Bill Paxton’s Typical Vibe
Signature vibe

Highest-ranked title
Highest-ranked title
Bill Paxton has 37 titles in the CriticCrunch catalog across a career spanning the 1980s through the 2010s. 3 sit in the Top 1% of all titles we track — including Aliens.
Recurring themes

Hard to Kill
1990
Action · Drama

The Substitute
1996
Action · Crime

Rapid Fire
1992
Action · Thriller

Stone Cold
1991
Action · Crime

Surviving the Game
1994
Action · Thriller

Cliffhanger
1993
Action · Adventure

Metro
1997
Action · Comedy

Contraband
2012
Thriller · Action

Apollo 13
1995 · Movie · Actor
Top 10%Netflix · Included

The Greatest Game Ever Played
2005 · Movie · Director
Top 22%Disney+ · Included

2 Guns
2013 · Movie · Actor
Top 34%Netflix · Included

U-571
2000 · Movie · Actor
Top 67%Netflix · Included

Next of Kin
1989 · Movie · Actor
Top 68%Pluto TV · Free w/ ads

Mean Dreams
2016 · Movie · Actor
Top 68%Tubi · Free w/ ads
101-year-old Rose DeWitt Bukater tells the story of her life aboard the Titanic, 84 years later. A young Rose boards the ship with her mother and fiancé. Meanwhile, Jack Dawson and Fabrizio De Rossi win third-class tickets aboard the ship. Rose tells the whole story from Titanic's departure through to its death—on its first and last voyage—on April 15, 1912.
Dir. James Cameron · With Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane

Major Bill Cage is an officer who has never seen a day of combat when he is unceremoniously demoted and dropped into combat. Cage is killed within minutes, managing to take an alpha alien down with him. He awakens back at the beginning of the same day and is forced to fight and die again... and again - as physical contact with the alien has thrown him into a time loop.
Dir. Doug Liman · With Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Brendan Gleeson

Ripley, the sole survivor of the Nostromo's deadly encounter with the monstrous Alien, returns to Earth after drifting through space in hypersleep for 57 years. Although her story is initially met with skepticism, she agrees to accompany a team of Colonial Marines back to LV-426.
Dir. James Cameron · With Sigourney Weaver, Carrie Henn, Michael Biehn

When Lou Bloom, desperate for work, muscles into the world of L.A. crime journalism, he blurs the line between observer and participant to become the star of his own story. Aiding him in his effort is Nina, a TV-news veteran.
Dir. Dan Gilroy · With Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Riz Ahmed

A fearless, globe-trotting, terrorist-battling secret agent has his life turned upside down when he discovers his wife might be having an affair with a used car salesman while terrorists smuggle nuclear war heads into the United States.
Dir. James Cameron · With Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Arnold
A farm boy reluctantly becomes a member of the undead when a girl he meets turns out to be part of a band of vampires who roam the highways in stolen cars.
Dir. Kathryn Bigelow · With Adrian Pasdar, Jenny Wright, Lance Henriksen

The true story of technical troubles that scuttle the Apollo 13 lunar mission in 1970, risking the lives of astronaut Jim Lovell and his crew, with the failed journey turning into a thrilling saga of heroism. Drifting more than 200,000 miles from Earth, the astronauts work furiously with the ground crew to avert tragedy.
Dir. Ron Howard · With Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon

Raven Shaddock and his gang of merciless biker friends kidnap rock singer Ellen Aim. Ellen's former lover, soldier-for-hire Tom Cody, happens to be passing through town on a visit. In an attempt to save his star act, Ellen's manager hires Tom to rescue her. Along with a former soldier, they battle through dangerous cityscapes, determined to get Ellen back.
Dir. Walter Hill · With Michael Paré, Diane Lane, Rick Moranis

Captivated by the lure of sudden wealth, the quiet rural lives of two brothers erupt into conflicts of greed, paranoia and distrust when over $4 million in cash is discovered at the remote site of a downed small airplane. Their simple plan to retain the money while avoiding detection opens a Pandora's box when the fear of getting caught triggers panicked behavior and leads to virulent consequences.
Dir. Sam Raimi · With Billy Bob Thornton, Bill Paxton, Bridget Fonda

A biopic of 20-year-old Francis Ouimet who defeated his golfing idol and 1900 US Open Champion, Harry Vardon.
Dir. Bill Paxton · With Shia LaBeouf, Stephen Dillane, Josh Flitter
An unprecedented series of violent tornadoes is sweeping across Oklahoma. Tornado chasers, headed by Dr. Jo Harding, attempt to release a groundbreaking device that will allow them to track them and create a more advanced warning system. They are joined by Jo's soon to be ex-husband Bill, a former tornado chaser himself, and his girlfriend Melissa.
Dir. Jan de Bont · With Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton, Jami Gertz

A DEA agent and an undercover Naval Intelligence officer who have been tasked with investigating one another find they have been set up by the mob -- the very organization the two men believe they have been stealing money from.
Dir. Baltasar Kormákur · With Denzel Washington, Mark Wahlberg, Paula Patton

It’s the true American story of a legendary family feud—one that spanned decades and nearly launched a war between Kentucky and West Virginia. The Hatfield-McCoy saga begins with Devil Anse Hatfield and Randall McCoy.. Close friends and comrades until near the end of the Civil War, they return to their neighboring homes—Hatfield in West Virginia, McCoy just across the Tug River border in Kentucky—to increasing tensions, misunderstandings and resentments that soon explode into all-out warfare between their families. As hostilities grow, friends, neighbors and outside forces join the fight, bringing the two states to the brink of another civil war.
Dir. Ted Mann · With Kevin Costner, Bill Paxton, Matt Barr
Rejected by her lover, the only man left in Cheryl's life is the orphaned nephew she has raised as her own son. She'll stop at nothing to keep Billy with her. When her plans misfire, she is swept up into an insane frenzy that means death to anyone who comes between her and her obsession. But the investigating detective is convinced that Billy is the real killer - and determined to prove it. Madness and fanaticism work together to drag all concerned into a terrifying vortex of blood-letting that adds a nightmarish twist to the classic Oedipus story.
Dir. William Asher · With Jimmy McNichol, Susan Tyrrell, Bo Svenson

A mysterious man arrives at the offices of an FBI agent and recounts his childhood: how his religious fanatic father received visions telling him to kill people who were in fact "demons."
Dir. Bill Paxton · With Bill Paxton, Matthew McConaughey, Powers Boothe

Two unpopular teenagers, Gary and Wyatt, fail at all attempts to be accepted by their peers. Their desperation to be liked leads them to "create" a woman via their computer. Their living and breathing creation is a gorgeous woman, Lisa, whose purpose is to boost their confidence level by putting them into situations which require Gary and Wyatt to act like men.
Dir. John Hughes · With Anthony Michael Hall, Ilan Mitchell-Smith, Kelly LeBrock

A police chief in the war-torn streets of Los Angeles discovers that an extraterrestrial creature is hunting down residents - and that he is the next target.
Dir. Stephen Hopkins · With Danny Glover, Gary Busey, Rubén Blades

Two Arkansas firemen, Vince and Don, get hold of a map that leads to a cache of stolen gold in an abandoned factory in East St. Louis. What they don't know is that the factory is on the turf of a local gang, who come by to execute one of their enemies. Vince sees the shooting, the gang spots Vince, and extended mayhem ensues. As Vince and Don try to escape, gang leader King James argues with his subordinate Savon about how to get rid of the trespassers.
Dir. Walter Hill · With Bill Paxton, Ice-T, William Sadler

Following a series of drug deals and murders, three criminals -- Fantasia, Ray Malcolm and Pluto -- travel from Los Angeles to Houston, finally arriving in a small Arkansas town to go into hiding. Two detectives from the LAPD, who are already on the case, contact the town's sheriff, Dale Dixon, to alert him of the fugitives' presence in the area. Underestimating Dixon, the criminals have no idea what they are about to face.
Dir. Carl Franklin · With Bill Paxton, Cynda Williams, Billy Bob Thornton

In a last-ditch effort to save his career, sports agent JB Bernstein dreams up a wild game plan to find Major League Baseball’s next great pitcher from a pool of cricket players in India. He soon discovers two young men who can throw a fastball but know nothing about the game of baseball. Or America. It’s an incredible and touching journey that will change them all — especially JB, who learns valuable lessons about teamwork, commitment and family.
Dir. Craig Gillespie · With Jon Hamm, Pitobash, Suraj Sharma
As a child living in Africa, Jill Young saw her mother killed while protecting wild gorillas from poachers led by Andrei Strasser. Now an adult, Jill cares for an orphaned gorilla named Joe -- who, due to a genetic anomaly, is 15 feet tall. When Gregg O'Hara arrives from California and sees the animal, he convinces Jill that Joe would be safest at his wildlife refuge. But Strasser follows them to the U.S., intent on capturing Joe for himself.
Dir. Ron Underwood · With Charlize Theron, Bill Paxton, Rade Šerbedžija
If Nick Barrow can stay alive for 21 days, he'll die happy. Everyone Nick knows wants him dead; Mob bosses, contract killers, and dirty cops. Performing the last act of a desperate man, Nick takes out a million dollar insurance policy on himself, payable to his estranged daughter. The problem? The policy doesn't take effect for 21 days. Nick knows they'll be lucky to be alive for twenty-one hours.
Dir. Peter Billingsley · With Vince Vaughn, Hailee Steinfeld, Bill Paxton

With a team of the world's foremost historic and marine experts as well as friend Bill Paxton, James Cameron embarks on an unscripted adventure back to the wreck of the Titanic where nearly 1,500 souls lost their lives almost a century ago.
Dir. James Cameron · With Bill Paxton, John Broadwater, James Cameron

In the midst of World War II, the battle under the sea rages and the Nazis have the upper hand as the Allies are unable to crack their war codes. However, after a wrecked U-boat sends out an SOS signal, the Allies realise this is their chance to seize the 'enigma coding machine'.
Dir. Jonathan Mostow · With Matthew McConaughey, Bill Paxton, Harvey Keitel

Truman Gates, a Chicago cop, sets out to find his brother's killer. Meanwhile, another of his brothers, Briar (a hillbilly) decides to find the killer himself.
Dir. John Irvin · With Patrick Swayze, Liam Neeson, Adam Baldwin

When two youngsters meet and fall for each other, they must go on the run from the girl's corrupt father, who is also the sheriff of the town.
Dir. Nathan Morlando · With Sophie Nélisse, Josh Wiggins, Colm Feore
In a battle of man versus machine, Martin, a top neurosurgeon who's studying brain malfunctions that cause mental illness, delves deep into his own mind to save himself from a megalomaniacal corporation.
Dir. Adam Simon · With Bill Pullman, Bill Paxton, Bud Cort

Trapped near the summit of K2, the world's second-highest mountain, Annie Garrett radios to base camp for help. Brother Peter hears Annie's message and assembles a team to save her and her group before they succumb to K2's unforgiving elements. But, as Annie lays injured in an icy cavern, the rescuers face several terrifying events that could end the rescue attempt -- and their lives.
Dir. Martin Campbell · With Chris O'Donnell, Robin Tunney, Bill Paxton

The story of Bill Henrickson and his life in suburban Salt Lake City, balancing the needs of his three wives -- Barb, Nicki and Margene-- their seven kids, three new houses and the opening of his newest hardware store. When disturbing news arrives about Bill's father, he is forced to reconnect with his polygamist parents who live on a fundamentalist compound in rural Utah.
Dir. Will Scheffer, Mark V. Olsen · With Bill Paxton, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloë Sevigny
A black ops soldier seeks payback after she is betrayed and left for dead.
Dir. Steven Soderbergh · With Gina Carano, Michael Fassbender, Channing Tatum
Top Collaborators
Directors with 2+ shared titles, ranked by frequency