Javier Bardem’s filmography is quite impressive as he appeared in many genres from playing in Spanish films to James Bond villain. TechTrends put together a list of the best Javier Bardem movies of all time.
Javier Bardem is an impressive actor who is able to attract the attention of the audience whenever he acts in a movie. He started his career in Spain and gradually made a name for himself before being discovered in Hollywood. Since then, he has gone on to make one of the greatest careers in the movie industry, delivering unforgettable performances. In addition, there are a lot of hit movies in his filmography. Despite having a family of talented filmmakers that have been the rulers of Spanish cinema, Javier Bardem has never been in anyone else’s shadow. He gained international recognition when he appeared in Before Night Falls in 2000. Moreover, he won an Oscar in 2008 when he masterfully played the role of sociopathic assassin, Anton Chigurh, in No Country for Old Men. Here are the best must-see Javier Bardem movies of all time.
Best Javier Bardem Movies of All Time
Javier Bardem is an award-winning actor from Spain, who had his film debut in the Spanish movie ‘Las edades de Lulu 1990. Now without further ado, let’s jump into the list of the best Javier Bardem movies of all time.
10. Mother 2017
- Genre: Horror/Thriller
- Director: Darren Aronofsky
- Stars: Javier Bardem, Jennifer Lawrence, Michelle Pfeiffer, Ed Harris, Domhnall Gleeson, Kristen Wiig, Emily Hampshire
- Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 68%, IMDb 6.6
One of the best Javier Bardem movies of all time is Mother. Although the audience might have given the movie a negative response, the critics had a fairly strong response. The movie tells the story of a bizarre and nerve-shredding psychological thriller that depicts the dysfunctional life of a married couple. Jennifer Lawrence walks around in a big farmhouse in Darren Aronofsky’s movie, which is a metaphor for Mother Earth and the Book of Genesis. Javier Bardem plays the role of her husband. Moreover, the movie has killed it at the box office, becoming the most divisive movie of the year. The movie Mother was called a masterpiece by some critics while others had a different opinion.
Aside from it being incredibly fascinating with the metaphors and how Javier Bardem is metaphorically the God, many believed it was disturbing to watch. It is a reckoning of layered religious allegories put into this horror and abstract film. In addition, Lawrence’s name is not mentioned in the movie, and she is referred to as ‘mother’. In the movie, she is renovating the farmhouse with her husband. Then, an unknown couple comes to their house, giving a sense of dark energies entering the house. Aronofsky is indeed capable of escalating set-pieces better than anyone else in the industry. Moreover, the stagey, ostensibly one-take, POV-style choice draws the audience attention.
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9. Before Night Falls 2000
- Genre: Drama/LGBT
- Director: Julian Schnabel
- Stars: Javier Bardem, Johnny Depp, Olatz López Garmendia, Andrea Di Stefano, Olivier Martinez, Sean Penn
- Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 74%, IMDb 7.2
The movie that brought Javier Bardem international recognition was Before Night Falls. In this autobiography movie, Javier Bardem plays the role of writer and political rebel Reinaldo Arenas, whose life is being depicted mostly after he goes to Havana, Cuba in the 60s. He moves there as a student and finally gets the opportunity to publish one of his writings. Moreover, he is having troubles with his sexuality there, but things get dangerous because of political matters. He then ends up moving in and out of prison. Bardem’s first Oscar nomination came for this movie and his performance as Reinaldo.
“A dense, emotionally satisfying portrait of a man, a time and a place.” — David Rooney, Variety
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8. Everybody Knows 2018
- Genre: Mystery/Crime
- Director: Asghar Farhadi
- Stars: Javier Bardem, Penélope Cruz, Ricardo Darín, Bárbara Lennie, Carla Campra
- Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 78%, IMDb 6.9
In 2018, Asghar Farhadi directed the movie Everybody Knows, which is in Spanish language and shows the reunion of Bardem and Cruz, who portray the role of Paco and Laura, respectively. Laura’s daughter goes missing and they get a ransom request. Therefore, tensions mount since they have had a grudge against Paco for a long time. While the kidnapping brings a strong crime to the story, the movie centers around the nuanced character relationships as the suspicions grow. Michael O’Sullivan from The Washington Post described this movie as “Immensely watchable and thematically complex tale, which in some ways plays out like a deceptively conventional Agatha Christie-style whodunit.” Therefore, this is one of the best Javier Bardem movies of all time.
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7. Vicky Cristina Barcelona 2008
- Genre: Romance/Comedy
- Director: Woody Allen
- Stars: Javier Bardem, Penélope Cruz, Rebecca Hall, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Messina, Patricia Clarkson
- Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 80%, IMDb 7.1
Javier Bardem had collaboration with Woody Allen in the movie Vicky Cristina Barcelona, which won the Golden Globe award. Javier Bardem plays the role of Juan Antonio Gonzalo, who is the center of the movie. Johansson portrays the role of a tourist whose name is Cristina. Moreover, she is traveling in Spain with Vicky, her friend. The two are then approached by Juan Antonio, a suave artist who wants to seduce them despite being attached to his ex-wife Maria Elena, portrayed by Penelope Cruz. When Vicky gets engaged, Cristina goes to live with Juan Antonio and Maria. Moreover, this Allen movie is among the best Javier Bardem films of all time.
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6. Live Flesh 1997
- Genre: Drama/Romance
- Director: Pedro Almodóvar
- Stars: Javier Bardem, Penélope Cruz, Liberto Rabal, Francesca Neri, Pepe Sancho, Ángela Molina
- Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 80%, IMDb 7.3
The movie Live Flesh is an adaptation of Ruth Rendell’s book with the same name. It is a thriller directed by Pedro Almodóvar that stars Francesca Neri and Javier Bardem as Elena and David, respectively. The two appear as total opposites but try to start a life together even when they get tempted with affairs. The two meet each other when David, a young cop, gets a report of a gunshot. He then meets Elena who was there to meet her drug dealer and got into a fight with another man named Victor. The movie shows the two’s life that was affected by the presence of Victor as well as Clara, who has her sights on David. The movie won a BAFTA Awards for Best Non-English Language Film in 1999.
“A richly detailed tale of passion, perfidy and revenge adapted from a typically tricky Ruth Rendell novel.” — Janet Maslin, The New York Times
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5. Dune 2021
- Genre: Sci-fi/Adventure
- Director: Denis Villeneuve
- Stars: Javier Bardem, Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Oscar Isaac, Jason Momoa, Rebecca Ferguson
- Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 83%, IMDb 8
One of the best Javier Bardem movies of all time and the most recent one he starred in is the movie, Dune. Aside from the eye-catching cinematography, this movie has been named the best sci-fi film in years. One of the reasons behind it is how intense and layered Timothee Chalamet’s performance was. In the movie, which is based on Frank Herbert’s fiction novel, he plays the role of Paul Atreides, who is the heir to a powerful house in space that becomes the victim of a series of unfortunate political challenges and betrayal. Paul is a gifted and brilliant man, whose destiny is beyond his understanding. He then realizes that he has to travel to one of the most dangerous planets for his people and family.
It is a masterpiece visually with amazing shots of the landscapes and breathtaking visual effects. Javier Bardem plays the role Stilgar, the leader of the Fremen tribe who later encounters Paul. Don’t miss this as it is one of Javier Bardem’s greatest movie roles.
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4. The Sea Inside 2004
- Genre: Drama/Romance
- Director: Alejandro Amenábar
- Stars: Javier Bardem, Belén Rueda, Lola Dueñas, Mabel Rivera, Celso Bugallo
- Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 84%, IMDb 8
The fourth one on the list of the best Javier Bardem movies of all time is The Sea Inside, which is a Spanish film. Javier Bardem plays the role of real-life Ramon Sampedro, who had to fight for three decades to get his right to end his life as he become a quadriplegic. The movie won the Best Foreign Language Oscar in 2005 and is about the main character’s relationships with a lawyer who backs his right. She is a woman eager to convince him not to give up. In addition, the film revolves around opposing opinions around assisted suicide and how awful it is to see a loved one suffer. This is indeed one of the best Javier Bardem movies ever.
“Moving, romantic, dreamlike, flawlessly acted and so engaging.” — Carla Meyer, San Francisco Chronicle
3. Collateral 2004
- Genre: Thriller/Action
- Director: Michael Mann
- Stars: Javier Bardem, Tom Cruise, Jamie Foxx, Jada Pinkett Smith, Mark Ruffalo, Jason Statham
- Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 86%, IMDb 7.5
The movie Collateral revolves around a cab driver, Max, played by Jamie Foxx, who chauffeurs Vincent, played by Tom Cruise, around Los Angeles. As it turns out, Vincent is a hitman. Max then gets more involved in Vincent’s world. Morover, Javier Bardem portrays the role of Felix Reyes-Torrena, who is a drug lord. Many of the awards acclaim for the movie was for Foxx, such as Screen Actors Guild, Critics Choice, Golden Globe, and Oscar noms. However, it received Critics Choice Award nomination for Best Film.
“Collateral crackles with energy and purpose, a propulsive film with character on its mind.” — Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
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2. Skyfall 2012
- Genre: Action/Adventure
- Director: Sam Mendes
- Star: Javier Bardem, Daniel Craig, Bérénice Marlohe, Judi Dench, Naomie Harris
- Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 92%, IMDb 7.8
Skyfall is yet another one of Javier Bardem movies. It follows the story of Bond, played by Daniel Craig. He is investigating an attack that was done on M16 that comes to a larger scheme by Raoul Silva, who is an agent-turned-cyberterrorist, to kill the M16 director and defame him. Moreover, he does this to retaliate for abandoning him. Bond has to go to cities like Istanbul, Shanghai and Macau in this movie. Javier Bardem, on the other hand, plays the role of Raoul Silva, who is a cyberterrorist. Before accepting to take on the mission, Bond was enjoying his retirement as everyone presumed him dead following a mission.
However, when he finds out that the M16 building is under a terrorist attack, he decides to help them out. Moreover, this is the highest-grossing 007 movie as it is the only one that made $1 billion and is known as one of the best Javier Bardem movies of all time. Critics praised the movie and its Rotten Tomatoes’ rating is 92%.
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1. No Country for Old Men 2007
- Genre: Thriller/Crime
- Director: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
- Star: Javier Bardem, Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, Woody Harrelson, Kelly Macdonald, Garret Dillahunt
- Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 93%, IMDb 8.2
The movie that brought Javier Bardem his Oscar award is named No Country for Old Men, which is based on a novel of the same name, written by Cormac McCarthy. Moreover, the movie takes place in Texas in 1980s and revolves around a savage hitman who is searching for a large sum of money that Llewelyn Moss happened upon. Moreover, the Sherriff, played by Tommy Lee Jones, is investigating the crime. This is indeed one of the best Javier Bardem movies of all time. Therefore, we highly recommend it.
“If watching movie violence is cathartic, then this film amounts to heavy therapy.” — Joe Morgenstern, The Wall Street Journal
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