Ranking All Of Director Richard Donner’s Movies
“What are Richard Donner’s Best Movies?” We looked at all of Donner’s directed filmography and ranked them against one another to answer that very question!
We took all of the movies directed by Richard Donner and looked at their Rotten Tomato Critic, Rotten Tomato User, Metacritic, Metacritic User, IMDB, and Letterboxd scores, ranking them against one another to see which movies came out on top. The movies are ranked in our list below based on which movies have the highest overall score between all 6 review sites in comparison with all of the other movies by the same director. The process is all very scientific with no flaws at all.
The full ranking chart is also included below the countdown on the bottom of the page.
Happy Viewing!
The Top Film’s Of Richard Donner
23 ) Lola (1970)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 17
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 19
- Metacritc Critic Score: 13
- Metacritic User Score: 14
- IMDB User Review Score: 21
- Letterboxd User Score: 20
A middle aged writer of pornographic novels meets and falls in love with a sixteen year old school girl. This alone is cause for concern but when the couple get married and move to America, the trouble (and fun) really begins.
21 ) Timeline (2003)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 15
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 17
- Metacritc Critic Score: 13
- Metacritic User Score: 13
- IMDB User Review Score: 21
- Letterboxd User Score: 23
A group of archaeological students become trapped in the past when they go there to retrieve their professor. The group must survive in 14th century France long enough to be rescued.
21 ) Salt and Pepper (1968)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 17
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 20
- Metacritc Critic Score: 13
- Metacritic User Score: 14
- IMDB User Review Score: 23
- Letterboxd User Score: 15
London nightclub owners (Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford) play spy and foil a military madman out to overthrow the government.
20 ) The Toy (1982)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 16
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 15
- Metacritc Critic Score: 13
- Metacritic User Score: 14
- IMDB User Review Score: 20
- Letterboxd User Score: 22
On one of his bratty son Eric’s annual visits, the plutocrat U.S. Bates takes him to his department store and offers him anything in it as a gift. Eric chooses a black janitor who has made him laugh with his antics. At first the man suffers many indignities as Eric’s “toy”, but gradually teaches the lonely boy what it is like to have and to be a friend.
19 ) Assassins (1995)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 14
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 18
- Metacritc Critic Score: 13
- Metacritic User Score: 14
- IMDB User Review Score: 17
- Letterboxd User Score: 21
Assassin Robert Rath arrives at a funeral to kill a prominent mobster, only to witness a rival hired gun complete the job for him — with grisly results. Horrified by the murder of innocent bystanders, Rath decides to take one last job and then return to civilian life. But finding his way out of the world of contract killing grows ever more dangerous as Rath falls for his female target and becomes a marked man himself.
18 ) X-15 (1961)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 17
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 16
- Metacritc Critic Score: 13
- Metacritic User Score: 14
- IMDB User Review Score: 18
- Letterboxd User Score: 15
X-15 is a 1961 movie that tells a fictionalized account of the X-15 research rocket plane, the men who flew it and the women who loved them.
17 ) Two-Fisted Tales (1992)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 17
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 20
- Metacritc Critic Score: 13
- Metacritic User Score: 14
- IMDB User Review Score: 18
- Letterboxd User Score: 9
The foul-mouthed, wheelchair-bound Mr. Rush introduces three adventure tales based on the EC comics of the 1950’s. A 1992 star-studded made-for-tv film which was an attempt to launch a second series in the mold of Tales From The Crypt. When this failed to launch, the three tales were re-edited and shown as Crypt episodes.
16 ) Sarah T. – Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic (1975)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 17
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 20
- Metacritc Critic Score: 13
- Metacritic User Score: 14
- IMDB User Review Score: 12
- Letterboxd User Score: 12
Finding herself unable to cope with the divorce of her parents and the stress of daily life, 15-year-old Sarah Travis starts drinking in secret. At first, alcohol provides comfort and release. Then it sends her life spiraling out of control.
15 ) Radio Flyer (1992)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 13
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 8
- Metacritc Critic Score: 13
- Metacritic User Score: 14
- IMDB User Review Score: 11
- Letterboxd User Score: 12
A father reminisces about his childhood when he and his younger brother moved to a new town with their mother, her new husband and their dog, Shane. When the younger brother is subjected to physical abuse at the hands of their brutal stepfather, Mike decides to convert their toy trolley, the “Radio Flyer”, into a plane to fly him to safety.
14 ) Lethal Weapon 3 (1992)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 9
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 13
- Metacritc Critic Score: 12
- Metacritic User Score: 10
- IMDB User Review Score: 13
- Letterboxd User Score: 12
Archetypal buddy cops Riggs and Murtaugh are back for another round of high-stakes action, this time setting their collective sights on bringing down a former Los Angeles police lieutenant turned black market weapons dealer. Lorna Cole joins as the beautiful yet hardnosed internal affairs sergeant who catches Riggs’s eye.
13 ) Lethal Weapon 4 (1998)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 12
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 11
- Metacritc Critic Score: 11
- Metacritic User Score: 4
- IMDB User Review Score: 15
- Letterboxd User Score: 15
In the combustible action franchise’s final installment, maverick detectives Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh square off against Asian mobster Wah Sing Ku, who’s up to his neck in slave trading and counterfeit currency. With help from gumshoe Leo Getz and smart-aleck rookie cop Lee Butters, Riggs and Murtaugh aim to take down Ku and his gang.
11 ) Conspiracy Theory (1997)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 10
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 11
- Metacritc Critic Score: 6
- Metacritic User Score: 11
- IMDB User Review Score: 13
- Letterboxd User Score: 15
A man obsessed with conspiracy theories becomes a target after one of his theories turns out to be true. Unfortunately, in order to save himself, he has to figure out which theory it is.
11 ) 16 Blocks (2006)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 10
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 14
- Metacritc Critic Score: 8
- Metacritic User Score: 4
- IMDB User Review Score: 15
- Letterboxd User Score: 15
An aging cop is assigned the ordinary task of escorting a fast-talking witness from police custody to a courthouse, but they find themselves running the gauntlet as other forces try to prevent them from getting there.
10 ) Inside Moves (1980)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 17
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 5
- Metacritc Critic Score: 13
- Metacritic User Score: 14
- IMDB User Review Score: 5
- Letterboxd User Score: 7
After a failed suicide attempt leaves him partially crippled, Rory begins spending a lot of time at a neighborhood bar full of interesting misfits. When Jerry the bartender suddenly finds himself playing basketball for the Golden State Warriors, Rory and the rest of the bar regulars hope his success will provide a lift to their sagging spirits. Will Jerry forget his friends? What about his junkie hooker girlfriend and her pimp?
9 ) Ladyhawke (1985)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 8
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 7
- Metacritc Critic Score: 13
- Metacritic User Score: 14
- IMDB User Review Score: 8
- Letterboxd User Score: 9
Captain Etienne Navarre is a man on whose shoulders lies a cruel curse. Punished for loving each other, Navarre must become a wolf by night whilst his lover, Lady Isabeau, takes the form of a hawk by day. Together, with the thief Philippe Gaston, they must try to overthrow the corrupt Bishop and in doing so break the spell.
8 ) Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut (2006)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 17
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 20
- Metacritc Critic Score: 1
- Metacritic User Score: 12
- IMDB User Review Score: 2
- Letterboxd User Score: 3
Kryptonian villain General Zod (Terence Stamp) and his henchmen are accidentally freed from their outer-space imprisonment and threaten Earth with destruction, just as Superman (Christopher Reeve) decides to renounce his superpowers for his new love, Lois Lane (Margot Kidder). This alternate version of the film is based on footage shot by director Richard Donner before being replaced on the project, and it includes material not seen in the film’s original 1980 release.
7 ) Maverick (1994)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 7
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 9
- Metacritc Critic Score: 9
- Metacritic User Score: 9
- IMDB User Review Score: 8
- Letterboxd User Score: 9
Maverick is a gambler who would rather con someone than fight them. He needs an additional three thousand dollars in order to enter a Winner Take All poker game that begins in a few days. He tries to win some, tries to collect a few debts, and recover a little loot for the reward. He joins forces with a woman gambler with a marvelous southern accent as the two both try and enter the game.
6 ) Scrooged (1988)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 5
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 10
- Metacritc Critic Score: 2
- Metacritic User Score: 3
- IMDB User Review Score: 8
- Letterboxd User Score: 7
In this modern take on Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” Frank Cross (Bill Murray) is a wildly successful television executive whose cold ambition and curmudgeonly nature has driven away the love of his life, Claire Phillips (Karen Allen). But after firing a staff member, Eliot Loudermilk (Bobcat Goldthwait), on Christmas Eve, Frank is visited by a series of ghosts who give him a chance to re-evaluate his actions and right the wrongs of his past.
5 ) Lethal Weapon 2 (1989)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 3
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 6
- Metacritc Critic Score: 5
- Metacritic User Score: 1
- IMDB User Review Score: 7
- Letterboxd User Score: 6
In the opening chase, Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh stumble across a trunk full of Krugerrands. They follow the trail to a South African diplomat who’s using his immunity to conceal a smuggling operation. When he plants a bomb under Murtaugh’s toilet, the action explodes!
4 ) The Omen (1976)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 2
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 4
- Metacritc Critic Score: 9
- Metacritic User Score: 6
- IMDB User Review Score: 3
- Letterboxd User Score: 3
Immediately after their miscarriage, the US diplomat Robert Thorn adopts the newborn Damien without the knowledge of his wife. Yet what he doesn’t know is that their new son is the son of the devil.
2 ) The Goonies (1985)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 5
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 1
- Metacritc Critic Score: 4
- Metacritic User Score: 8
- IMDB User Review Score: 1
- Letterboxd User Score: 1
A young teenager named Mikey Walsh finds an old treasure map in his father’s attic. Hoping to save their homes from demolition, Mikey and his friends Data Wang, Chunk Cohen, and Mouth Devereaux run off on a big quest to find the secret stash of Pirate One-Eyed Willie.
2 ) Superman (1978)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 1
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 2
- Metacritc Critic Score: 3
- Metacritic User Score: 6
- IMDB User Review Score: 5
- Letterboxd User Score: 3
Mild-mannered Clark Kent works as a reporter at the Daily Planet alongside his crush, Lois Lane. Clark must summon his superhero alter-ego when the nefarious Lex Luthor launches a plan to take over the world.
1 ) Lethal Weapon (1987)
Review Website Ranks:
- Rotten Tomatoes Critic: 3
- Rotten Tomatoes Users: 3
- Metacritc Critic Score: 6
- Metacritic User Score: 1
- IMDB User Review Score: 3
- Letterboxd User Score: 2
Veteran buttoned-down LAPD detective Roger Murtaugh is partnered with unhinged cop Martin Riggs, who — distraught after his wife’s death — has a death wish and takes unnecessary risks with criminals at every turn. The odd couple embark on their first homicide investigation as partners, involving a young woman known to Murtaugh with ties to a drug and prostitution ring.
Richard Donner’s Best Movies
Richard Donner Review Website Filmography Rankings
| Film | RT Critic | RT User | MC Critic | MC User | IMDB | Letterboxd | Overal Rank |
| Lethal Weapon (1987) | 3 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| The Goonies (1985) | 5 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Superman (1978) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| The Omen (1976) | 2 | 4 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| Lethal Weapon 2 (1989) | 3 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 5 |
| Scrooged (1988) | 5 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 7 | 6 |
| Maverick (1994) | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 7 |
| Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut (2006) | 17 | 20 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| Ladyhawke (1985) | 8 | 7 | 13 | 14 | 8 | 9 | 9 |
| Inside Moves (1980) | 17 | 5 | 13 | 14 | 5 | 7 | 10 |
| Conspiracy Theory (1997) | 10 | 11 | 6 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 11 |
| 16 Blocks (2006) | 10 | 14 | 8 | 4 | 15 | 15 | 11 |
| Lethal Weapon 4 (1998) | 12 | 11 | 11 | 4 | 15 | 15 | 13 |
| Lethal Weapon 3 (1992) | 9 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 13 | 12 | 14 |
| Radio Flyer (1992) | 13 | 8 | 13 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 15 |
| Sarah T. – Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic (1975) | 17 | 20 | 13 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 16 |
| Two-Fisted Tales (1992) | 17 | 20 | 13 | 14 | 18 | 9 | 17 |
| X-15 (1961) | 17 | 16 | 13 | 14 | 18 | 15 | 18 |
| Assassins (1995) | 14 | 18 | 13 | 14 | 17 | 21 | 19 |
| The Toy (1982) | 16 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 20 | 22 | 20 |
| Timeline (2003) | 15 | 17 | 13 | 13 | 21 | 23 | 21 |
| Salt and Pepper (1968) | 17 | 20 | 13 | 14 | 23 | 15 | 21 |
| Lola (1970) | 17 | 19 | 13 | 14 | 21 | 20 | 23 |
