Robert Downey Jr.’s acclaimed crime thriller Zodiac is now on Netflix

The David Fincher thriller also stars fellow MCU favourites Mark Ruffalo and Jake Gyllenhaal.

Robert Downey Jr. may be best known for playing Tony Stark in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but one of his most acclaimed performances came several years before Iron Man changed his career.

David Fincher’s 2007 crime thriller Zodiac has now arrived on Netflix, giving viewers another chance to revisit the painstaking investigation into one of America’s most notorious unsolved criminal cases.

Set against the fear that gripped San Francisco in the late 1960s and 1970s, the film follows the hunt for the Zodiac Killer, the real-life serial murderer who taunted authorities and the press with cryptic letters and ciphers.

The case remained unsolved, and Fincher’s film focuses less on conventional thriller spectacle and more on the painstaking process of trying to determine who was responsible.

A stacked cast before the MCU

Zodiac is particularly interesting for Marvel fans because its cast includes several actors who would later become familiar faces in the MCU.

Downey Jr. plays crime reporter Paul Avery, while Mark Ruffalo portrays Inspector David Toschi. Jake Gyllenhaal stars as San Francisco Chronicle cartoonist Robert Graysmith, whose fascination with the case develops into an increasingly obsessive search for answers.

The ensemble also includes ER star Anthony Edwards, Succession actor Brian Cox and Elias Koteas, known for his work in the Chicago television universe.

The film was released in 2007, just before Downey Jr.’s Marvel era began. He would go on to make his first appearance as Tony Stark in Iron Man in 2008, eventually becoming one of the central figures of the MCU.

Paramount Pictures lists Zodiac as a 2007 drama with a 158-minute running time and describes it as a true-story thriller centred on the manhunt inspired by the notorious serial killer.

Why Zodiac remains so highly regarded

If you’re looking for a crime thriller built around atmosphere, investigation and character rather than nonstop action, Zodiac remains a strong choice.

The film currently holds a 90% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes from 264 reviews. The site’s critical consensus praises Fincher’s dialogue-driven approach and his emphasis on character detail and the atmosphere of the 1970s rather than graphic depictions of murder.

The film has received similar praise from critics over the years.

Time Out gave Zodiac four out of five stars, highlighting the way Fincher turns the search for a solution into a study of the human compulsion to solve an apparently unsolvable puzzle.

That approach is central to what makes the film different from a conventional serial-killer thriller. Rather than constantly moving from one dramatic confrontation to another, Zodiac spends considerable time with the investigators, journalists and other people whose lives become increasingly consumed by the case.

The official Paramount Pictures synopsis similarly describes the film as an examination of two competing obsessions: the killer’s desire to take lives and the investigators’ determination to uncover the truth.

That slow-burning approach has helped the film maintain its reputation as one of Fincher’s most acclaimed works.

A very different role for Robert Downey Jr.

For viewers more accustomed to Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, Paul Avery offers a useful reminder of the actor’s work before Marvel.

Avery is part of the newspaper side of the investigation, alongside Gyllenhaal’s Graysmith, while Ruffalo and Edwards portray investigators working to identify the killer.

The combination of journalists and police gives the story several different perspectives on the same mystery. As the investigation continues, the boundaries between professional responsibility and personal obsession become increasingly blurred.

That ensemble is one of the film’s major strengths, with Paramount’s official cast list also including John Carroll Lynch, Donal Logue, Dermot Mulroney, Philip Baker Hall and others.

Downey Jr. is heading back to Marvel

There’s also a timely reason for Marvel fans to revisit Zodiac.

Downey Jr. is preparing to return to the MCU in Avengers: Doomsday, but this time he will take on the role of Doctor Doom rather than Iron Man.

His last appearance as Tony Stark came in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, making his return in a different role one of the more notable developments surrounding Marvel’s next phase.

That makes Zodiac an especially interesting watch for anyone wanting to see Downey Jr. in a serious crime drama long before his defining MCU role.

Zodiac is now streaming on Netflix

For anyone who missed the film when it was released in 2007, or simply wants to revisit Fincher’s meticulous take on the Zodiac Killer investigation, Zodiac is now available through Netflix in regions where the title is offered.

Netflix’s listing identifies the film as a 2007 drama starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo and Robert Downey Jr., and describes the story as a cartoonist’s increasingly obsessive pursuit of the truth behind the Zodiac Killer’s ciphers.

With its acclaimed cast, David Fincher behind the camera and a 90% Rotten Tomatoes score from 264 critics, Zodiac remains an appealing choice for anyone in the mood for a dark, methodical crime thriller.