Josh Brolin – His Top 20 Best Movies Ranked

Josh Brolin has been acting for nearly 40 years and has a stellar filmography behind him. He discovered his passion for acting in high school and made his movie debut in 1985’s The Goonies. The last decade has seen his profile hit the stratosphere with one smash hit role after another. We collected the users’ scores from IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes and Letterboxd, found the average and curated his top 20 highest rated movies.

For further info: IMDbRotten TomatoesLetterboxdTMDB

Sicario 2- Soldado (2018) Movie Backdrop
20 – Sicario 2: Soldado (2018)
No rules this time
Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Directed by: Stefano Sollima

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6.54 /10

FBI agent Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) calls on mysterious operative Alejandro Gillick (Benicio del Toro) when Mexican drug cartels start to smuggle terrorists across the U.S. border. The war escalates even further when Alejandro kidnaps a top kingpin’s daughter to deliberately increase the tensions. When the young girl is seen as collateral damage, the two men will determine her fate as they question everything that they are fighting for.

Inherent Vice (2014) Movie Backdrop
19 – Inherent Vice (2014)
Under the paving stones, the beach!
Drama | Mystery | Comedy
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6.58 /10

In a California beach community, private detective Larry “Doc” Sportello (Joaquin Phoenix) tends to work his cases through a smoky haze of marijuana. One day, Shasta, a former lover, arrives out of the blue to plead for Doc’s help; it seems that Shasta’s current beau, rich real-estate tycoon Mickey Wolfmann, has a wife who may be plotting to commit him to a mental hospital. When Mickey and Shasta both disappear, Doc navigates a psychedelic world of surfers, stoners and cops to solve the case.

Men in Black 3 (2012) Movie Backdrop
18 – Men in Black 3 (2012)
They are back… in time.
Action | Comedy | Science Fiction

Directed by: Barry Sonnenfeld

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6.60 /10

Even though agents J (Will Smith) and K (Tommy Lee Jones) have been protecting the Earth from alien scum for many years, J still does not know much about his gruff partner. However, J soon gets an unexpected chance to find out what makes K tick when an alien criminal called Boris the Animal (Jemaine Clement) escapes, goes back to 1969, and kills K. With the fate of the planet at stake, J goes back in time and teams up with K’s younger self (Josh Brolin) to put things right.

Thrashin' (1986) Movie Backdrop
17 – Thrashin’ (1986)
It’s not a kid’s game anymore.
Action | Drama

Directed by: David Winters

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6.69 /10

Corey (Josh Brolin) and his band of skater buddies sometimes make mischief, but they’re more interested in girls and having fun on their boards than in getting into any real trouble. Notorious enemy crew the Daggers, led by Tommy Hook (Robert Rusler), get their kicks terrorizing the locals at Venice Beach. When Corey starts dating Tommy’s kid sister, the Daggers are furious. The boys then take their beef to the “L.A. Massacre,” a deadly skate race down a canyon road.

16 – The Dead Girl (2006)
One life ends. Seven others begin.

Mystery | Drama | Crime | Thriller

Directed by: Karen Moncrieff

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6.73 /10

In a quintet of stories, the murder of a young runaway (Brittany Murphy) connects a group of unrelated women. Lonely Arden (Toni Collette) discovers the body; Leah (Rose Byrne), a forensics student, thinks the victim may be her long-missing sister. Melora (Marcia Gay Harden) arrives in Los Angeles to piece together the last days of her daughter’s life, while Ruth (Mary Beth Hurt) makes a disturbing discovery in the storage facility she and her husband manage.

Everest (2015) Movie Backdrop
15 – Everest (2015)
The Storm Awaits.

Adventure | Drama | Action

Directed by: Baltasar Kormákur

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6.88 /10

On the morning of May 10, 1996, climbers (Jason Clarke, Josh Brolin) from two expeditions start their final ascent toward the summit of Mount Everest, the highest point on Earth. With little warning, a violent storm strikes the mountain, engulfing the adventurers in one of the fiercest blizzards ever encountered by man. Challenged by the harshest conditions imaginable, the teams must endure blistering winds and freezing temperatures in an epic battle to survive against nearly impossible odds.

In the Valley of Elah (2007) Movie Backdrop
14 – In the Valley of Elah (2007)
Sometimes finding the truth is easier than facing it.

History | Drama | Thriller | Crime | Mystery

Directed by: Paul Haggis

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7.21 /10

A police detective (Charlize Theron) helps a retired Army sergeant (Tommy Lee Jones) search for his son, a soldier who went missing soon after returning from Iraq. Hank Deerfield, a Vietnam War veteran, learns that his son may have met with foul play after a night on the town with members of his platoon.

Planet Terror (2007) Movie Backdrop
13 – Planet Terror (2007)
Humanity’s last hope… rests on a high power machine gun!

Horror | Action | Thriller

Directed by:

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7.25 /10

An ordinary evening in a small Texas town becomes a grisly nightmare when a horde of flesh-eating zombies goes on the prowl. Cherry (Rose McGowan), a go-go dancer, and Wray (Freddy Rodriguez), her ex-lover, band together with other survivors in a no-holds barred effort to escape the carnage. The odds become a bit more even when Cherry, who lost her leg to a hungry ghoul, gets a machine-gun appendage and lets the bullets fly.

Flirting with Disaster (1996) Movie Backdrop
12 – Flirting with Disaster (1996)
A comedy about sex, love, family and other accidents waiting to happen.

Comedy

Directed by: David O. Russell

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7.27 /10

Adopted as a child, new father Mel Colpin (Ben Stiller) decides he cannot name his son until he knows his birth parents, and determines to make a cross-country quest to find them. Accompanied by his wife, Nancy (Patricia Arquette), and an inept yet gorgeous adoption agent, Tina (Tea Leoni), he departs on an epic road trip that quickly devolves into a farce of mistaken identities, wrong turns, and overzealous and love-struck ATF agents (Josh Brolin, Richard Jenkins).

American Gangster (2007) Movie Backdrop
11 – American Gangster (2007)
There are two sides to the American dream

Drama | Crime

Directed by: Ridley Scott

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7.27 /10

Harlem drug dealer Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington) rises to power in corrupt 1970s New York, equalling and surpassing the notorious Mafia families with the reach of his empire. On the other side of the law, honest cop Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe) dedicates himself to taking down `the most dangerous man walking the streets’. Lucas acts with impunity, smuggling heroin into the US in the coffins of American soldiers killed in Vietnam.

10 – Deadpool 2 (2018)
Prepare for the Second Coming.

Action | Comedy | Adventure

Directed by: David Leitch

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7.90 /10

Wisecracking mercenary Deadpool meets Russell, an angry teenage mutant who lives at an orphanage. When Russell becomes the target of Cable — a genetically enhanced soldier from the future — Deadpool realizes that he’ll need some help saving the boy from such a superior enemy. He soon joins forces with Bedlam, Shatterstar, Domino and other powerful mutants to protect young Russell from Cable and his advanced weaponry.

9 – The Goonies (1985)
Take the Oath. Join the Adventure.

Adventure | Comedy | Family

Directed by: Richard Donner

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7.98 /10

An old-fashioned yarn about a band of adventurous kids who take on the might of a property developing company which plans to destroy their home to build a country club. When the children discover an old pirate map in the attic, they follow it into an underground cavern in search of lost treasure but come up against plenty of dangerous obstacles along the way. Starring Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Jeff Cohen, Corey Feldman and Kerri Green.

Only the Brave (2017) Movie Backdrop
8 – Only the Brave (2017)
It’s not what stands in front of you, it’s who stands beside you

Drama | Action | History

Directed by: Joseph Kosinski

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8.21 /10

Through hope, determination, sacrifice and the drive to protect families and communities, the Granite Mountain Hotshots become one of the most elite firefighting teams in the United States. While most people run from danger they run toward it, watching over lives, homes and everything people hold dear, while forging a unique brotherhood that comes into focus with one fateful fire in Yarnell, Arizona.

Milk (2008) Movie Backdrop
7 – Milk (2008)
Never blend in.

History | Drama

Directed by: Gus Van Sant

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8.27 /10

In 1972, Harvey Milk (Sean Penn) and his then-lover Scott Smith leave New York for San Francisco, with Milk determined to accomplish something meaningful in his life. Settling in the Castro District, he opens a camera shop and helps transform the area into a mecca for gays and lesbians. In 1977 he becomes the nation’s first openly gay man elected to a notable public office when he wins a seat on the Board of Supervisors. But the storm is rising against him.

6 – True Grit (2010)
Punishment Comes One Way or Another.

Drama | Adventure | Western

Directed by: Ethan Coen

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8.27 /10

After an outlaw named Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin) murders her father, feisty 14-year-old farm girl Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) hires Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges), a boozy, trigger-happy lawman, to help her find Chaney and avenge her father. The bickering duo are not alone in their quest, for a Texas Ranger named LaBoeuf (Matt Damon) is also tracking Chaney for reasons of his own. Together the unlikely trio ventures into hostile territory to dispense some Old West justice.

Sicario (2015) Movie Backdrop
5 – Sicario (2015)
The border is just another line to cross.

Action | Crime | Thriller

Directed by: Denis Villeneuve

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8.27 /10

After rising through the ranks of her male-dominated profession, idealistic FBI agent Kate Macer (Emily Blunt) receives a top assignment. Recruited by mysterious government official Matt Graver (Josh Brolin), Kate joins a task force for the escalating war against drugs. Led by the intense and shadowy Alejandro (Benicio Del Toro), the team travels back-and-forth across the U.S.-Mexican border, using one cartel boss (Bernardo Saracino) to flush out a bigger one (Julio Cesar Cedillo).

Dune (2021) Movie Backdrop
4 – Dune (2021)
Beyond fear, destiny awaits.
Science Fiction | Adventure

Directed by: Denis Villeneuve

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8.41 /10

Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet’s exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence-a commodity capable of unlocking humanity’s greatest potential-only those who can conquer their fear will survive.

3 – Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
An entire universe. Once and for all.
Adventure | Science Fiction | Action

Directed by: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo

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8.46 /10

Iron Man, Thor, the Hulk and the rest of the Avengers unite to battle their most powerful enemy yet — the evil Thanos. On a mission to collect all six Infinity Stones, Thanos plans to use the artifacts to inflict his twisted will on reality by killing half of all living beings in the universe. The fate of the planet and existence itself has never been more uncertain as everything the Avengers have fought for has led up to this moment.

2 – No Country for Old Men (2007)
There are no clean getaways.
Crime | Drama | Thriller

Directed by:

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8.46 /10

While out hunting, Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) finds the grisly aftermath of a drug deal. Though he knows better, he cannot resist the cash left behind and takes it with him. The hunter becomes the hunted when a merciless killer named Chigurh (Javier Bardem) picks up his trail. Also looking for Moss is Sheriff Bell (Tommy Lee Jones), an aging lawman who reflects on a changing world and a dark secret of his own, as he tries to find and protect Moss.

1 – Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Part of the journey is the end.
Adventure | Science Fiction | Action

Directed by: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo

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8.66 /10

Twenty-three days after Thanos used the Infinity Gauntlet to kill half of all life in the universe,Carol Danvers rescues Tony Stark and Nebula from deep space and they reunite with the remaining Avengers—Bruce Banner, Steve Rogers, Thor, Natasha Romanoff, and James Rhodes—and Rocket on Earth. Locating Thanos on an uninhabited planet, they plan to use the Infinity Stones to reverse “the Snap”. Only things don’t go to plan….

Thanks for Reading

Enjoy some behind the scenes pics from Josh Brolin’s movies;