Clint Eastwood is on the Mount Rushmore of movie stars and filmmakers.
The Academy Award-winning man of few words is a craftsman whose filmmaking style is nothing if not robust and to the point. He may have hit more bullseyes than any working commercial director today.
Given the length of his filmography, of course not every movie connected with audiences — some for good reason, some for unknown reasons. Whatever the case may be, these are 12 underrated Clint Eastwood movies.
Blood Work (2002)
Based on Michael Connelly’s book and adapted by Mystic River’s Brian Helgeland, Blood Work is the cinematic equivalent of a page turner. It’s a tightly wound B-movie.
Seeing Eastwood calmly and assuredly grab a shotgun from a trunk to chase off a baddie is worth the price of admission (or rental) alone. It’s a cat-and-mouse chase between an ex-cop (played by Clint) and a killer.
Eastwood and his main co-star, Jeff Daniels, have a buoyant chemistry that nicely undercuts Blood Work’s darkness.
Changeling (2008)
Changeling left audiences and critics cold, but 17 years after its release it feels like a classic case of Eastwood finding more power in words than in guns.
Christine Collins (Angelina Jolie) fights the legal system, corrupt cops, and society — like many classic Clint protagonists. But she does it without firing a shot.
The filmmaker paints her internal battles with bravura — the kind he once mostly left to his hard-charging heroes. There’s a passion to his respect for Collins’ resilience in Changeling — a compelling insight into the man and filmmaker Eastwood grew into.
Cry Macho (2021)
Eastwood hits a single with Cry Macho. It’s a road movie with simple charms and pleasures, mostly from watching the 91-year-old legend walk, talk, and drive.
The film would pair well with Bronco Billy in its breezy storytelling. Eastwood directs and stars as a cowboy tasked with bringing a kid home from Mexico, and while the plot is light as paper, there’s always a heaviness to Eastwood.
Watching him onscreen, it’s impossible not to see a walking, talking story whose every grimace tells a tale. Eastwood captivates even when he sips coffee.
Cry Macho was greeted with a muted response back in 2021, but the years might be kinder to what’s potentially Eastwood’s final performance.
Every Which Way But Loose (1978)
One of cinema’s favorite brawlers is a punching machine in this box office hit that is frequently written off as a joke.
Every Which Way But Loose is two hours of Clint throwing punches, protecting his beloved orangutan Clyde, and beating up neo-Nazis. There’s loads of entertainment value here, including a shotgun-blasting Ruth Gordon and all the hand-to-hand combat.
The bizarre “love story” between Clint and Sondra Locke holds Every Which Way But Loose back from popcorn movie greatness, but with the high-quality action and parody-level comedy, the film’s deserves a better reputation than it has.
The Eiger Sanction (1975)
Clint Eastwood is an Americana Bond with his adaptation of Trevanian’s spy novel.
Eastwood plays Jonathan Hemlock — a former agent pulled back into a pulpy world of espionage. The Eastwood film was a disappointment at the box office, and is still not exactly seen as one of his finest directorial efforts.
But it is loads of fun with spy hijinks, colorful characters, and, in usual Clint Eastwood fashion, muscular action.
When The Eiger Sanction isn’t bordering on Bond parody, it’s straight-faced thrills with timeless action and climbing sequences.
Honkytonk Man (1982)
Eastwood bares his soul in Honkytonk Man. Back in 1982, audiences weren’t taken with the filmmaker playing a sensitive artist, so he was very much playing against type.
Whether or not that resulted in tepid box office numbers, it’s a gentle gem from Eastwood. He’s noted in the past it’s one of the closer stories to a statement he’s made.
Eastwood plays a dying musician on the road with his nephew (Eastwood’s son, Kyle Eastwood) to perform one last time at the Opry. With the exception of Jersey Boys, anytime Eastwood shares his love of music with audiences, the result is passion.
Juror No. 2 (2024)
Eastwood’s latest, Juror No. 2, represents many of Eastwood’s strengths as a director. When he has a fine ensemble of actors and good material to support them, he can bring out the best in them.
Through Eastwood’s sharpest lens, we see characters — not performers. In the morally challenging as well as entertaining Juror No. 2, Eastwood displays relaxed confidence with a simple story of a young man (Nicholas Hoult) called to be a juror in a case in which — unbeknownst to anyone else — he has a very personal stake.
Although critically acclaimed, Juror No. 2 made little impact in theaters. Luckily, it’s finding an audience on HBO Max.
Richard Jewell (2019)
Eastwood again turns his fist at those in power in Richard Jewell, a mostly true story of the wrong accused suspect in the bombing at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta.
Paul Walter Hauser is transfixing as Jewell, a man who saved lives after discovering pipe bombs, but became the prime suspect because of a rush to judgment.
The socially awkward Richard Jewell isn’t the average hero, but Eastwood shows that heroism comes in all forms. Even if you know the details of the true story, Richard Jewell is an all-around solid thriller with heart, worth watching for Hauser and Sam Rockwell alone.
Sudden Impact (1983)
The man who plays Harry Callahan steps behind the camera with the fourth entry in the Dirty Harry franchise.
After some hijinks in The Enforcer, Eastwood brings his iconic character down in the gutter. It is a dark turn, to put it lightly. Sudden Impact presents trigger-happy Callahan almost as a force of death in a noir-inspired sequel.
Eastwood is practically the grim reaper here, often drenched in shadows appropriate for this more gut-churning franchise entry. As in High Plains Drifter, Eastwood portrays themes of evil and menace with unshakeable intensity.
Sondra Locke’s standout performance adds depth and texture.
Is it really an underrated Clint Eastwood movie? It was a box office hit back in the day, sure, but it’s not usually noted as one of Eastwood’s more accomplished directorial efforts. We think it should be.
Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974)
Thunderbolt and Lightfoot is beloved among Clint Eastwood fans. There’s no denying that, but when general fans and moviegoers talk about classic pictures from the man’s résumé, the Michael Cimino two-hander isn’t mentioned enough.
Clint’s made many buddy pictures, but none top Cimino’s crime film pairing a tough Clint and a hippie Jeff Bridges. Seeing these two ride alongside each other, growing as friends and criminals, is an ultimately powerful delight.
After an easygoing set-up, the ending hits like a ton of bricks. Rarely has Eastwood played devastation so well as in Thunderbolt and Lightfoot.
Tightrope (1984)
Arguably one of three horror movies Eastwood has made, along with High Plains Drifter and Play Misty for Me.
In Tightrope, Eastwood plays a perverse detective chasing down a serial killer in New Orleans, which means there’s a lot of the jazz movie Eastwood loves. Richard Tuggle is the credited director, although Eastwood had a strong hand in the final film.
It’s a film filled with jump scares, shadows, a clown, and a balloon scene that’s more IT than Dirty Harry. There’s even a parade float of then-President Ronald Reagan.
White Hunter, Black Heart (1990)
Eastwood plays a version of iconic filmmaker John Huston — need we say more? Eastwood brings every ounce of his bravura and swagger to the role of John Wilson, a director prepping his latest project in Zimbabwe.
This is the film icon’s only movie about moviemaking, as well as a look at the dangers of ego. White Hunter, Black Heart was box office miss from Eastwood, but he was towering yet vulnerable in the film.
And in its skepticism about mythologizing tough guys, it set the stage for the film that may be Eastwood’s masterpiece — 1992’s Unforgiven.
If you like this list, you might also like this list of Stars of the 1950s Who Are Still Going Strong, which references one of the very first Clint Eastwood movies — even if we wouldn’t call it one of the most underrated Clint Easwood movies.
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