Cobra Kai: Elisabeth Shue’s 10 Best Movies, Ranked By IMDb

With Cobra Kai III once again proving to be among the most popular and most-viewed Netflix Originals, fans of The Karate Kid were thrilled to see the addition of Elisabeth Shue in the final two episodes. Shue played Ali Mills in the original Karate Kid, which marked her second feature film in what has become an illustrious four-decade film career.

In 1995, Shue earned the sole Oscar nomination of her career following her devastating turn as Sera in Leaving Las Vegas, which earned her costar Nicolas Cage an Academy Award. With roughly 60 big and small screen credits to her name since 1982, here are Shue’s best cinematic forays so far.

10 Adventures In Babysitting (1987) 6.9/10

Home Alone‘s Chris Columbus made his directorial debut via the ’80s cult-comedy-classic Adventures in Babysitting, in which Shue stars as an overwhelmed caretaker on a journey of a lifetime.

After being stood up by her boyfriend, Chris (Shue) expects a boring and lonely night of babysitting for three young children. However, when a friend in downtown Chicago calls Chris for help, she brings the rambunctious kids along on a series of wild misadventures.

9 Heart And Souls (1993) 7.0/10

In Ron Underwood’s Heart and Souls, Robert Downey Jr. plays an aimless businessman who finds a new calling after discovering an ability to communicate with the afterlife.

Following a near-fatal car accident as an infant, Thomas Reilly (Downey Jr.) develops a mysterious phenomenon that allows him to speak with the four souls who died in the car accident. As he begins to know the deceased, Reilly helps them complete one final task each that will allow them to descend to heaven. Elisabeth Shue plays Anne, one of the deceased’s loyal girlfriends.

8 Greyhound (2020) 7.0/10

According to IMDb, Shue’s most recent feature is good enough to crack her 10 best movies to date. Starring opposite Tom Hanks in the riveting warship drama Greyhound, Shue plays Evelyn Frechette, the romantic interest of USS Keeling Commander Ernest Krause.

Adapted from the 1955 novel The Good Shepherd by C.S. Forester, the story centers on the daring Allied convoy attempting to cross the Atlantic Ocean in the lead up to WWII. The drama escalates when Commander Kraus fight inclement weather, poor visibility, lack of sleep, and a relentless enemy.

7 Chasing Mavericks (2012) 7.2/10

Directed by Michael Apted and Curtis Hanson, Chasing Mavericks pays homage to Maverick’s Beach in Northern California where gigantic 40-foot waves provide thrills for the most daring of surfing professionals.

Gerard Butler plays Frosty Hesson in the film, a Santa Cruz native who helps budding teenage surfer Jay Moriarty (Jonny Weston) prepare to take on the biggest waves of his life. Shue plays Jay’s mother, Kristy, who gives him a radio as a child that he uses to track weather updates and which waves to surf.

6 The Karate Kid (1984) 7.3/10

Elisabeth Shue will forever live in ’80s movie infamy for her role as Ali Mills in The Karate Kid, just the second theatrical film of her career. Without her lovable character, there would be no 35-year-old rivalry between Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka)

Upon moving to Reseda, California, Newark transplant LaRusso becomes bullied by Johnny and his mischievous minions after approaching Johnny’s ex-girlfriend Ali. LaRusso meets Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita), learns karate, and exacts revenge on Johnny in the All Valley Karate Tournament 1984.

5 Deconstructing Harry (1997) 7.4/10

In this film, Shue played the role of Fay Sexton in Deconstructing Harry, the title character’s most recent ex-girlfriend. This is her one and only appearance alongside Woody Allen.

Harry Block (Allen) is an author who bases one of his sexual affairs on his most recent novel. When confronted with a gun by his mistress Lucy (Judy Davis), Harry claims he’s already suffered enough by Fay leaving him for his best friend, Larry (Billy Crystal).

4 Back To The Future Part III (1990) 7.4/10

Although the film’s rating pales in comparison to its 1985 predecessor, Back to the Future Part III is still good enough to break into Shue’s four finest films to date, per IMDb.

The third chapter of time-traveling Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) takes him to the Wild West of 1885, where he must prevent the imminent death of his mad-scientist buddy, Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd). With zero fuel to return to the present day, Marty and Doc concoct a wild plot to go back to the future.

3 Leaving Las Vegas (1995) 7.5/10

While Nicolas Cage walked away with the gold statuette following his drunken turn in Leaving Las Vegas, many have argued that it was Shue who deserved to win the Academy Award.

Ben Sanderson (Cage) is a burned-out Hollywood screenwriter and crippling alcoholic who moves to Las Vegas to drink himself to death. When he meets a ray of hope in Sera (Shue), a hooker with a heart of gold, he prolongs the inevitable for as long as possible.

2 Mysterious Skin (2004) 7.6/10

Greg Araki’s Mysterious Skin is one of the most upsetting movies about pedophilia and child abuse ever made. It also happens to feature two of the best performances by Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Elisabeth Shue as well.

Based on the 1995 Scott Heim novel, the film traces the lives of Neil (Gordon-Levitt) and Brian (Brady Corbet), two eight-year-old Little League teammates who are sexually abused by their adult coach. As the boys grow up and go their separate ways, the devastating incident continues to affect their lives in several ways. Shue plays Neil’s reckless single mother Ellen.

1 Back To The Future Part II (1989) 7.8/10

Elisabeth Shue replaced Claudia Wells as Jennifer Parker in between Back to the Future and Back to the Future Part II, much to the head-scratching dismay of many fans of the original. However, the film still ranks as Shue’s best to date, according to IMDb.

The landmark sequel follows Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) on his series of misadventures traveling from the year 2015 to 1955 and back to 1985 in a fast-paced 108 minutes. When Biff steals the time-traveling Delorean for his own future monetary gain, Marty and Doc throw a wrench in his plans and restore order back to the present day.