When we talk about actors who have given us some of the most versatile characters, Matt Damon’s name cannot be left out. From playing an arrogant con artist to an existential crisis-laden teenager to being an astronaut stuck in space, there is no dynamic this actor has not explored, which is evident by the five Oscars he has in his name. So, with that being said, let’s take a look at the 15 best movies in which Matt Damon has displayed his talents.
15. Downsizing
- Release Date: December 22, 2017
- Cast: Matt Damon, Hong Chau, Christoph Waltz, Kristen Wiig, Jason Sudeikis, Laura Dern, Neil Patrick Harris, Rolf Lassgård
- IMDb/Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 5.8/ 47%
- Director: Alexander Payne
Matt Damon has starred in some of the best movies ever. However, Downsizing is one of those things that will make you question why Matt decided to be a part of this one. Downsizing takes us to a future where scientists have discovered a way to shrink humans to a height of five inches with the promise of increasing their standard of living and the value of the money they possess.
When a married couple from Omaha, Paul (Matt Damon) and Audrey Safranek, who have been going through financial troubles, find out about this procedure, they decide to go through it to make things better for themselves. However, is Downsizing that good of an idea?
Even though I appreciate the attempt at bringing forward a new concept, this movie lacks several things, and it becomes a pain to sit through eventually. The only good thing about Downsizing is the performance put forward by Matt Damon.
14. Elysium
- Release Date- August 9, 2013
- Cast- Matt Damon, Sharlto Copley, William Fichtner, Alice Braga, Wagner Moura, Diego Luna, Emma Tremblay, Brandon Auret, Josh Blacker
- IMDb/Rotten Tomatoes Rating- 6.6/ 64%
- Director- Neill Blomkamp
Elysium had the potential of being one of the best sci-fi movies for the time when it was released. However, Neill Blomkamp, the director, made the movie in a way that it seemed like he was trying to replicate the elements of District 9, another movie that he directed previously. This became the reason for Elysium to be unsuccessful at the Box Office.
Elysium takes us to a distant future in the year 2154, where society is divided into two classes: the extremely rich and the poor. The rich live on a man-made space station called Elysium, and the poor live on a drained and overpopulated Earth. However, one man, Max (Matt Damon), takes up a dangerous mission that will erase this distinction and could make Elysium accessible to everyone.
Elysium had its ups and downs. The biggest downside was the story that seemed to be rushed as well as not well knitted throughout. Meanwhile, the performance put forward by Matt and other actors lived up to what one would expect. If you do decide to watch Elysium, do not expect too much from it, but if you are just looking for something to munch on while enjoying your snacks, Elysium is a good choice.
13. The Instigators
- Release Date- August 2, 2024
- Cast- Matt Damon, Casey Affleck, Jack Harlow, Michael Stuhlbarg, Hong Chau, Caylee Cowan, Paul Walter Hauser, Ron Perlman
- IMDb/Rotten Tomatoes Rating- 6.2/ 40%
- Director- Doug Liman
If you are a sucker for heist comedies, The Instigators is a movie that will be pretty enjoyable for you. Even though it might not be the best heist movie out there, what makes it special is the performance we get to see from Matt Damon and Casey Affleck, who share an absolutely bomb chemistry.
The Instigators takes us to two men, Rory (Matt Damon) and Cobby (Casey Affleck), who join forces to rob a corrupt politician, with a plan that is theoretically watertight, allowing them to get away without a scratch. However, things go south really fast, leading to a chaotic escape, and now, with the police and criminals on their tail, they have to find a way to save their skin.
Before you tune into Apple TV+ to watch this Matt Damon movie, let me tell you that even though the movie casts Matt, The Instigators is nowhere close to being something like Ocean’s Eleven. It features a plot that has been done a thousand times before and is nothing special but an overall entertaining watch that will not make you feel that you wasted your time.
12. Interstellar
- Release Date- November 7, 2014
- Cast- Matthew McConaughey, Jessica Chastain, Anne Hathaway, Timothée Chalamet, Mackenzie Foy, Matt Damon, Michael Caine
- IMDb/Rotten Tomatoes Rating- 8.7/ 73%
- Director- Christopher Nolan
Interstellar does not need an introduction, this movie is a cult classic that is loved and cherished by millions worldwide. Matt Damon does not have a major role in the movie but appears briefly. When Cooper and his team land on a planet to run a sit-rep on whether it is habitable or not, they find an astronaut who was previously sent there with the same mission.
The astronaut here is none other than Matt Damon. This is one of the few times where Matt appears in somewhat of a negative role. When Cooper and his friends find him, he assures them that this planet can sustain human life.
However, he reveals that he has been lying about the conditions of the planet so that someone would send a rescue party to get him home. He even tries to steal their ship to get off the planet but dies in the process.
11. Dogma
- Release Date- November 12, 1999
- Cast- Matt Damon, Kevin Smith, Ben Affleck, Jason Mewes, Alan Rickman, Linda Fiorentino, Salma Hayek, Jason Lee, Chris Rock, Alanis Morissette
- IMDb/Rotten Tomatoes Rating- 7.3/68%
- Director- Kevin Smith
Dogma, released in 1999, stars Matt Damon as a fallen Angel named Loki, as well as Ben Affleck, who takes up the role of Bartleby, another fallen Angel. They are desperate to get back into heaven and are looking for a way to get back in. On the other hand, an abortion clinic worker with a special heritage is employed by none other than God to make sure they don’t. She is accompanied by two prophets, Jay and Silent Bob, in her mission.
Dogma is a movie that will bring you the best in class action, comedy, and some dark humor if you’re into it. Even though this Matt Damon movie is quite old, it should not be a factor to restrict you from enjoying Dogma.
10. Contagion
- Release Date- September 9, 2011
- Cast- Matt Damon, Jude Law, Kate Winslet, Laurence Fishburne, Gwyneth Paltrow, Marion Cotillard, Jennifer Ehle, Bryan Cranston, Sanaa Lathan, Demetri Martin, Elliott Gould, Monique Gabriela Curnen
- IMDb/Rotten Tomatoes Rating- 6.8/85%
- Director- Steven Soderbergh
If you watched Contagion back in 2011, it would feel like director Steven Soderbergh had predicted the world shutting down due to the breakout of COVID-19. Matt Damon appears as Mitch, who is married to a woman who has just come back from a business trip to Hong Kong. While on her business trip, she contracted an unknown virus that claimed her life as well as her son’s. However, the virus starts spreading violently, but it seems that her husband, Mitch, is immune to its effects.
The CDC is working day and night to find a cure for this disease, but time is their greatest enemy as the disease is spreading rapidly, claiming the lives of hundreds of people. Contagion might not be a traditional horror movie, but the panic and distress we get to see in this movie gives it a horror element, and Matt Damon’s performance is the cherry on top for the overall well-knit plot of the movie.
9. Invictus
- Release Date- December 11, 2009
- Cast- Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon, Tony Kgoroge, Adjoa Andoh, Marguerite Wheatley, Bonnie Mbuli, Langley Kirkwood, Robert Hobbs
- IMDb/Rotten Tomatoes Rating- 7.3/ 76%
- Director- Clint Eastwood
Invictus is based on a true story of Nelson Mandela’s attempt at uniting his country through the love of sports. In this movie, Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) collaborates with the captain of South Africa’s rugby team, François Pienaar (Matt Damon), to bring together a country that is racially and financially divided because of the Apartheid.
Even though the central character of this movie is Morgan Freeman’s Nelson Mandela, the show is stolen by Matt Damon. His impeccable performance as the legendary South African rugby player garnered him praise from critics.
8. The Informant
- Release Date- September 18, 2009
- Cast- Matt Damon, Lucas McHugh Carroll, Melanie Lynskey, Tom Papa, Eddie Jemison, Scott Bakula, Thomas F. Wilson, Clancy Brown, Tony Hale
- IMDb/Rotten Tomatoes Rating- 6.5/ 80%
- Director- Steven Soderbergh
The Informant brings us Matt Damon as Mark Whitacre, an employee at a lysine developing company called ADM. He is faithful to the company and has even made his way into upper management. However, his life turns upside down when he unwillingly becomes a mole for the FBI, collecting evidence of the price-fixing activities being undertaken at ADM. Even though he started unwillingly as an informant, he gradually starts enjoying it and starts thinking of himself as a secret agent.
Things were working out in his favor until they were not, and his world came crashing down to a struggle of saving his skin from his co-workers and bosses who start suspecting Mark. The Informant will bring you humor, thrill, and most of all, Matt Damon’s commendable ability to make any role his own.
7. Ocean’s Eleven
- Release Date- December 7, 2001
- Cast- George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, Andy Garcia, Bernie Mac, Shaobo Qin, Casey Affleck, Elliott Gould, Carl Reiner, Scott Caan, Eddie Jemison
- IMDb/Rotten Tomatoes Rating- 7.7/ 83%
- Director- Steven Soderbergh
If heist movies tickle your nerves, look no further than Ocean’s Eleven. This movie is everything you could ask for and features a tremendous cast. This movie stars George Clooney as Danny Ocean, a con artist and thief who just got out of prison and has a job that could make him and his associates filthy rich.
Ocean and his right-hand man, Rusty, assemble a team of 9 talented men and plan to rob a vault that stores $150 million from three of the biggest casinos in Las Vegas. However, is the plan as foolproof as Ocean thinks it to be? Ocean’s Eleven is by far one of most celebrated heist movies for the impeccable performance put forth by the cast. If you are a fan of Matt Damon, Ocean’s Eleven is one movie that you should not miss out on.
6. The Departed
- Release Date- October 6, 2006
- Cast- Vera Farmiga, Jack Nicholson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Ray Winstone, Alec Baldwin, Kevin Corrigan, Robert Wahlberg
- IMDb/Rotten Tomatoes Rating- 8.5/ 91%
- Director- Martin Scorsese
The Departed is one of the finest cop-criminal movies you can get your hands on. This movie explores two sides of the same coin, one from the perspective of a corrupt cop and another from the viewpoint of a righteous one. In this movie, Matt Damon appears as Colin Sullivan, who on the surface seems to be a righteous cop but in truth, works as an informant for a crime kingpin named Frank Costello. On the other hand, Billy Costigan works under Costello, but in truth, he is an undercover spy for the police force.
Soon, both the police force and the mob discover that there is a mole among them, which leads to a massive cat-and-mouse chase since both Colin and Billy are unaware of each other’s identity. This is a movie that will keep you hooked to the screen till the very end, and I believe that if nothing else, you should check out this one for Matt Damon’s performance.
5. Saving Private Ryan
- Release Date- July 24, 1998
- Cast- Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore, Vin Diesel, Edward Burns, Barry Pepper, Jeremy Davies, Adam Goldberg
- IMDb/Rotten Tomatoes Rating- 8.6/ 94%
- Director- Steven Spielberg
If war movies are your thing, Saving Private Ryan is one such movie that will bring you the best of every aspect of war. This movie revolves around Cpt. Miller and select members from the 2nd Rangers who are sent behind enemy lines to find and rescue Private James Francis Ryan (Matt Damon). Matt Damon’s screen time in the movie is relatively very little, but the emotional depth which he presents in the final moments of this movie makes critics believe that he indeed was the main character of Saving Private Ryan.
4. The Talented Mr. Ripley
- Release Date- December 12, 1999
- Cast- Matt Damon, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Cate Blanchett, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jack Davenport, Sergio Rubini, Philip Baker Hall, Rosario Fiorello
- IMDb/Rotten Tomatoes Rating- 7.4/ 85%
- Director- Anthony Minghella
The talented Mr. Ripley is a demonstration of how talented an actor Matt Damon is. In this movie, he appears as a young man whose “Talents” are impersonation, forgery, and lying. One day, he got a job to take the place of a piano player, and while playing, a wealthy shipbuilder Herbert Greenleaf mistakes Ripley for a friend of his son, Dickie who has gone to Italy and refuses to return.
He offers Ripley $1000 to go to Italy and persuade his son to come back to America, to which he agrees. However, things take an unexpected turn when things go south between Dickie and Ripley. The Talented Mr. Ripley is a movie that is a testament to the versatility Matt Damon possesses as an actor while offering an interesting and gripping story to keep you hooked.
3. The Bourne Identity Franchise
- Release Date- June 6, 2002
- Cast- Matt Damon, Franka Potente, Julia Stiles, Brian Cox, Chris Cooper, Gabriel Mann, Clive Owen, Nicky Naude, Tim Dutton, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Orso Maria Guerrini
- IMDb/Rotten Tomatoes Rating- 7.8/84%
- Director- Doug Liman
Jason Bourne novels became a massive success after their release in 1980, and then in 2002, Matt Damon took up the role of Jason Bourne on the big screen. The Bourne Identity takes us to a young man who is discovered at sea by a group of fishermen who think that he is dead. However, to their surprise, he is very much alive but has completely forgotten about his identity.
Soon, this man finds a vault with a massive stash of money and multiple passports in his name, Jason Bourne. He finds a friend in Marie Helena Kreutz, with whom he travels to different parts of the world to find out who he is and why so many people want him dead. The Bourne Identity is one of the best spy action movies of all time, and if you enjoy this genre, there is no way that you should let this one go.
2. The Martian
- Release Date- October 2, 2015
- Cast- Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kate Mara, Sebastian Stan, Kristen Wiig, Michael Peña, Mackenzie Davis, Sean Bean, Donald Glover, Jeff Daniels
- IMDb/Rotten Tomatoes Rating- 8/91%
- Director- Ridley Scott
After venturing into space as a man stuck on a lifeless planet in Interstellar, Matt Damon once again took up somewhat of the same role in The Martian. Matt Damon appears as Astronaut Mark Watney, who gets stuck on Mars after being presumed dead by his crew. Now, he has to find a way to survive on this barren planet with his wit, intelligence, and education as an astronaut as well as a botanist.
The Martian is one of the best movies about space survival you could ask for, and trust me when I say it, watching it once is not going to be enough. In this movie, you can see the experience and talent Matt Damon possesses as an actor. So, if you are fascinated by space, The Martian is a must-have on your watchlist. It is certainly one of the best Matt Damon movies to exist.
1. Good Will Hunting
- Release Date- December 5, 1997
- Cast- Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Robin Williams, Minnie Driver, Cole Hauser, Casey Affleck, Stellan Skarsgård, Rachel Majorowski, Stellan Skarsgård, Rachel Majorowski
- IMDb/Rotten Tomatoes Rating- 8.3/97%
- Director- Gus Van Sant
Good Will Hunting, in my personal opinion, is the best movie Matt Damon has ever starred in. This movie stars Matt as a young man named Will Hunting who works as a janitor at MIT and by night spends his time drinking and betting with his friends. However, Will is no normal boy and has a gift for mathematics. When a professor discovers his talents, he decides to help him by sending Will to a therapist named Sean Maguire so Sean could help Will cherish his talents and find direction in his life.
This movie is a heartwarming experience and will make you think about yourself as well, especially if you are someone currently struggling with existential questions. The dynamic shared by Matt and Robin Williams feels almost like a father-son chemistry, and the experience of watching this movie in itself is magical.
