Earlier this month, Henry Cavill returned to the big screen in Matthew Vaughn’s Argylle, a spy action comedy in which Cavill played the title character – a man who may not exist. Unfortunately, Argylle hasn’t had a very warm reception at the box office, and it appears that Vaughn’s plans for a potential franchise are unlikely to go forward.
This shouldn’t reflect badly on Cavill himself, who last appeared on the big screen in 2022 during a cameo as Superman in Black Adam. Shortly thereafter, D.C. Studios decided to move on from Cavill’s take on the iconic superhero, and another actor was cast for the next Superman film. Regardless, we still believe that Cavill is a talented actor whose action career is far from over. Having said that, a lot of Cavill’s movies prior to 2011 represent some of the worst aspects of direct-to-video films. That’s why you won’t find any of those flicks on this list.
When considering the best Henry Cavill movies, we had to leave out those early films and primarily focus on his roles from the last 13 years. We also found that some of Cavill’s most enjoyable performances come when he’s in a supporting role rather than having to carry a movie by himself.
7. Immortals
Don’t expect a history lesson about Greek mythology from Immortals. This film plays pretty fast and loose with the mythos behind the Greek gods. But without this movie, Cavill probably wouldn’t have gone on to star as Superman on the big screen. In this story, Cavill plays Theseus, a mortal warrior who is favored by the gods against the evil King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke).
Zeus (Luke Evans) has ordered the gods not to intervene in Theseus’ quest to stop Hyperion, an order which is almost immediately ignored by his fellow gods. Perhaps Zeus would have reconsidered his stance if he knew that the conflict between Theseus and Hyperion had greater implications for the fate of the gods than even he suspected. Immortals is pretty far from Cavill’s best movie, but his presence goes a long way toward making it enjoyable.
6. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
It’s hard not to see things from the perspective of Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. In a retcon at the beginning of the movie, Batman’s alter ego is revealed to have been in Metropolis on the day that Superman fought the Kryptonian army in Man of Steel. Thanks to that first-hand view of just how dangerous Kryptonians can be, Batman genuinely comes to believe that Superman is a threat to mankind.
Dawn of Justice is a lot more dour than Man of Steel, with only a few scenes of joy between Clark Kent and Lois Lane (Amy Adams). Cavill and Adams are great whenever they get to share the screen. By contrast, Jesse Eisenberg’s take on Lex Luthor is very disappointing even as he fans the flames of Batman’s hatred towards Superman. Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman livens things up when she makes her presence known. It’s just not enough to successfully bring the movie to a satisfying conclusion.
5. Man of Steel
At first glance, Cavill looks like he was born to play Superman. Even his successor in the upcoming film, Superman: Legacy, David Corenswet, looks uncannily like a younger version of Cavill. Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel was Cavill’s best chance to shine as Superman, and there are moments in the film where he really does feel like a natural in the role.
Cavill’s Clark also has terrific chemistry with Adams’ Lois Lane, which skips right past the secret identity that traditionally keeps them apart. Unfortunately, Man of Steel’s most human moments are undercut by the arrival of General Zod (Michael Shannon) and his Kryptonian army when they threaten to attack the Earth if Superman isn’t handed over to them. Once Superman starts fighting his brethren in increasingly destructive battles, this movie loses its heart long before the Man of Steel does something that’s wildly out of character.
4. The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
It’s hard not to get the impression that Warner Bros. would like to forget all about The Man From U.N.C.L.E., even though it’s an amusing update of the original T.V. series from the ‘60s. W.B.’s reticence towards this movie may stem from Armie Hammer’s very public fall from grace rather than anything in the film itself.
Like the television show before it, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. takes place in the ‘60s as C.I.A. agent Napoleon Solo (Cavill) and his Soviet counterpart, Illya Kuryakin (Hammer), are forced to team up with MI6’s Gaby Teller (Alicia Vikander) to prevent Victoria Vinciguerra (Elizabeth Debicki) from unleashing a nuclear warhead. Director Guy Ritchie doesn’t play this movie as serious as the James Bond films, nor as comical as the Austin Powers flicks. Instead, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. is a refreshingly fun buddy action movie.
3. Enola Holmes
In British detective fiction, there’s no greater role than Sherlock Holmes. That may be one of the reasons why Cavill accepted a supporting part as Sherlock in Enola Holmes, a starring vehicle for Stranger Things’ breakout performer, Millie Bobby Brown. This is Brown’s movie from start to finish, and she only has a handful of scenes with her older brothers Sherlock and Mycroft (Sam Claflin).
The reason why this film ranks so highly among Cavill’s movies is that he gives Sherlock more warmth and compassion than the great detective typically gets to display. This incarnation of Sherlock not only genuinely cares for his sister, he’s impressed by her detective skills and very complementary towards her in a way that Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sherlock or any of their on-screen predecessors could never be. Enola Holmes may be Brown’s franchise, but we’d like to see Cavill’s Sherlock Holmes in his own adventure as well.
2. Enola Holmes 2
Unlike the first Enola Holmes movie, Cavill has a lot more to do in Enola Holmes 2. Once again, Enola finds herself living in her famous brother’s shadow when she sets out to start her own detective agency. Meanwhile, Sherlock has finally come across a case that even he can’t solve by himself. It’s going to take both Holmes siblings to untangle this mess.
Enola Holmes 2 also introduces a fresh take on Sherlock’s nemesis, Moriarty, whose identity is a secret throughout the majority of the movie. And although Cavill and Brown don’t share as much screen time as we would have preferred to see, they do some of their best work when they are together.
1. Mission: Impossible – Fallout
Ironically, Cavill’s best movie, Mission: Impossible – Fallout, is one of the reasons why his appearance in Justice League didn’t make the cut. Paramount wouldn’t let Cavill shave his facial hair from this movie for Justice League’s reshoots, which led to some embarrassing CGI lips on his Superman in that film. That movie’s loss is Fallout’s gain, as Cavill gets to play both an ally to Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt and his ultimate enemy.
C.I.A. operative August Walker (Cavill) is assigned to go with Ethan’s team after the I.M.F. accidentally lets terrorists get away with enough plutonium cores for three nuclear bombs. Ethan and Walker have an uneasy dynamic, but it does make for some very satisfying scenes when they need to work together. That includes the unintentionally hilarious moment of Walker reloading his arms during a fistfight. But when it came time for Walker’s treachery to be known, he was one of the franchise’s best villains to date.
