Every David Fincher Movie Ranked—‘Fight Club’, ‘Se7en’, and More

David Fincher is one of the most celebrated directors in recent history, with a career that has been going strong since the 1990s. After working on the sets of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, he was able to make a name for himself as the director of many iconic films.

With his most recent film, Mank, arriving on Netflix last Friday, now is the perfect time to rank all eleven of his films from the worst to the best.

11. Alien 3 (1992)

Fincher’s debut feature is Alien 3, the sequel to Ridley Scott’s Alien and James Cameron’s Aliens. He had to live up to the legacy of a successful franchise, and unfortunately, this was a film plagued with production issues and studio interference, leading Fincher to disown the film, expressing his dislike for the way it turned out.

The final product is a disjointed mess that pales in comparison to the first two Alien films. It commits a major misstep in the first few minutes and the rest of the film is dull and contains not a single memorable sequence.

10. Mank (2020)

Fincher’s latest feature follows Herman J. Mankiewicz as he rushes to finish writing the script for Citizen Kane. It is a black-and-white film made to evoke the nostalgia of 1930s and 1940s cinema with the way it looks to the cigarette burns in the corners.

While I can appreciate the film on a technical level, the film is very emotionally distant, with scenes that fail to make the audience feel any particular emotion. It’s not a mainstream movie, and it has a very narrow appeal to fans of film history and 1930s movies. Those unfamiliar with this time period are likely to be very bored with this film, despite how marvelous it looks.

9. The Game (1997)

This film is one of Fincher’s earlier works. It was his follow-up to Se7en and much of The Game is stellar. This is a tense, occasionally off-putting movie that keeps its audiences guessing every minute as to what is going on. It’s exciting and wonderfully confusing.

Where this film fell flat on its face for me was the ending, which was far-fetched, absurd, and left me with a terrible taste in my mouth. It recontextualizes the entire film and makes you realize how much could have gone horribly wrong if one little event didn’t go as planned, and it strained too much credibility.

8. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

Fincher’s take on The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is fascinating. He provides the audience with a very exciting but very grounded experience watching two characters dealing with certain things in their lives and how that comes into play during the main story.

It has a few too many moving parts to remain enthralling throughout its entire runtime, but it’s a movie from a director who knows what he’s doing and the ending of the film is excellent.

7. Panic Room (2002)

Panic Room is a very claustrophobic thriller that Fincher directs to perfection. The tension never ends once the inciting incident begins and it’s a very simple, exciting movie grounded by fantastic performances from Jodie Foster, a young Kristen Stewart, and Forest Whitaker.

We have three villains in the film and they all feel very different from each other and while there isn’t much beyond the simple premise, this film grabs the audience’s attention and doesn’t let go.

6. Se7en (1995)

One of Fincher’s most celebrated works, Se7en is a brilliantly paced crime thriller. It’s a disturbing film that works due to the chemistry between Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman. They give very grounded performances and their characters are fascinating to watch.

It’s not a film that I award as much praise as others, but it is a wonderful, nail-biting movie that has a truly haunting ending if you really stop and think about it.

5. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

This is, in my opinion, Fincher’s most underrated work. The premise is very simple—a boy is born who ages backwards, beginning life as an old man and growing younger as he grows older. This is a story about a person’s life, and it is captivating.

It’s not a thriller and it doesn’t have the tension of his other works. Benjamin Button is also a bit too normal beyond his curious case, but the film works based on its performances from Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett and it’s a very unique film.

4. Zodiac (2007)

A film based on the real-life events of the Zodiac Killer, this is a brutal, terrifying movie about a harrowing investigation with hiccups, unsettling scenes, and performances that feel incredibly natural. It doesn’t wrap up everything perfectly, but that is what makes this movie so interesting to watch.

On another note, the three main actors (Robert Downey Jr., Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo) all ended up portraying characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. They show their talents in this movie and the direction their characters go is enthralling.

3. The Social Network (2010)

Easily one of my favorites of the bunch, Fincher’s take on the creation of Facebook and the lawsuits that came after is enthralling. Much of that is due to a tight, fast-paced script from Aaron Sorkin, and the rest comes from Fincher’s directorial choices and how he tells this story.

It contains a career-best performance from Jesse Eisenberg and it’s beautifully shot with such a great structure.

2. Gone Girl (2014)

Films don’t get much better than this psychological thriller with Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike giving fantastic performances. This film is dark, twisting, and captivating.

The twist comes sooner in the movie than you’d expect and the rest of the film manages to keep your attention and like with many Fincher films, the ending is haunting and it gives us a look at how disturbed the characters are and how the media treats its stories.

And finally…

1. Fight Club (1999)

This may be the most unpredictable film I have ever seen. It’s the type of movie where you don’t know what’s gonna happen next and it’s very difficult to tell precisely where the story is going. This creates a very interesting narrative that works on multiple levels.

And the final twist of the film is one that makes sense when you go back and rewatch it. It’s genius and Fincher’s direction shines in this movie.

Thanks for reading!