Making his feature-length directorial debut in 1989 with his indie classic sex, lies, and videotape, Steven Soderbergh has developed into one of Hollywood’s most important modern filmmakers. While he usually skews the high-profile of his peers like Quentin Tarantino or Christopher Nolan, Soderbergh’s focus on human characters above all else – whether they be career criminals, average joes, or secret agents – keeps his films grounded on an emotional level that few other directors can manage. The director has helmed over 35 films (and helped many others in other capacities), with one of the most consistent and prolific outputs of any filmmaker in the 21st century. While even his worst films have some solid qualities, his best ones are among the coolest and more charming of the modern era.
Here are the ten best movies from Steven Soderbergh that any film fan should watch, and where to find them on places like Netflix, Hulu, Apple TV+, and beyond!
Haywire (2011)
Haywire is Steven Soderbergh's most underrated film and easily one of his best, fusing his natural talents for writing and direction with an exciting espionage film that feels like a clever rebuttal to the trend started by the Jason Bourne movies. After discovering that she is being framed for the murder of a Chinese national, a skilled black ops agent named Mallory Kane goes on the run to unravel the conspiracy surrounding her.
Soderbergh's knack for recruiting impressive talent is on full display in Haywire, with a stacked cast coming up against Gina Carano's brutal brawler. An intense thriller that remains grounded in large part due to Soderbergh's skills as a filmmaker and the strength of the cast, Haywire is an elevated take on the kind of action movies most audiences have seen a thousand versions of.
Logan Lucky (2017)
After a trilogy of crime-capers starring flashy men in suits, Logan Lucky proved that Steven Soderbergh’s impeccable crime stories can take place anywhere. Set in rural America and focusing on the Logan siblings (Channing Tatum's Jimmy, Adam Driver's Clyde, and Riley Keough's Mellie), the film follows their efforts to rob a NASCAR race. The film has a script that threads the needle perfectly between high-brow and low-brow, perhaps best exemplified by Daniel Craig’s hilarious (and quietly intimidating) performance as explosives expert Joe Bang.
Logan Lucky is a film that is able to never lose track of the tension while still being a clever character study, hilarious parody of heist films, and an overt response to the multiple financial crises that the United States experienced in the 21st century. A deceptively deep film that never stops being entertaining, Logan Lucky is a stand-out in Soderbergh’s career.
Ocean’s Eleven (2001)
While it is far from his most critically acclaimed film, it’s hard to argue that Ocean’s Eleven isn’t Soderbergh’s most iconic movie. The cool crime-caper, set in Las Vegas and focused on a casino heist led by George Clooney as Danny Ocean, is a slick and effective film that benefits from a stylish approach. The movie is full of great gags delivered by an all-time great cast, ranging from Brad Pitt’s cool deliveries and Matt Damon’s fumbling protegee to memorable turns from the likes of Bernie Mac and Carl Reiner.
Soderbergh’s balance of grounded character comedy and cool criminal acts elevates Ocean’s Eleven over the Rat Pack film of the same name. While the subsequent sequels and spin-offs have been good in their own right, none of them have reached the height of Ocean’s Eleven and the casually cool results of Soderbergh’s direction.
Magic Mike (2012)
On paper, Magic Mike should not be nearly as compelling as it is. The film is a relatively grounded but basic character drama, focused on the titular exotic dancer played by Channing Tatum as he tries to realize his dreams outside of the strip club. However, Soderbergh’s eye for performances and painfully real storytelling end up transforming the film into a much more effective and affecting story of ambition and humanity. Tatum is fantastic as Mike, building off his own life experiences as a dancer to flesh out the character.
The film also boasts one of the single greatest ever Matthew McConaughey performances as Dallas, the greedy but charming club owner who manages Mike’s career (and often too much of his life as a whole). Soderbergh’s ability to pull terrific performances out of actors has never been as pronounced as with Magic Mike, which was so successful it set off an entire franchise from humble beginnings.
Black Bag (2025)
Steven Soderbergh had played with the tropes and trappings of spy films before, but the director fully embraces the seductive and secretive side of things in Black Bag. A tightly constructed spy caper, the film stars Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender as a married pair of spies named Kathryn and George. When George is ordered to locate a mole in British Intelligence, he investigates many of their colleagues – but is forced to also acknowledge that Kathryn could be the culprit.
A twisty thriller that knows when to play the plot for action and when to shift to more emotional motives, Black Bag feels like the perfect medium of a James Bond film with the character focus of a slow-burn drama. Over thirty-five years since he made his directorial debut, Black Bag proves that Soderbergh still has it.
Traffic (2000)
An ambitious crime epic that explores the drug trade from multiple perspectives, Traffic is a bold and complex drama that rightfully earned Soderbergh some of his highest acclaim, including an Academy Award for Best Director. Set across three storylines and focusing on different characters as they struggle with their own connection to the drug trade, Traffic cuts between them to offer a deeper look at a tricky issue.
Bolstered by phenomenal performances (including an Oscar-winning turn from Benicio del Toro) and a strong screenplay from Stephen Gaghan, Traffic is most admirable for the ambition shown by Soderbergh and his collaborators. While the three plotlines may fluctuate in terms of raw effectiveness, they coalesce into an impressive and memorable examination of the drug trade that never loses sight of the people caught up in it.
Erin Brockovich (2000)
Steven Soderbergh’s other big hit from 2000, Erin Brockovich is everything that Traffic isn’t – but still benefits from the same talents that Soderbergh brings to all his films. Based on the true story of a single mother who helps force the Pacific Gas and Electric Company to admit their culpability in the Hinkley groundwater contamination incident, Erin Brockovich is a grounded legal drama that never loses sight of the real people at the center of the story.
Played by Julia Roberts in an Oscar-winning performance, Erin is a tough-as-nails but charming woman whose fighting spirit inspires a law firm and later an entire town to stand up for themselves. A rousing tale of an underdog, Erin Brockovich is one of the filmmaker’s most crowd-pleasing films that nevertheless remains deeply rooted in his perspectives on humanity.
Solaris (2002)
A rare sci-fi film from a director who is usually rooted in the real world, Solaris is a moving story set against a mind-bending setting. Frequent Soderbergh collaborator George Clooney plays Dr. Chris Kelvin, a psychologist who is sent to a space station orbiting the distant planet of Solaris to uncover the mysterious circumstances surrounding the deaths of most of the crew.
Based on Stanisław Lem's novel of the same name, Solaris is a challenging film that uses flashbacks to explore the trauma that Kelvin has endured in the past in some mind-bending ways. A high-profile collaboration between Soderbergh and James Cameron, Solaris plays to the skills of both filmmakers to produce something that feels genuinely unique from the rest of either of their filmographies.
Out of Sight (1998)
Based on Elmore Leonard's novel of the same name, Out Of Sight is the first of Soderbergh's collaborations with George Clooney and a deeply entertaining action film. Starring Clooney as bank robber Jack Foley, Out Of Sight focuses on Foley's attempts to stay out of prison (and out of the hands of U.S. Marshal Karen Sisco). Played by Jennifer Lopez, Sisco's pursuit of Foley fuses the kind of cool criminals that were popular in the era with Soderbergh's habit of infusing even the most minor and ridiculous of characters with a certain level of grounded complexity.
While Out Of Sight may feel more like a Quentin Tarantino film than most of Soderbergh's other output, the crime film still serves as an early proof of how the filmmaker could blend his grounded approach to character with different genres.
Contagion (2011)
One of Soderbergh’s most ambitious projects, Contagion has taken on new meanings in the years since it was released. Boasting a star-stuffed cast that includes Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Jude Law, Marion Cotillard, Kate Winslet, and Gwyneth Paltrow, Contagion explores the realistic fallout of a contagious virus spreading across the planet and the efforts to combat it.
Depicted in a painfully realistic manner that kills off main characters casually and forces the survivors to make terrible decisions for the greater good, Contagion takes on a haunting quality in the aftermath of events like the CoVid-19 pandemic. The massive cast keeps the momentum from ever feeling bogged down, with Damon in particular delivering a heartbreaking performance as a man who loses his wife and step-son to the virus. Contagion is a hard watch, but also one of Soderbergh's most compelling and expansive dramas.
Where To Watch The Best Steven Soderbergh Movies Streaming Online
Steven Soderbergh is one of modern cinema’s most prolific directors for a reason, with many of his films considered modern classics. Scroll down to check out some of his best films and where fans can find them online!
