Since the start of his career in 2005, Robert Pattinson has been in many movies and TV shows, including his work in the 2008 Twilight series that shot him into stardom overnight. Pattinson has acted in all different genres of movie, from romance to fantasies to period dramas, and even donned the name of the caped crusader himself in The Batman (2022). However, with successful roles always comes roles that don’t quite live up to the standard. I’ve got you covered with Robert Pattinson’s top three best and worst movies.
The worst
1. Bel ami (2012)
Bel Ami is the movie adaptation of the book of the same name by Guy de Maupassant. The film follows Georges Deroy (Robert Pattinson), a poor soldier who has just returned from war. He meets an old friend, Charles Forestier (Philip Glenister) at a bar, who invites him over. There, Georges meets three beautiful women: Madeleine Forestier (Uma Thurman), Clotilde de Marelle (Christina Ricci), and Virginie Rousset (Kristin Scott Thomas). He goes on to seduce and court the women and uses their social status to boost himself from rags to riches. All is good for Georges until the truth comes out about what he and the women have done. As Georges’ life begins to flip upside-down, it’s all worsened further by a convoluted political deal in Morocco.
With a deserved Rotten Tomatoes score of 28%, the film is dull, and rushes through the narrative originally told in the book. Movie adaptations of books tend to have their own issues, and this one makes an example out of all of them. Robert Pattinson doesn’t do the character of Georges Deroy justice. Only four years after Twilight, if this was an attempt to show he’s more than just a teen heartthrob, it didn’t work. The on-screen chemistry between Georges and Clotilde is carried by Christina Ricci with little help given to her by Pattinson. A large part of the movie just felt like a montage of Robert Pattinson’s sex scenes; there were a few too many, and they added little to the emotion of the story. The main redeeming factor of this movie is the elegance and emotion of Uma Thurman. Her portrayal of Madeleine Forestier instantly captivated and enchanted me. She brought the character to life—Madeleine was most of what kept me watching.
Overall, I give this movie a 5/10. I love a good drama film, but this one went too fast and too slow at the same time, making it mind-numbing.
2. Remember me (2010)
Remember Me is about Tyler Hawkins (Robert Pattinson), a rebellious 21-year-old living in New York City with his friend, Aidan (Tate Ellington). Dealing with a strained relationship with his workaholic father and the anniversary of his brother’s death, Tyler is cold and condescending towards the people in his life, with the exception of his younger sister, Caroline (Ruby Jerins). One night, there’s a fight outside a bar as Tyler and Aidan are leaving. Tyler gets involved and is promptly thrown in jail for arguing with a police officer (Chris Cooper). Aidan finds out that the police officer has a daughter, Ally Craig (Emelie De Ravin), and encourages Tyler to date her and break her heart to get back at the officer. However, upon getting to know Ally, Tyler falls in love, and the two have a dynamic relationship. The secret of the original plan eventually causes a rift between the lovers, but just as many romance movies go, they reconcile and fall right back into love.
The movie itself would be considered one of Pattinson’s best movies if not for the unnecessarily tragic ending. Just as you think the movie is ending on a positive note, the board in Caroline’s classroom reads “September 11th, 2001“ and the last we see of Tyler is him staring out a window in his father’s office building. The camera zooms out to show that Tyler is high up in one of the Twin Towers. Then, we see a montage with solemn music played over it of Tyler’s family and friends rushing outside to see the towers falling, and all that is left of Tyler is his notebook he uses to write to his late brother. I knew about the ending going into the film, but the execution still shocked me. There were no signs or foreshadowing throughout the entire first 105 minutes of the movie. It felt to me that there was no way the ending could have originally been part of the movie, and that only leads me to question, “Why? Why on Earth would the writer feel the need to add that?” The tragedy didn’t make any sense in the movie and overall ruined it for me.
Without the distressing ending, I would give this movie a 7/10. The acting had its moments of being hard to watch or unconvincing, but the story really carried it. However, that’s not the movie we got. Taking the film’s ending into consideration, I give this film a generous 4/10, earning it a place as one of the worst Robert Pattinson movies to date.
3. twilight (2008)
After her mom remarries, Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) moves to the gloomy town of Forks to live with her father Charlie (Billy Burke). She starts high school and soon meets a mysterious boy named Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) who keeps a dark secret. After a car almost hits Bella and Edward stops it with his bare hands, she figures out the truth about him and the rest of the Cullens: They’re vampires. Edward warns her that she should leave him before he hurts her, but Bella stands her ground. She isn’t afraid of him or what he’s capable of. The two stay together and are obsessed with each other. All is peaceful until a vampire named James (Cam Gigandet) makes it his mission to hunt Bella for her irresistible blood, the thing that originally drew Edward to her. The Cullens work to keep Bella safe, but nothing can stop James in his hunt.
We all have to admit it. As much of a cult classic Twilight is, the movie is not that good. It’s filled with cringe-worthy lines and poor acting skills, including, unfortunately, Pattinson himself. Jasper, a new vampire played by Jackson Rathbone, has no emotion on his face the entire movie, except for an expression akin to a deer in headlights before getting smeared across I-95–confused and afraid. Bella, on the other hand, has too many facial expressions, rotating between all of them in seconds while her mouth hangs open. The camera shots in the movie are enough to make you cringe, laugh and sigh all at the same time. Nobody could forget the iconic scene where Cullen encourages Bella to climb on his back, saying “hold on tight, spider monkey,” and later, glittering in the sunlight, whines, “this is the skin of a killer, Bella.” This part blew my mind with how ridiculous the camerawork and dialogue were.
As popular and laughable as it is, Twilight earned a 3/10 from me in terms of movie quality. Not even Pattinson’s sparkly pecs could salvage it.
The best
1. the lighthouse (2019)
In this visually appealing black-and-white film, a former lumberjack, Ephraim Winslow (Robert Pattinson), and gruff old lighthouse keeper, Thomas Wake (Willem Dafoe) find themselves on a small, isolated island off the coast of New England. Through the weeks of hard labor and night shifts, the two men have only each other for company. With this comes loyalty, hatred, and beans being spilled after nights of drinking. After Ephraim kills a seagull—a bad omen—a storm rolls in, preventing their return home. Thomas begins to psychologically manipulate Ephraim, who experiences visions of horrible events playing out, only to be snapped back to reality again and again.
The Lighthouse was unsettlingly beautiful. The visuals were mesmerizing, and I was kept on my toes through the entire movie. I was confused through many parts of the movie, but that added to the magic. Dafoe and Pattinson portray their roles well, with line deliveries that shake you to your core. There were many strange parts, like how disturbingly sexual the film was, but it wasn’t done poorly. It was artistic and thought provoking, just as the rest of the movie was. The mystery of the top of the lighthouse kept the viewer guessing and trying to figure out what exactly Thomas Wake was hiding up there.
Although I felt the movie was a little overhyped when it came out, I enjoyed it. I give this movie an 8/10.
2. harry potter and the goblet of fire (2005)
Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) is returning to Hogwarts for his fourth year after a grand summer with his friends. He arrives to find the Triwizard Tournament is approaching, but at the age of 14, he is not old enough to compete—or so he thinks. His name is pulled from the Goblet of Fire and everyone is enraged, assuming he has cheated, although he insists he has not. The rules stand, though, and his name being chosen means he must compete. Harry must now defeat all kinds of sea creatures, dragons, and a dark wizard that has been after him for many years.
The Goblet of Fire was the world’s introduction to the name “Robert Pattinson.” He plays heartthrob Cedric Diggory, one of the competitors in the Triwizard Tournament. You can’t go wrong with a Harry Potter movie. This film was darker than most of the others, especially with the tragic death of Diggory. The effects in this movie were much better than most others. Emma Watson began to really come into her role as Hermione with this movie. The only criticism that I, along with many others, have of this movie is the portrayal of Dumbledore as more violent and unhinged than he usually is. Aside from that, it’s a classic, and a great start to Pattinson’s career.
I give this movie an 8/10 for the effects, and the way the acting finally began to feel natural.
3. the batman (2022)
Even after two years of fighting crime and living in the shadows of Gotham City, reclusive billionaire Bruce Wayne (Robert Pattinson) finds that crime still runs rampant. When The Riddler (Paul Dano) kills the mayor and other high-profile figures in Gotham, Bruce works together with Commissioner Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) to solve the clues left behind in the form of twisted riddles calling out city officials and their wrongdoings. As Bruce works to take down his new nemesis, he is forced to acknowledge that his own parents weren’t exempt from the corrupt government systems that existed since long before he was born. This causes him to question whether he really is doing good for the city of Gotham.
This movie blew my mind. I watched The Batman three times in theaters when it came out and picked up new, interesting details each time. Since then, I have seen it at least seven times and still hold the same passion for it. When Pattinson was first announced to be playing the titular Batman, many were skeptical, and claimed they could only ever see him as the iconic Edward Cullen. Pattinson brought the character to life in a way nobody had predicted, and my expectations were exceeded. Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman was just as incredible, with her line deliveries and emotion making her lesser-known character something worth talking about.
The Batman is one of my favorite superhero movies of all time. Watching this movie changed my life for the better, and I have not gone a day without thinking about it since it first came out, so it’s a 10/10 from me.
conclusion
Robert Pattinson has come a long way in his career since his first big film in 2005, and only gets better with every role. For now, though, he has his hands full with a baby on the way with longtime partner Suki Waterhouse. Waterhouse announced her pregnancy onstage at Corona Capital Festival in November, and the fans could not be more excited for the couple. I know one thing for sure, I’ll be on the lookout for him returning as The Batman in 2025.