10 Overrated Val Kilmer Movies You Might Skip

Val Kilmer has worked on projects that reached huge audiences and sparked plenty of conversation. This list gathers ten of his higher profile films and gives you quick facts about what each one involves, who made it, and how it came together.

You will find details on directors, casts, production choices, locations, and awards. Use it as a handy guide if you are deciding what to watch next and want the basics without extra fluff.

‘Top Gun’ (1986)

Tony Scott directed this Navy aviation story with Kilmer as Tom Iceman Kazansky alongside Tom Cruise. Producers Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson partnered with the United States Navy for access to aircraft and training facilities at Miramar, and the aerial work relied on experienced military pilots and a dedicated camera team. The soundtrack features hits like Danger Zone by Kenny Loggins and Take My Breath Away by Berlin.

The film showcases Tomcat fighter jets and carrier operations with sequences filmed on active ships with Navy support. It became a major box office success and earned the Academy Award for Best Original Song for Take My Breath Away, with composer Harold Faltermeyer shaping the signature synth score.

‘Top Gun: Maverick’ (2022)

Joseph Kosinski directed this follow up with Kilmer returning as Admiral Iceman alongside Tom Cruise, Miles Teller, and Jennifer Connelly. Producers included Jerry Bruckheimer, Tom Cruise, Christopher McQuarrie, and David Ellison, and the production used extensive in cockpit photography with the help of Navy instructors and Super Hornet crews.

The soundtrack combines a score by Lorne Balfe with themes by Harold Faltermeyer and original songs by Lady Gaga and OneRepublic. The film won the Academy Award for Best Sound and received a Best Picture nomination while setting major global box office milestones through strong theatrical play.

‘Batman Forever’ (1995)

Joel Schumacher directed this Gotham adventure with Kilmer as Bruce Wayne and Batman. The cast includes Jim Carrey as the Riddler, Tommy Lee Jones as Two Face, Nicole Kidman as Dr Chase Meridian, and Chris O’Donnell as Robin. Tim Burton served as a producer, Barbara Ling led production design, and Elliot Goldenthal composed the score.

Large scale sets and stylized lighting defined the look, with shooting based in Los Angeles soundstages. The film earned three Academy Award nominations for Cinematography, Sound, and Sound Effects Editing, and its soundtrack pushed Seal’s Kiss from a Rose back onto radio charts.

‘Willow’ (1988)

Ron Howard directed this fantasy quest created from a story by George Lucas. Kilmer plays the swordsman Madmartigan alongside Warwick Davis in the title role. The film brings together Lucasfilm and Imagine Entertainment, with James Horner composing a prominent orchestral score.

Industrial Light and Magic delivered pioneering digital morphing that became a widely noted effects milestone. Production took place across the United Kingdom with key scenes in Wales and studio work at Elstree, and additional location photography in New Zealand added broad landscape scale.

‘The Doors’ (1991)

Oliver Stone directed this portrait of singer Jim Morrison with Kilmer in the lead and Meg Ryan, Kyle MacLachlan, and Kevin Dillon in supporting roles. The screenplay draws from published biographies and band histories, and Robert Richardson handled cinematography with a mix of concert recreation and hallucinatory imagery.

Kilmer recorded extensive vocals for the project, which the music department blended with original tracks on the soundtrack album. Filming centered in Los Angeles with desert and club locations that restage iconic performances, and the production design recreated venues associated with the band’s rise.

‘The Saint’ (1997)

Phillip Noyce directed this modern take on the Leslie Charteris character with Kilmer as master thief Simon Templar and Elisabeth Shue as Dr Emma Russell. The story moves through corporate espionage and high tech disguises, and production staged set pieces across Moscow and London with second unit work in continental Europe.

The soundtrack features electronic acts and a new version of The Saint theme by Orbital alongside songs by artists such as Duran Duran and Sneaker Pimps. The film used practical location access in Russian streets during a period of rapid urban change and combined that with studio interiors for the bigger stunt beats.

‘The Ghost and the Darkness’ (1996)

Stephen Hopkins directed this survival thriller inspired by the Tsavo man eater case with Kilmer as engineer John Henry Patterson and Michael Douglas as hunter Charles Remington. William Goldman wrote the screenplay, and the crew built railway and camp sets to recreate the construction push on the African line.

Animal work combined trained lions with animatronic creations supervised by special effects teams, and principal photography took place in South Africa to match East African terrain. The film won the Academy Award for Sound Editing for its detailed blend of wildlife, weapons, and environment tracks.

‘Red Planet’ (2000)

Antony Hoffman directed this Mars mission story with Kilmer among a crew that includes Carrie Anne Moss, Tom Sizemore, Benjamin Bratt, and Terence Stamp. The plot follows a damaged expedition, a survival trek, and a multi role autonomous robot called AMEE that becomes a major force in the story.

Exterior scenes used the red rock valleys of Wadi Rum in Jordan to evoke Martian landscapes, with studio builds handling spacecraft interiors and habitats. The release arrived during a cycle of multiple Mars titles and underperformed at the box office despite a sizable effects package and a score by Graeme Revell.

‘Alexander’ (2004)

Oliver Stone directed this epic biography with Kilmer as King Philip of Macedon alongside Colin Farrell, Angelina Jolie, Jared Leto, Rosario Dawson, and Anthony Hopkins. Vangelis composed the score, and the production split large battlefield set pieces among Morocco and Thailand with studio stages in the United Kingdom.

The film has several different cuts prepared by the director for home release, including shorter and extended versions that rearrange major sequences and emphasize different narrative threads. Historical advisors worked across costumes, weaponry, and language to shape depictions of Macedonian court life and tactics.

‘The Island of Dr. Moreau’ (1996)

This adaptation of the H G Wells novel began under director Richard Stanley and continued under John Frankenheimer after a mid production change. Kilmer appears with Marlon Brando, David Thewlis, and Fairuza Balk, and the story centers on hybrid creatures created through extreme experimentation on a remote island.

Filming took place in Queensland with tropical locations standing in for the island environment, and Stan Winston Studio developed extensive creature makeup and prosthetics with full body applications. Documented production difficulties have been covered in later accounts and retrospectives, and the final cut reflects contributions from multiple creative teams.

Share your own picks and reasoning in the comments so everyone can compare notes on which Val Kilmer titles they would skip and why.