(Photo by WB/ Courtesy Everett Collection. KISS KISS BANG BANG.)
Across a 40-plus-year career, the late Val Kilmer was confounding and difficult to define both on- and off-screen, and intentionally so. An actor that seemed to have a sixth sense for the right way to do things, much to the consternation of movie directors, Kilmer grew from young leading man to action star to humorous, yet compelling supporting cast member before a final documentary that offered an intimate look into his unique life and career. Here’s an overview of some of Kilmer’s greatest roles, followed by a Tomatometer ranking of his entire filmography.
TOP SECRET! (1984): This Julliard-trained actor burst forth fully formed in the mid-1980s, when Kilmer was discovered by the legendary Airplane! comedy trio David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker and cast as the lead in Top Secret!, a send-up of the Elvis movies and spy capers. Kilmer plays an Elvis pastiche with a dazzling smile, and in between bananas dance numbers and joining the French Resistance, he manages to steal the entire movie away from luminary supporting cast members like Peter Cushing and Omar Sharif.
Chicago Sun-Times’ Roger Ebert on Top Secret!: “Instead of a plot, it has a funny young actor named Val Kilmer as the hero, a 1950s-style American rock ‘n’ roller who is sent on a concert tour behind the Iron Curtain, and manages to reduce East Germany to a shambles while never missing a word of ‘Tutti Frutti’ (he never even stumbles during a wop-bop-a-loo-bop, a lop-bam-boom).”
REAL GENIUS (1985): Only a year later, Kilmer returned in the nerds-versus-military caper Real Genius. Again, Kilmer’s character seems to take control of the movie as the handsome, disaffected yet brilliant college student Chris Knight. You’ll never forget Kilmer’s off-kilter lines about having a dream where pickles are being thrown at him, and the immortal last words of Socrates.
Washington Post’s Paul Attanasio on Real Genius: “The movie, though, is Val Kilmer’s. With his hair swirling above his ears like pasta thrown at the wall, the way his big mouth jumps out in a smile, Kilmer sits on the cusp between great-looking and weird-looking. He walks through Real Genius with a kind of spread-out swagger, cackling profusely, defying everyone with one-liners — he’s got a kind of Bugs Bunny quality (he even asks Hathaway, ‘What’s up, Doc?’).”
TOP GUN (1986) & TOP GUN: MAVERICK (2022): Under contract to Paramount and obligated to appear as an action star despite blowing his audition according to his autobiography, Kilmer intentionally played Iceman in Top Gun as an intense blowhard, defining the character himself out of whole cloth because nobody else would do it.
36 years later and at the end of his career, Kilmer returned in the sequel, Top Gun: Maverick, as the same character, but this time dying of cancer, and his inspirational cameo turn offers critical advice to Tom Cruise’s Maverick at a key moment in the film.
The Ringer’s Adam Nayman on Top Gun: “Over and over again, Iceman states his problems with Maverick, but the almost self-parodic intensity of Kilmer’s acting—his sneering, lascivious contempt for Cruise—seems to come from somewhere deep inside, and may be a response to his irritation with the movie itself.”
AV Club’s Todd Gilchrist on Top Gun: Maverick: “[Glen] Powell shines among the rest of the new recruits as Rooster’s nemesis, a next-generation version of Val Kilmer’s Iceman, even as Kilmer shows up for a brief and tender cameo highlighting both the wisdom that comes with getting older, and the heartbreaking vulnerability.”
WILLOW (1988): After having his way with science fiction, George Lucas set his sights on the fantasy genre with Willow. Inspiration was taken from The Lord of the Rings and the classical texts, with Warwick Davis starring as a budding magician entrusted with the care of a baby prophesized to end an evil queen’s rule. On his journey, Willow meets Madmartigan, the suave but frequently harried warrior played by Kilmer. His first appearance in the film, trapped in an elevated outdoor cage and left to die, gives the story a big jolt, with Kilmer delivering a touch of modern cynicsm to this refined and precious film.
Time Out’s Tom Huddleston on Willow: “Kilmer’s performance as the wisecracking Madmartigan (great name) feels like a true star turn, packed with breezy charisma.”
THE DOORS (1991): Kilmer’s next great role was one of a few that he seemed born to play: the doomed leading man Jim Morrison of the psychedelic rock band The Doors, a passion project by conspiracy-minded filmmaker Oliver Stone. Kilmer blows the doors off the film (pun intended) with a performance worthy of the Lizard King himself.
LA Times’ Michael Wilmington on The Doors: “Stone has chosen his cast amazingly well. Kilmer’s Morrison is a visual triumph, and the actor pulls a Raging Bull-style metamorphosis from pouty acid Adonis to booze-belly drunk with oddly tender panache.”
TOMBSTONE (1993): And then there’s Doc Holliday in Tombstone. One of a pair of Wyatt Earp-themed films released by competing studios with close-by release dates, the other, Kevin Costner one had the disadvantage of not having Kilmer as Holliday turning in one of the all-time great Western performances. Kilmer fully inhabits Holliday as a tuberculosis-cursed dandy who’s the best pistol shot of them all, and proves it repeatedly. If Kilmer wasn’t your Huckleberry before seeing this movie, he certainly was afterward.
CBR’s Martin Carr on Tombstone: “Kurt Russell might have his name on the marquee in Tombstone, but Val Kilmer walks away with every frame. A debonair depiction of Southern civility, cloaked in tuberculosis, who fires from the hip. Kilmer comes at this historical figure with a true artist’s eye for human frailty.”
HEAT (1995): By the mid-90s and at maximum star stature, Kilmer still took powerhouse supporting roles, especially when directors like Michael Mann were involved. Though Heat is ostensibly a showcase for Robert DeNiro’s criminal Neil McCauley and Al Pacino’s detective Lt. Vincent Hanna, Kilmer really shines here as DeNiro’s reluctant and romantic right-hand man.
Globe and Mail’s Rick Groen on Heat: “Val Kilmer is a presence unto himself as Neil’s protege, a sharpshooter who admires his boss’s guile yet can’t abide his credo – he’s attached at the hip to his wife (‘For me, the sun rises and sets on her’), and his fate is an ironic joke at Neil’s expense, a sly aside sneaked quietly into the folds of the script.”
BATMAN FOREVER (1995): In the same year as Heat, Kilmer took over for Batman at the same time Joel Schumacher took over from Tim Burton, creating a movie, Batman Forever, that was much more of a throwback to the 1960s Batman TV series with Adam West than the grim, severe (but excellent) pair of Burton films. Kilmer’s Batman and Bruce Wayne was allowed to laugh and emit one-liners and still be intense, playing effectively against maniac villains Tommy Lee Jones as Two-Face and Jim Carrey as the Riddler.
LA Times’ Kenneth Turan on Batman Forever: “To start at the top, Val Kilmer, a late-inning replacement for Michael Keaton, brings his ice-cold Top Gun persona to the dual role of caped crime-fighter and billionaire businessman Bruce Wayne and the fit is perfect. With steely eyes, inflectionless speech and a Zen-like calm, Kilmer is adept at both the heroic and the humorous aspects of his conflicted personality.”
KISS KISS BANG BANG (2005): Skipping ahead a decade and through a bunch of less-than-good movies lands us on Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, the debut of eclectic virtuoso action filmmaker Shane Black, who intentionally cast two actors on the comeback trail in a metatextual buddy comedy with fourth walls breaking all over the place. The first actor was Robert Downey Jr., who parlayed this nervous thief turned actor turned detective, his favorite role, into a career second act in Iron Man a few years later. The other was Kilmer, playing exasperated and deadpan as the immortal Gay Perry.
The Atlantic’s Christopher Orr on Kiss Kiss Bang Bang: “Kilmer’s Perry may be gay, but in narrative terms he’s the straight man, and Kilmer portrays him with deadpan assurance, never falling back on comic stereotype.”
VAL (2021): Lastly, there’s Kilmer’s documentary about himself, his life, and his career, Val, told mostly through home movies from a camera that Kilmer carried everywhere on film sets, back when such things were unwieldy and didn’t fit in your pocket. Kilmer’s movie is narrated by his son, who sounds remarkably like him, and though Kilmer had a reputation for being difficult to work with, this documentary instead celebrates his life, through good times and bad, and good films and bad.
Entertainment Weekly’s Leah Greenblatt on Val: “So it’s some kind of cosmic irony, maybe, that the voice he lost several years ago to throat cancer comes through as vibrantly and insistently as it does in Val, a new documentary streaming on Prime Video that is by turns indulgent, bittersweet, and profoundly moving.”
Kilmer’s Best Films by Tomatometer
Kilmer’s autobiographical documentary and his Top Gun sequel cameo ended up being the final bookend on an eclectic career, full of spectacular, idiosyncratic performances. Here they all are by Tomatometer score, with Certified Fresh Films first. (Steve Horton, Alex Vo)
#1
Critics Consensus: Top Gun: Maverick pulls off a feat even trickier than a 4G inverted dive, delivering a long-belated sequel that surpasses its predecessor in wildly entertaining style.
#2
Critics Consensus: An absorbingly reflective documentary that benefits from its subject’s self-chronicling, Val offers an intimate look at a unique life and career.
#3
Critics Consensus: Fueled by Quentin Tarantino’s savvy screenplay and a gallery of oddball performances, Tony Scott’s True Romance is a funny and violent action jaunt in the best sense.
#4
Critics Consensus: Tongue-in-cheek satire blends well with entertaining action and spot-on performances in this dark, eclectic neo-noir homage.
#5
Critics Consensus: Befitting its unorthodox origins, this Bad Lieutenant benefits from Werner Herzog’s typically fearless direction and a delightfully unhinged Nicolas Cage in the title role.
#6
Critics Consensus: Though Al Pacino and Robert De Niro share but a handful of screen minutes together, Heat is an engrossing crime drama that draws compelling performances from its stars — and confirms Michael Mann’s mastery of the genre.
#7
Critics Consensus: The Prince of Egypt‘s stunning visuals and first-rate voice cast more than compensate for the fact that it’s better crafted than it is emotionally involving.
#8
Critics Consensus: Though Pollock does not really allow audiences a glimpse of the painter as a person, it does powerfully depict the creative process. Harris throws himself into the role and turns in a compelling performance.
#9
Critics Consensus: Top Secret! finds the team of Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker sending up everything from spy movies to Elvis musicals with reckless, loony abandon.
#10
Critics Consensus: If you’re seeking a stylish modern western with a solid story and a well-chosen ensemble cast, Tombstone is your huckleberry.
#11
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#12
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#13
Critics Consensus: It follows college tropes, but Real Genius has an optimistic streak that puts you on Val Kilmer’s side all the way.
#14
Critics Consensus: A promising debut for director Gia Coppola, Palo Alto compensates for its drifting plot with solid performances and beautiful cinematography.
#15
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#16
Critics Consensus: A good cast and Mamet’s mastery over the written language elevate an otherwise conventional thriller.
#17
Critics Consensus: A slick Tarantino-inspired movie that is not for everyone.
#18
Critics Consensus: Kill the Irishman may not add much in the way of new ingredients to its crowded genre, but the admirable efforts of a solidly assembled cast add extra depth to a familiar story.
#19
Critics Consensus: Felon offers a rather hackneyed depiction of prison life, but is held together by a pleasantly complex plot and solid performances from Kilmer and Dorff.
#20
Critics Consensus: Though it features some of the most memorable and electrifying aerial footage shot with an expert eye for action, Top Gun offers too little for non-adolescent viewers to chew on when its characters aren’t in the air.
#21
Critics Consensus: An expertly acted and directed Western. But like other Ron Howard features, the movie is hardly subtle.
#22
Critics Consensus: Val Kilmer delivers a powerhouse performance as one of rock’s most incendiary figures, but unfortunately, Oliver Stone is unable to shed much light on the circus surrounding the star.
#23
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#24
Critics Consensus: Tony Scott tries to combine action, science fiction, romance, and explosions into one movie, but the time travel conceit might be too preposterous and the action falls apart under scrutiny.
#25
Critics Consensus: State-of-the-art special effects and an appealing performance from Warwick Davis can’t quite save Willow from its slow pace and generic story.
#26
Critics Consensus: The Ghost and the Darkness hits its target as a suspenseful adventure, but it falls into a trap of its own making whenever it reaches for supernatural profundity.
#27
Critics Consensus: It too often mistakes shock value for real humor, but MacGruber is better than many SNL films — and better than it probably should be.
#28
Critics Consensus: As visually sumptuous as it is narratively spartan, Terrence Malick’s Song to Song echoes elements of the writer-director’s recent work — for better and for worse.
#29
Critics Consensus: Loud, excessively busy, and often boring, Batman Forever nonetheless has the charisma of Jim Carrey and Tommy Lee Jones to offer mild relief.
#30
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#31
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#32
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#33
Critics Consensus: A sordid and pointless movie with some good preformances.
#34
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#35
Critics Consensus: Interesting premise, but too long and conventional.
#36
Critics Consensus: The Saint is watchable thanks to Kilmer and Shue, but the muddled screenplay stretches credulity.
#37
Critics Consensus: Planes has enough bright colors, goofy voices, and slick animation to distract some young viewers for 92 minutes — and probably sell plenty of toys in the bargain — but on nearly every other level, it’s a Disney disappointment.
#38
Critics Consensus: A retread of Ten Little Indians that lacks the source material’s wit.
#39
Critics Consensus: An inept drama that rings false.
#40
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#41
Critics Consensus: Timid and unfocused in its storytelling, The Island Of Dr. Moreau is more lackluster misfire than morbid curiosity.
#42
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#43
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#44
Critics Consensus: A scattered mob movie that employs every mafia cliche and fails to establish an identity of its own.
#45
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#46
Critics Consensus: Even at nearly three hours long, this ponderous, talky, and emotionally distant biopic fails to illuminate Alexander’s life.
#47
Critics Consensus: While the special effects are impressive, the movie suffers from a lack of energy and interesting characters.
#48
Critics Consensus: Delgo features a blend of plot elements from earlier (and superior) fantasy films, with weaker animation and dull characters.
#49
Critics Consensus: A mystery that feels as mashed together and perishable as its title, The Snowman squanders its bestselling source material as well as a top-notch ensemble cast.
