David Fincher is known as one of the most precise and brilliant filmmakers of his generation. His movies are imaginative, engaging and pretty distinctive. TechTrends narrowed down a list of the best David Fincher movies of all time.
During the course of his career as an incredible filmmaker, David Fincher has created a lot of masterpieces. Although he has not yet received any major Oscars, he has always appeared most into his own muse. Therefore, he is not concerned about what others will think of his decisions. He is a thriller guy for some people. However, if you have followed his career, you are likely to know that thrillers are not the only genre he is able to work on. In addition, he has established himself as a great director in blending art and commerce. Considering the fact that most of his output has been dark, disturbing and moody, this is quite impressive. Without further ado, let’s dive into the list of the best must-see David Fincher movies of all time.
Best David Fincher Movies, Ranked
The talented directed started his career with Alien3, which is the 11th one on our list today. He also enjoyed success on the small screen as he won an Emmy for directing House of Card’s pilot. In addition, he directs commercials and music videos. However, this list is made of the best David Fincher movies ever. Here we go.
11. Alien3 1992
- Genre: Sci-fi/Horror
- Director: David Fincher
- Stars: Sigourney Weaver, Charles Dance, Lance Henriksen, Pete Postlethwaite, Ralph Brown
- Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 48%, IMDb 6.4
David Fincher’s movie directorial debut came in Alien3 and he does not bring it up that much, which is for a good reason. When Vincent Ward left the project, he was brought on. The studio undermined the director from the beginning. He then left before the final editing was done and left the hard experience behind him. However, is it a disaster? Although it is not perfect, it is entertaining and has moments of visual and emotional splendor, showing that Fincher is a talented director. The story revolves around Ellen Ripley, played by Sigourney Weaver, going against the malevolent alien on a prison planet that is remote. This is the 11th one on the list of the best David Fincher movies ever.
10. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button 2008
- Genre: Romance/Fantasy
- Director: David Fincher
- Stars: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Taraji P. Henson, Tilda Swinton
- Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 71%, IMDb 7.8
This is a movie loosely based on Scott Fitzgerald’s 1922 short story. This romantic fantasy concentrates on the impressive filmmaking of David Fincher. The story is about a man, played Brad Pitt, whose aging happens in reverse. He is born as an arthritic, an infant with wrinkles and is called Benjamin Button. He grows younger as time goes buy and a novel motion-capture process used was the technical wizardry. The old look of Brad Pitt was not make-up but it was CGI. The seamless display captured was key to the immersive experience.
Aside from the brilliance they showed in the technical aspects, the way Pitt portrayed the character’s demeanour is remarkable. This is one of the best David Fincher films ever as he depicts a man who showed the feeling of having experienced a life lived fully, despite his life being reversed.
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9. Panic Room 2002
- Genre: Thriller/Crime
- Director: David Fincher
- Stars: Kristen Stewart, Jodie Foster, Forest Whitaker, Jared Leto
- Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 76%, IMDb 6.8
Another one of the greatest David Fincher movies of all time is Panic Room that came out in 2002. In addition, in one of her earliest roles, Kristen Stewart played alongside Jodie Foster in Panic Room. The movie revolves around a mother-daughter duo, with the two taking refuge in their home’s panic room as three criminals break into their house to steal something. Stewart was only 12 when she played this character, and she proved her on-screen talent. Moreover, she had diabetes in the film, which leads to some problems in the second half of the film.
Read more: Best Kristen Stewart Movies of All Time
8. The Game 1997
- Genre: Thriller/Mystery
- Director: David Fincher
- Stars: Michael Douglas, Sean Penn, Deborah Kara Unger, Harris Savides, James Rebhorn
- Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 77%, IMDb 7.7
After directing the movie Seven, David Fincher got into full-on entertainment mode, making a psychological thriller revolving around capitalism’s dangers. The movie is about a rich banker, portrayed by Michael Douglas, whose brother, played by Sean Penn, gave him a quite special present for his birthday. The gift is actually a chance to participate in a mysterious game that is actually a mental and physical endurance test. While Douglas is trying to save himself, he is taught some valuable lessons about himself and his emotions. This masterpiece of a movie is among the best David Fincher films ever. Do not miss it.
Read more: Best Thriller Movies of All Time
7. Fight Club 1999
- Genre: Thriller/Drama
- Director: David Fincher
- Stars: Brad Pitt, Jared Leto, Edward Norton, Helena Bonham Carter
- Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 79%, IMDb 8.8
One of the most defining movies that David Fincher directed was Fight Club. While brad Pitt’s role in Fight Club was a “woop” that was short-lived for critics when released. However, it then got a huge cult after and it was not in a good way. The movie is an adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk’s novel, in which some aggravated and young men think that the best way to solve a problem is to kick each other and not accept social standards. Pitt pulls off a charming, disgusting, sexy and terrifying performance all at once. This shows the social expectations and outlooks of young men in a very meta way. This is one of the best David Fincher movies ever.
Read more: Best Brad Pitt Movies of All Time
6. Mank 2020
- Genre: Drama/Black and White
- Director: David Fincher
- Stars: Amanda Seyfried, Gary Oldman, Lily Collins, Tom Burke, Tuppence Middleton, Tom Pelphrey
- Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 83%, IMDb 6.8
Fincher’s late father wrote this movie in the 1990s. The director and his team had lots of fun recreating the 30s’ cinema look, but the fact that the characters are shown a lot of warmth is quite surprising. Gary Oldman was incredible in Mank, who is a man squandering his talents on drinks and gambling. He considers this assignment his last opportunity at redemption. Fincher took his talents in a rather new direction when he directed this movie, creating a mid-career masterpiece that would have made journalist Jack Fincher, his father, very proud. We highly recommend this as one of the best David Fincher movies of all time that you do not want to miss.
Read more: Best Drama Movies of All Time
5. Se7en 1995
- Genre: Crime/Mystery
- Director: David Fincher
- Stars: Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kevin Spacey
- Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 82%, IMDb 8.6
One of the greatest crime movies of all time is Seven directed by David Fincher. The movie shows a classic young buck who becomes a partner of a veteran who is on the verge of retiring. Brad Pitt plays the role of a hardheaded rookie who has recently joined the homicide department as a detective. He then starts to track a serial killer who is obsessed with the seven deadly sins with the help of Somerset (Morgan Freeman). The two come across horrors that even Somerset, with that level of experience, has never faced. Pitt’s performance was remarkably great, giving a genuinely flawed and rough nature. The end climax is indeed one of Pitt’s most dramatic and greatest performances, masterfully showing what one might feel like in such a situation. This is indeed one of the best David Fincher movies of all time.
4. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo 2011
- Genre: Mystery/Thriller
- Director: David Fincher
- Stars: Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Stellan Skarsgård, Michael Nyqvist, Robin Wright
- Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 86%, IMDb 7.8
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is yet another one of the best David Fincher movies of all time and it revolves around Daniel Craig’s Mikael Blomkvist. He is a journalist and his career is on the rocks in this mystery/thriller. He gets the help of a computer hacker named Lisbeth Salander, played by Rooney Mara, and he wants to solve the killing of a rich girl who went missing 40 years ago. According to the girl’s uncle, she was killed by one of the family members and he wants Mikael to help him find the answers he is looking for. We highly recommend this wonderful movie.
Read more: Best Mystery Movies of All Time
3. Gone Girl 2014
- Genre: Thriller/Mystery
- Director: David Fincher
- Star: Matt Damon, Rosamund Pike, Tyler Perry, Neil Patrick Harris, Carrie Coon, Emily Ratajkowski, Kim Dickens,
- Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 88%, IMDb 8.1
The movie Gone Girl was directed by David Fincher, the father of crime/thriller movies. It is an adaptation of Gillian Flynn’s novel that has the same name. The story revolves around Nick Dunne, played by Ben Affleck, who turns out to be the lead suspect in the missing case of his wife. The female star is Rosamund Pike, playing Amy Dunne, Nick’s wife. The husband has to prove his innocence before it is too late. Many believe that this character was Affleck’s most compelling one to date. It is mostly because the character underwent immense pressure and emotional turmoil. The movie is quite surprising and unpredictable as a modern thriller. Gone Girl is indeed one of the best David Fincher movies of all time.
Read more: Best Ben Affleck Movies of All Time
2. Zodiac 2007
- Genre: Mystery
- Director: David Fincher
- Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, Chloë Sevigny, John Carroll Lynch, Brian Cox, Dermot Mulroney
- Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 90%, IMDb 7.7
One of the best movies of all time is Zodiac, directed by David Fincher. The movie tells the story of fear pervading San Francisco in the 1960s and early 1970s when a serial killer named Zodiac was terrorizing the people in the city. Investigators and journalists became dedicated to find out who this murderer is and bring him to punishment. While they are doing that, Zodiac keeps taking victims, tormenting police with messages and clothes soaked with blood as well as newspaper ciphers.
Jake Gyllenhaal plays the role of Robert Graysmith, the political cartoonist, and starts working with Robert Downey Jr.’s Paul Avery, who is a real-life journalist of the same name. When Paul gets a letter that threatens his life, he becomes paranoid and starts taking drugs and alcohol to an addiction level. We highly recommend this as one of the best David Fincher movies ever.
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1. The Social Network 2010
- Genre: Drama/History
- Director: David Fincher
- Stars: Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake, Armie Hammer, Dakota Johnson
- Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 96%, IMDb 7.8
One of the best David Fincher movies of all time is The Social Network. This revolutionary drama, The Social Network, showcases Jesse Eisenberg’s talent in playing the real-life role of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg along with his co-founder Eduardo Saverin, played by Andrew Garfield. The duo’s relationship is one of the main aspects of the movie, and Garfield and Eisenberg were the perfect actors to display the complexity and difficulties the two partners shared. In addition, the dialogues are great, and the narrative is captivating, making it hard to think that The Social Network is based on facts. This is one of the greatest and best David Fincher movies ever and is placed first on our list.
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