Five top flick picks from Robert Downey Jr’s busy back-catalogue

With cinemas now hosting the movie event of the year in the finale form of Avengers: Endgame, we salute franchise stalwart Robert Downey Jr. with five streaming picks from his busy back-catalogue.

With cinemas now hosting the movie event of the year in the finale form of Avengers: Endgame, we salute franchise stalwart Robert Downey Jr. with five streaming picks from his busy back-catalogue.

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Robert Downey Jr and Val Kilmer lead the top notch performances in Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang.

KISS KISS, BANG BANG (2005)

Google, iTunes

****

Unconventional, stylish crime thriller about a small-time crook (RDJ) who suddenly finds himself on the verge of becoming a big-time actor. That is, until he goes into cahoots with a gay private eye (Val Kilmer) and the great lost love of his childhood (Michelle Monaghan). Bristles with energy and ideas — sometimes to an overbearing extent — but the writing and performances remain top-notch. Recommended.

RDJ and Jude Law in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.

SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS (2011)

Foxtel Now, Netflix

***

Both of RDJ’s Sherlock flicks (directed by Guy Ritchie) go quite well. This second one is a piñata of red herrings, dead-ends and weird, action-y stuff happening for no apparent reason. The plot mucks about with some business involving Cossacks and Gypsies. However, all that really matters is the emergence of Holmes’ most respected adversary, the flamboyantly evil Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris).

Tropic Thunder has an all-star cast of funnymen led by Robert Downey Jr. Picture: AP

TROPIC THUNDER (2008)

Netflix

***

While shooting a blockbuster war film in the wilds of Vietnam, a cast of egocentric actors become engaged in a running battle with local drug lords. The performers think it’s all part of a show being filmed with secret cameras, which only further enrages the enemy. Always worth a look for its all-star cast of funnymen — led by RDJ, Ben Stiller, Jack Black and (yes, he really is funny here) Tom Cruise.

RDJ stars alongside the great Robert Duvall in The Judge.

THE JUDGE (2014)

Netflix, Stan

***1/2

A solid, enjoyable and engrossing courtroom drama that will please traditional devotees of the genre. The great Robert Duvall plays Joseph, a veteran small-town judge facing a murder charge in his own court after a tragic hit-run incident. Joseph cannot recall the accident, and his only chance of beating certain jail time is to reluctantly hand over his defence to his estranged son Hank (RDJ).

RDJ worked with Mark Ruffalo in Zodiac long before they pair starred in Avengers.

ZODIAC (2007)

Netflix

****1/2

Acclaimed director David Fincher (Se7en, Fight Club) tells the fascinating story of the Zodiac, a media-savvy serial killer who tormented northern California throughout the 1970s and beyond. What looks for all the world like a thriller is actually a slow-burning, unfailingly precise police procedural. Classy stuff for true-crime buffs. Stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, RDJ.