The 10 Most Underrated Michael Douglas Movies, Ranked (From Least to Most Underrated)

Michael Douglas has spent decades moving between studio blockbusters and smaller character pieces, stacking up awards as both actor and producer while working with directors across many genres. Along the way he headlined thrillers, dramas, and offbeat indies that never became his most quoted titles yet still show the breadth of roles he took on and the filmmakers he teamed with.

This list spotlights ten films that often sit outside the usual greatest hits conversation while still carrying notable casts, directors, and behind the scenes stories. The countdown moves from titles with lower user scores to those with higher ones, keeping the focus on concrete details about the projects themselves.

‘The Star Chamber’ (1983)

Michael Douglas plays Los Angeles Superior Court judge Steven Hardin in a legal thriller directed by Peter Hyams. The story follows a clandestine group of judges who secretly target defendants who slipped through the system, with Hal Holbrook and Yaphet Kotto in key supporting roles.

The title references the historical English court known for secret proceedings, and the plot hinges on issues like suppressed evidence and procedural loopholes. The film combines courtroom sequences with police investigation scenes across Los Angeles locations.

‘A Perfect Murder’ (1998)

Andrew Davis directs this contemporary reworking of the Frederick Knott play behind the film ‘Dial M for Murder’. Michael Douglas stars as financier Steven Taylor opposite Gwyneth Paltrow and Viggo Mortensen in a story about a husband who attempts to orchestrate a contract killing connected to his wife’s affair.

The production uses Manhattan settings and a blend of apartment interiors and upscale city locations to stage the plot’s shifting alliances. The film earned more than one hundred million dollars worldwide and added another modern entry to the long line of screen versions inspired by Knott’s material.

‘King of California’ (2007)

Michael Douglas appears as Charlie, a father recently released from a mental health facility, who convinces his teenage daughter played by Evan Rachel Wood to search for buried Spanish treasure under a big box store. Mike Cahill directs a story that pairs a suburban setting with a quirky treasure hunt premise.

The independent production was released in limited theaters before finding a wider audience through home viewing. Its Southern California shoot leans on strip malls, freeways, and residential neighborhoods to ground the premise in familiar surroundings.

‘Black Rain’ (1989)

Ridley Scott directs this crime drama with Michael Douglas as New York detective Nick Conklin, who travels to Osaka with partner Andy Garcia to return a Yakuza suspect. Ken Takakura joins the cast as a Japanese police inspector working the case on his home turf.

The production shot extensively in Japan and New York, using neon cityscapes and industrial locations to frame the investigation. Hans Zimmer composed the score, and the film combined English and Japanese dialogue while earning a strong global box office take.

‘Solitary Man’ (2009)

Written and directed by Brian Koppelman and David Levien, this character study stars Michael Douglas as Ben Kalmen, a once successful car dealer whose personal and professional life unravels. The ensemble includes Susan Sarandon, Danny DeVito, Mary Louise Parker, Jenna Fischer, Jesse Eisenberg, and Imogen Poots.

The film premiered at a major fall festival and received a limited theatrical rollout before expanding through on demand and home media. Shooting took place around New York and New Jersey, with college campuses and small businesses standing in for the lead character’s shifting fortunes.

‘The Ghost and the Darkness’ (1996)

Stephen Hopkins directs a historical adventure about the Tsavo man eaters during the construction of a railway in East Africa. Michael Douglas plays hunter Charles Remington, teaming with Val Kilmer’s engineer John Henry Patterson to stop the lions that are stalling the project.

William Goldman wrote the screenplay, drawing from Patterson’s real life account of the events. The film won the Academy Award for Best Sound Editing and shot largely in South Africa, using practical effects and animal trainers to stage the lion encounters.

‘Coma’ (1978)

Michael Crichton adapts the Robin Cook novel and directs this medical thriller set in Boston. Michael Douglas co stars with Geneviève Bujold as physicians who uncover a pattern of patients entering unexplained comas at a prestigious hospital.

Location work incorporated Boston area medical facilities along with purpose built sets for the eerie Jefferson Institute sequences. The film arrived during Crichton’s early period as a director and appeared during a late seventies run of medical conspiracy thrillers.

‘Wonder Boys’ (2000)

Curtis Hanson directs this adaptation of Michael Chabon’s novel with Michael Douglas as Pittsburgh professor and novelist Grady Tripp. The cast features Tobey Maguire, Frances McDormand, Robert Downey Jr., and Katie Holmes, with campus life and a chaotic weekend pushing the story forward.

The film shot around Pittsburgh, including Carnegie Mellon and other local landmarks. Bob Dylan’s song ‘Things Have Changed’ won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, and the movie later received a revised marketing push after an initial release period that underperformed commercially.

‘Falling Down’ (1993)

Michael Douglas plays William Foster in a day in the life urban drama directed by Joel Schumacher. The narrative follows a trek across Los Angeles as Foster encounters traffic, closed businesses, and escalating confrontations, while Robert Duvall portrays LAPD Sergeant Martin Prendergast on the parallel thread.

Filming covered wide stretches of Los Angeles including downtown, the Valley, and beachside neighborhoods to chart the character’s route. The movie earned close to one hundred million dollars worldwide and became one of the more discussed studio releases of that year.

‘The Game’ (1997)

David Fincher directs this San Francisco set thriller starring Michael Douglas as investment banker Nicholas Van Orton, whose brother played by Sean Penn buys him an experience from a mysterious company that bleeds into his real life. Deborah Kara Unger co stars as a figure who may or may not be part of the operation.

Production took place in San Francisco and Mexico City with landmarks like the Financial District and Chinatown used for key sequences. Howard Shore composed the score, and the film earned more than one hundred million dollars worldwide while following Fincher’s earlier success with ‘Se7en’.

Have a Douglas deep cut you think belongs here as well as where it should land in this countdown, from least to most underrated? Share your picks in the comments.