5 Must Watch Tom Hanks Movies

5 Must Watch Tom Hanks Movies

30 years ago this month the great Tom Hanks won his second Oscar. In celebration of that I wanted to share five must watch Tom Hanks, the essential movies to watch in Tom Hanks’ career. Let’s get started!

NOTE: For this blog post I’m looking at it from the perspective of if somebody has never watched a Tom Hanks movie, here’s the ones that I would recommend people watch to get the full spectrum of Hanks’ career.  

HONORABLE MENTIONS: These are honorable mentions but I think you should still view them. He has a lot of great movies, it’s hard to narrow it down to just five movies. Even the ones I have in my honorable mentions are ones that should be viewed. 

• Philadelphia: This was the film that Hanks won his first Oscar for, he actaully won it the year prior to Forrest Gump. Prior to this movie coming out he was known as a comedy actor and it was a pretty big shock that he transitioned to being an Oscar winning dramatic actor. It’s also one of the first big roles of Denzel Washington that established him as an A-lister. Full confession, I actually haven’t seen this movie. I can’t comment on the film’s quality, but it has a high score on Rotten Tomatoes and I’ve heard nothing about it. Despite not seeing it, I felt like I needed to include it on this list. It felt weird to me to not include it here. It’s a film that will play very differently today compared to 32 years ago because it was dealing with the AIDs epidemic that’s not as relevant today. With culture shifting so much over the decades, very curious to see how it’s viewed now. One of the days I need to watch this movie and I should watch this movie because I’m a big fan of Tom Hanks. 

• You’ve Got Mail: This is a placeholder for his rom-coms that he’s done. He did several rom-coms in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Splashed, Sleepless in Seattle, and You’ve Got Mail being them. The latter of the two were opposite Meg Ryan. It’s important to put these movies on here because he was known for a comedy actor for a long time. When Philadelphia and Forrest Gump that changed the trajectory of his career into becoming a dramatic actor. Even after that he did a couple of rom-coms. While these might not be super groundbreaking movies that changed a lot for the genres or his career. They were a prominant part in his career when he was at the top of the world in the ‘90s. When trying to get a full landscape and picture of his career, those three movies are important. 

THE FIVE MOVIES

• Big: Prior to this movie coming out, Hanks was on the rise with television and other films. But Big came out and made him this A-list movie star where he’s been for almost 40 years now. Naturally when you have a movie that changed the trajectory of his career you have to include it here. Beyond that, it’s just a great movie with a fun premise. It’s about this little kid who wishes he was big, that wish comes true and he’s transformed into Tom Hanks’ body. It’s a movie that’s a fun concept but wouldn’t work today because it involves romance. And a grown woman falling in love with a child in a man’s body would not fly in 2025. It has so much of Hanks’ charm in there, it’s a fun and lively performance that’s quotable and filled with memorable moments. The most iconic scene of the movie is on the piano with Robert Loggia. It’s maybe the most iconic scene of Hanks’ career. There’s some heart in with Hanks’ arc in the movie. This was an easy inclusion on the list for films that you must watch when going through Hanks’ career. 

• Forrest Gump: This is an interesting one because there’s a lot of people that love this movie. It won Best Picture, and Hanks took home the Oscar. It’s also one of the more controversial Best Picture winners of all time. There’s a handful of people that think it should have gone to Pulp Fiction or The Shawshank Redemption. Regardless of what people think about it, this is a must watch in Hanks’ career. Philadelphia was a hit but when we think of the start of Hanks’ dramatic career, Forrest Gump is where that started. It’s one of the most iconic movies of the ‘90s. If you’re somebody that wants to get into movies and experience them, Forrest Gump is a great one to watch. But if you’re wanting to watch a great Tom Hanks movie this is one of them. It’s probably Hanks’ most celebrated movie of his career. With the movies that I’m talking about here, I’m trying to show his range as an actor. In this movie he has to convey so many different emotions. I would say this is Hanks’ best performance. 

• Toy Story: Moving in a very different direction you have one of Hanks’ family movies. He’s done a couple of them over the years but by far his most popular and iconic is Toy Story. Really, you should watch the entire franchise. But as for the original, it really is one of Hanks’ best. It follows a fairly generic and simple story template with Woody and Buzz disagree but by the end of it. Tom Hanks and Tim Allen have fantastic chemistry with one another. They’re Pixar’s best duo and one of the best duos in cinematic history. Of the co-stars that Hanks has worked with over the years, I believe his best chemistry is with Allen. Similar to Forrest Gump if you’re wanting to explore iconic movies of the ‘90s, Toy Story is a must watch. It was groundbreaking in terms of animation and launched Pixar, maybe the most celebrated animated film studio of all time. Toy Story is one of the best movies of the ‘90, of Hanks’ career, and just one of the greatest movies in general. 

• Saving Private Ryan: I believe this is my dad’s favorite Tom Hanks movie. Hanks has collaborated with Steven Spielberg several times over the years. They did movies like Catch Me If You Can and The Terminal. But as far as the most iconic and most important of Hanks’ career, Saving Private Ryan is one you should watch. It’s one of Spielberg’s best movies. It’s once again a great example of a movie that shows how versatile Tom Hanks is. He’s so good at playing normal everyday people. For this role you don’t want an action hero but his character isn’t an action hero. When you get somebody like Hanks who can be a normal guy it fits and it works. This movie features one of the best opening sequences of all time. The invasion of the beach is maybe Spielberg’s best directed sequence as he’s able to put the audience in the war. You see the horrific nature of it right out of the gate. It’s a cinematic experience that’s worth seeing as a piece of cinema. The supporting cast here is pretty stacked. This was one of the break-out roles for Matt Damon. Vin Diesel is in here, pre Fast and Furious. Paul Giamatti, Ted Danson, Bryan Cranston, and so many other people make appearances in this movie. 

• Cast Away: For a while I had this as an honorable mention. Looking at Hanks’ career it felt weird not to include Cast Away on here. Once again it shows how versatile of an actor Hanks is. It shows that he’s a world class talent that can do everything. This movie is 90% of him on an island. With Hanks able to be so charming and charismatic while also being dramatic you’re engaged in the movie. The most impressive part is that he’s able to make you care and cry about a relationship with a volleyball. I don’t know if I’ve ever cared so much about a man’s relationship with an object as I have in this movie. One of the most iconic lines of Hanks’ career is “WILLLSOOOONNNNN!!!”. I heard him say that’s the line that’s quoted to him the most by fans. Another important reason to check this out in Hanks’ filmography. It’s a collaboration with Robert Zemeckis, they’ve worked together a bunch. This and Forrest Gump are their most iconic collaborations. I have two Zemeckis collaborations on this list.