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Topics: UNILAD RANKED, Film and TV, Entertainment, Val Kilmer, Tom Cruise, Rotten Tomatoes
Val Kilmer's memory lives on in his movies, so this week UNILAD RANKED brings you his top five films.
Kilmer passed away of pneumonia at the age of 65, his daughter confirming his passing to the New York Times.
It didn't take long for fans of the legendary actor to flood in to pay tribute, including Top Gun co-star and friend Tom Cruise, who asked the crowd for a moment of silence while on stage at CinemaCon at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.
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Expressing his gratitude and honor in working with Kilmer, Cruise held the minute of silence 'because Kilmer loved movies and he gave a lot to all of us'.
Kilmer's movie legacy includes some iconic roles - from Batman to Doc Holliday - but there are five movies he stars in which come out on top on Rotten Tomatoes, brought to you in this week's UNILAD RANKED to commemorate the star.
Written and directed by Michael Mann (Ferrari), produced by Mann and Art Linson (The Edge), you can't get much more of an iconic cast than this.
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Starring Al Pacino (The Godfather) and Robert De Niro (Taxi Driver) alongside Kilmer, Tom Sizemore (Saving Private Ryan) and Jon Voight (Holes) - the 1995 flick sees some of the world's best known actors at the height of their careers.
It centers around a group of high-end professional thieves who begin to come under pressure from the LAPD.
The ringleader of the gang is planning his final heist before retirement but is faced with the challenge of a rogue team member and the LAPD head is battling a cheating wife and struggling stepdaughter - will they realize they have more in common than they think despite being on opposing sides?
Kilmer was reportedly thrilled after learning Marine recruits were shown the gun battle scene where his character runs out of bullets and he rapidly changes his magazine as being an example of how to perform the action well, IMDb reports.
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With a Rotten Tomatoes tomatometer of 83 and popcornmeter of 94, it's not hard to see why a viewer reviewed: "Val Kilmer is part of one of the greatest heist sequences in film history. Everything about Kilmer in this moment in Heat feels so real. Val Kilmer was just that dude: a vintage Hollywood bad-ass."
As another echoed: "You will never be as cool as Val Kilmer in Heat."
It's only right the documentary centering on the life of the actor himself makes the top five.
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Written by Kilmer himself, directed and produced by Leo Scott and Ting Poo, Val premiered at Cannes Film Festival in July 2021.
Featuring never-before-seen footage across a period of a whopping 40 years - from footage Kilmer shot of his own childhood all the way to documenting his marriage alongside his throat cancer diagnosis - the documentary offers fans of Kilmer an insight into his life on an even deeper level.
The doc boasts a tomatometer score of 93 and popcornmeter of 89 - giving a median of 91.
A Twitter user said: "I've been a huge fan of Val's since I was a kid in the 90s. Took me a really long time to bring myself to watch his doc because I knew it would be hard. So glad I finally did it a few months ago though. RIP VK."
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Actor Hugh Jackman also wrote: "I recommend … the documentary VAL by @valkilmer. It is so raw, so honest. I didn’t want it to end. Check it out. @AmazonStudios."
Written by none other than Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction) and directed by Tony Scott (Top Gun), the 1993 romantic crime movie has an equally awe-inducing cast.
Led by Christian Slater (Heathers) and Patricia Arquette (Severance), the line-up also includes Dennis Hopper (Blue Velvet), Kilmer, Gary Oldman (Slow Horses), Brad Pitt (Fight Club) - who reportedly improvised most of his lines - and Christopher Walken (Severance).
The story centers around comic-book nerd and Elvis fanatic Clarence (Slater) who falls in love with Alabama (Arquette) - a prostitute - and how they break the news to her pimp, accidentally picking up a surprise package along the way and ending up in severe danger... will they and their love survive?
Despite barely scraping by at the box office, reportedly making $12.6 million on a $12.5 million budget, the film has landed a solid spot in viewers' hearts - obtaining a tomatometer of 93 and popcornmeter of 93.
A Twitter user wrote: "That time we didn’t even need to see Val Kilmer’s face for his incredible performance as Elvis in True Romance to be burnt into our memory. Rest in Peace Kifness."
And another resolved: "True Romance is the best movie, with the best cast, that you've probably never seen."
And up next taking the second spot is a particularly poignant movie in Kilmer's career - his final.
The iconic action drama was written by Ehren Kruger, (Dumbo) Eric Warren Singer (American Hustle) and Christopher McQuarrie (Mission Impossible - Fallout) and directed by Joseph Kosinski (F1).
Cruise reprised his role as naval aviator Maverick - who first appeared in the 1986 classic Top Gun.
And despite Kilmer's vocal chords being damaged following a tracheostomy which he needed as a result of a 2014 throat cancer diagnosis, Kilmer also returned to his role as Admiral Tom 'Iceman' Kazansky.
How? Well, Cruise was adamant Kilmer had to return so British AI company Sonantic was employed to use recordings spanning over the course of Kilmer's acting career to 'masterfully restore' his voice.
Kilmer told Entertainment Weekly that it was like no time had passed when he was on set with Cruise again, and it was fun too. "We blew a lot of takes laughing so much," he stated. "It was really fun and special."
Top Gun: Maverick was ultimately Kilmer's final performance before he passed away and with a tomatometer of 96 and popcornmeter of 99, it remains some of his fans' favourite.
A Twitter user wrote: "This scene from Top Gun: Maverick hits harder right now. RIP Iceman."
"That scene between Val Kilmer and Tom Cruise in Top Gun: Maverick was is an absolute masterpiece," a second said.
Another added: "I still remember hearing people in the theater cry during this moment between Val Kilmer & Tom Cruise in Top Gun: Maverick. I’m so incredibly thankful Cruise insisted on this scene because this moment is forever. RIP, Iceman."
Soaring into first place with a picture perfect Rotten Tomatoes tomatometer score is Kill Me Again, co-written by John Dahl (Joy Ride) and David W. Warfield (Kill Me Again) and directed by Dahl.
The second film with his wife at the time Joanne Whalley, Kill Me Again sees Kilmer star as private investigator Jack Andrews and Whalley as Fay Forrester - a young woman desperate to escape her jealous and violent boyfriend.
Despite its perfectly fresh tomatometer score of 100, the film's popcornmeter sits at a lowly 48 - it considered a box office flop given it was made on a budget of a reported $4 million but grossed $283,694 worldwide.
However, it's gone on to achieve a loyal backing from viewers, fans of the movie singing its praises even over 35 years on.
A Twitter user wrote earlier this week: "If you’re looking for a Val Kilmer flick you’ve maybe missed, try John Dahl’s (RED ROCK WEST, LAST SEDUCTION) KILL ME AGAIN. Kilmer doing incredible, nuanced work as a private eye caught in a killtrap. 90 minutes of page-yellowed and existential back-pocket pulp, as god intended."
"A personal favorite in my neo-noir collection," another added.
And a third resolved: "This is one of his best films."
UNILAD RANKED is a weekly series with a new article released every Friday.
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