The Best Matt Damon Movies, Ranked

One of the biggest films of that year, Oppenheimer (2023), was the first film that joined Nolan and Damon, and it didn’t disappoint. Chronicling Robert Oppenheimer’s work on the Manhattan Project, Damon plays the director of the project, General Leslie Groves.

Damon is a small part in a massive ensemble, but he's also one of the most important in the film. Damon played the role of Groves well, honoring the real man while delivering the true story as best as possible. Oppenheimer is a long watch, but worth it to see all the moving parts of the story come together in the end.

Contagion (2011) is a grim film that explores the reality of what the world would do when a highly volatile pandemic spreads around the world. Damon plays Mitch, a husband whose wife is patient zero of the disease and the unfortunate civilian caught up in a pandemic that nearly ends human life on Earth.

Contagion is a chilling film that doesn’t hold back on the harsh reality of how hard it would be for the world to come together in time should a deadly disease spread. In fact, as the COVID-19 pandemic spread, many cited the film as a parallel and not in the best light. It’s a tough watch, but a great one should you hit play.

Another Martin Scorsese classic, The Departed (2006), tells a parallel story as a Boston cop (Leonardo DiCaprio) infiltrates a mob ring while one of their own (Matt Damon) infiltrates the police department. It’s a story filled with tension as you never know when they may be caught and what will happen, and it makes for a great retelling of Infernal Affairs (2002).

The Departed is a masterclass in acting from Jack Nicholson to DiCaprio to, of course, Damon. Damon specifically does a great job of playing an undercover criminal in the police force, and it makes for an exciting conclusion you’d never see coming.

The Bourne Identity (2002) is the first in a massive franchise comprised of five sequels and a theme park attraction that has kept Robert Ludlum’s novel series alive. The first film stars Damon as Jason Bourne, a man found adrift at sea with amnesia, trying to find his identity and learning he’s a highly skilled agent for the CIA.

The Bourne Identity is a brutal and exciting film that has all the makings of a typical thriller, but with Damon in the role, it gives Bourne even more personality. It’s got great fights and an enthralling narrative, and you want to keep watching to get to the very end of his story.

A remake of a Frank Sinatra film, Ocean’s Eleven (2001) introduces us to Danny Ocean, recently released from prison with a plan to rob three of the biggest casinos in Las Vegas. He gets 10 other accomplices under his wing, including pickpocket Linus Caldwell (Matt Damon), and begins prepping for the heist.

Ocean’s Eleven is a fun and exciting heist film, and while Damon is a small part of a larger operation, he delivers in every scene. The film has the perfect amount of tension and absurdity needed to make a heist film work, and will surely get you hooked for the two following sequels.

Based on the novel of the same name by Patricia Highsmith, The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) follows a con man, Matt Damon, as he’s hired to bring a young playboy home to his father. But as the two become friends, Tom Ripley (Damon) becomes obsessed with the rich lifestyle and does the unthinkable to get it for himself.

The Talented Mr. Ripley works so well because it delivers a great thriller that features all the mainstays, such as murder, beautiful locations, and the lengths a person will go to get what they want. It feels like a noir film of the ‘40s and ‘50s but with something more, and it’s Damon at his darkest.

Christopher Nolan pulls out all the stops by bringing Homer’s legendary tale to the big screen with a star studded cast. Damon takes on the lead role of Odysseus, giving the character a vulnerable quality as he deals with everything standing between him and his family.

Despite its almost three-hour runtime, the audience has responded incredibly well to the scale of the film, as well as the performances and visuals. And, we would be remiss if we didn’t give Damon his flowers for making Odysseus feel real rather than just a character in a Greek epic. This is definitely an impressive addition to Damon’s filmography, and though at the #5 spot right now, it could climb even higher with time.

Dogma (1999) is a dark comedy about two angels, played by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, who are banished from Heaven to Wisconsin. In hopes of finding a way back, they may doom humanity in the process.

Damon plays the angel, Loki, who wants to go home without disgracing God and struggles, albeit hilariously, to find a happy median between the violence and the mission. Dogma is a dark movie, but its humor still stands if you can shoulder the heavy religious criticism throughout.

An iconic World War II film directed by Steven Spielberg, Saving Private Ryan (1998) follows a group of soldiers tasked with rescuing the only living son after his siblings are killed behind enemy lines. It’s a movie about selflessness in the face of certain death and doesn’t hold back on the horrors of war.

Damon plays Private Ryan, and while he operates a bit more like a plot device, seeing him witness the sacrifice of the men who saved him is felt from the moment he’s on screen. We root for Ryan’s survival from the start and feel the stakes, and Damon makes that role his own.

Based on Andy Weir’s novel of the same name, The Martian (2015) asks a simple question: What if you’re left behind on Mars and everyone thinks you’re dead? Damon plays astronaut Mark Watney as he uses his mind and perseverance to sustain himself in Mars’ harsh environment until help arrives.

The momentum of The Martian is top-notch and is an exciting sci-fi movie for anyone who isn’t particularly interested in the genre. Damon brings charisma to a movie that should, by all rights, be incredibly boring, and that’s what makes it one of his best performances.