi are standouts). Costner's pathos and charm is on full display as he attempts to bridge the language barrier with the Sioux and ultimately falls for Mary McDonnell's Stands With Fist, a white woman raised by the tribe. White savior narrative complaints aside, the epic film was largely praised and cleaned up at the Oscars, winning Best Picture and Costner winning both Best Actor and Best Director. It remains Costner's biggest non-superhero global success, making $424 million at the box office.  

"This movie moves so confidently and looks so good it seems incredible that it's a directorial debut." —Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Oliver Stone's phantasmagoric exploration of reasonable doubt hanging over lone gunman Lee Harvey Oswald's assassination of President John F. Kennedy was impossible to ignore in 1991. Leading the massive cast was Kevin Costner as New Orleans district attorney Jim Garrison, who tried to get to the bottom of what actually happened on that fateful day in November. The impressively made three-hour epic features multiple film formats, propulsive editing and a stacked cast (shouts to recently passed Donald Sutherland as rogue government informant Mr. X) that could have overshadowed Costner's lead performance, but his earnest lawman is the North Star of the film. He would go on to receive a Golden Globe nomination for his work in the film.

"Director Oliver Stone has fashioned in JFK a riveting, dramatic and disturbing look at one of the great whodunits of history." —Peter Stack, San Francisco Chronicle

Shockingly, Field of Dreams received mixed reviews upon release and isn't included here, but Costner's first (and perhaps best) baseball movie was Ron Shelton's singularly hilarious and sexy Bull Durham. Costner plays a former major league catcher, now in the minor leagues, playing for the Durham Bulls in Durham, North Carolina, who gets involved in a love triangle with team groupie, Annie (Susan Sarandon) and inexperienced rookie pitcher "Nuke" Laloosh (Tim Robbins). The balance of romance, laughs, and sports remains untouched all these years later. That includes Sam Raimi's baseball romance For Love of the Game, which is not included on this list. 

"The best movie ever made about baseball, and it's not even really that close...Major League was funny, but Bull Durham is funny, literate, romantic, and overwhelmingly adherent to the idiosyncrasies of the game." —Brad Laidman, Film Threat

This successful 2016 drama is based on the unsung true story of a group of African-American women mathematicians in the early '60s who were instrumental during NASA's space race with the Russians—with the goal of launching an astronaut into orbit and returning them safely. Kevin Costner plays fictional character Al Harrison, a member of NASA engineers known as the Space Task Group, who's looking for talented mathematicians to help no matter what race or gender they are. Costner, joined by Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, and Janelle Monáe as the talented hidden figures of the title, lends an empathetic gravitas to this crowd-pleasing hit that made $235 million on a reported $25 million budget and also features winning turns by Kirsten Dunst, Mahershala Ali, Jim Parsons, and Glen Powell as astronaut John Glenn. 

"The fine, spirited work of Taraji P. Henson, Spencer and Janelle Monae as irresistible rooting interests, as well as Kevin Costner's winningly lived-in turn as the head of Langley's Space Task Group, deepen a film that's propelled by sitcommy beats and expository dialogue." —Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter

The summer of 1987 was huge for Kevin Costner, with The Untouchables out in June and No Way Out landing in theaters in August. June's clean-cut, uptight Eliot Ness gave way to hotshot naval intelligence officer Tom Farrell, who is called upon to assist Gene Hackman's Secretary of Defense and ends up having an affair with his mistress, played by Sean Young. What follows is a sexy, twisty political action thriller that includes a critically praised layered performance from Costner, whose performance helped to transform him into a bonafide movie star and sex symbol—with lots of running around in a crisp naval uniform. If you haven't seen the film, please avoid spoilers. You've been warned!

"No Way Out's greatest prize is Costner, a leading man at last: fiercely good, intelligent, appreciatively sensual in a performance balanced perfectly between action and introspection. It's a movie that lends itself to more than one sitting, and when you go back, armed with full understanding, Costner's work seems even better than the first time, richer, more complex and many layered." —Sheila Benson, Los Angeles Times

Director Brian DePalma and acclaimed playwright/writer David Mamet teamed up to adapt the late '50s/early '60s television series The Untouchables for the big-screen, and the results were electric. Coster starred as real-life federal agent Eliot Ness in his quest to catch mobster Al Capone by any means necessary. The film was praised by critics for being a well-made cops-and-robbers story with superb filmmaking and crackling dialogue. It also helped that Costner was surrounded by an amazing cast of characters including Robert DeNiro as Capone as well as Ness' untouchable team of Chicago lawmen, including Sean Connery's Oscar-winning performance as Irish-American cop Jimmy Malone, Andy Garcia as young cadet George Stone, and Charles Martin Smith as treasury agent Oscar Wallace. 

" Hollywood's latest big-budget, high-concept, mass-market reworking of material not entirely fresh, has more endings than Beethoven's Fifth, but it's also packed with surprises, not the least being that it's a smashing work. It's vulgar, violent, funny, and sometimes breathtakingly beautiful."  — Vincent Canby, The New York Times