Brad Pitt has had a long and impressive movie career. From its beginning in the later 1980s to its incredibly lofty heights right now, Pitt has appeared in a lot of films, and a lot of them are absolutely brilliant. In fact, some of the best films of all time have Pitt in the lead role. Of course, there are a few on the other end of the spectrum that lack some of the quality Brad Pitt is typically associated with.
Best Brad Pitt Movies
True Romance (1993) - 7.9
- Available to rent on Apple TV
Though Pitt is one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, he has made it clear that he can be just as effective in smaller roles. True Romance is a great example of this as Pitt shows up in a small but memorable role in the crime story written by Quentin Tarantino.
The movie revolves around Clarence and Alabama, a young couple who are desperately in love and who find themselves on the run from some dangerous gangsters. While the star-studded cast all deliver great performances, Pitt steals the show as a useless stoner roommate of one of the main characters.
Twelve Monkeys (1995) - 8.0
- Available on Max Go
Pitt earned his first Oscar nomination for playing against type in the surreal sci-fi movie Twelve Monkeys. Set in the future after a virus wipes out most of humanity, Bruce Willis plays a convict who is sent back in time to discover the origins of the virus. Pitt plays a patient in a psychiatric hospital who may be linked to the breakout.
Filmmaker Terry Gilliam infuses the movie with a weird and compelling feel while telling this story with plenty of exciting twists. It is a captivating journey all leading to a brilliant twist ending where everything comes full circle.
12 Years A Slave (2013) - 8.1
- Available on HBO, HBO Max and DIRECTV
The Best Picture winner 12 Years a Slave tells the harrowing true story of Solomon Northrup. Though he was living as a free man in the North, Northrup was abducted from his family and sold into slavery in the South. Pitt produced the movie and has a small role as a Canadian carpenter who learns of Northrup’s story.
The brutality and inhumanity of the story make it a very hard movie to watch yet it is also a stunning cinematic achievement. The movie was a big hit with critics and has clearly had a lasting impact on many viewers as well.
Snatch (2000) - 8.3
- Available on Netflix
Brad Pitt has the best role in Snatch, Guy Ritchie’s crime-comedy that combines a tale of a stolen diamond with one putting a boxing promoter against a gangster.
With a massive ensemble cast surrounding him, Pitt does an excellent job of claiming the standout role: a traveling Irish boxer, a role that fans might not expect considering the rest of his filmography. He nails the role beautifully, practically stealing every scene he’s in with his comically incomprehensible accent.
Inglourious Basterds (2009) - 8.3
- Available on TNT, TBS and DIRECTV
One of Tarantino’s best works, Inglourious Basterds is an incredible alternate history of an attempt on a Nazi leader’s life. Pitt plays Aldo Raine, the leader of a group of soldiers taking on one of the assassination missions.
It was, rightly so, the highest-grossing Tarantino film at the time of its release, and has been considered one of the greatest films of the 2000s so far. Pitt gives a hilarious performance and Christoph Waltz’s Oscar-winning role as Hans Landa has already become iconic.
Se7en (1995) - 8.6
Pitt’s first collaboration with director David Fincher was the dark thriller Se7en. Pitt and Morgan Freeman star as detectives investigating a series of murders centered around the Seven Deadly Sins. Their hunt to bring down the killer takes the men to unexpectedly dark places
The grim tone and gruesome sequence make the movie somewhat hard to watch for certain viewers. However, the performances and direction make it a gripping ride up until the thriller’s unforgettable final scene.
Fight Club (1999) - 8.8
Not only is Fight Club Pitt’s top-rated movie, but it is also voted as one of IMDb’s best movies of all time. Edward Norton stars as an aimless man who meets a mysterious stranger named Tyler Durden (Pitt) and together they start an underground fighting society that turns into something more.
Once again, director David Fincher’s brilliant style makes for an engrossing journey. It is thought-provoking, funny, brutal, and filled with endless interesting reveals that keep allowing it to grow into a bigger story than it seems.
Worst Brad Pitt Movies
Across The Tracks (1991) - 5.7
- Available on Fubo TV, Roku, Hoopla and Plex
As with most actors, Pitt took on some roles in smaller movies while trying to get his big break that didn’t always show off his talents in the best way. One such early role was in the sports drama Across the Tracks, co-starring former child star Ricky Schroder.
The movie finds the two actors playing brothers, Pitt as a star athlete at their school and Schroder as the troubled black sheep of the family. However, they find their roles reversing as Schroder becomes involved in the school track team. Many fans felt the movie was more of an after-school special.
The Counselor (2013) - 5.4
- Available on HBO Max, Max Go and DIRECTV
On paper, The Counselor seems like it would be a terrific movie. Directed by Ridley Scott and from a script by acclaimed writer Cormac McCarthy, the movie stars Michael Fassbender as a lawyer who becomes involved with the drug cartel.
The movie also boasts Oscar winners like Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem while Pitt has a smaller role as a shady associate. But despite all the promise, many fans found it to be a dull and confusing thriller.
The Dark Side Of The Sun (1988) - 5.3
- Available on Hoopla
Just a couple of years after he made his feature film debut, Brad Pitt landed the lead role in the drama, The Dark Side Of The Sun. The drama follows a man seeking a cure for a rare disease and finding love along the way.
Though it was an early role for Pitt, the movie was shelved by the production company for simply not being very good. It ended up being released direct-to-video in 1997 likely due to Pitt’s fame, and perhaps unsurprisingly, it received very poor reviews.
By The Sea (2015) - 5.3
Most of the ‘bad’ Brad Pitt films are from early on in his career, before he had made his name known across the world for some incredibly dramatic portrayals of deep, dark starring roles. By The Sea, however, is from 2015.
The movie revolves around a couple attempting to repair the marriage while staying at a French hotel. It was directed, co-starred in, produced and written by Pitt’s then-wife, Angelina Jolie. It seems like a good combo but was a box office bomb that received bad reviews all around.
The Favor (1994) - 5.2
- Available on Tubi
Another one of Pitt’s earlier roles that was delayed until the actor became a star is the bizarre comedy The Favor centers around a married woman who wonders what life would have been like with her old high school boyfriend. In order to find out, she asks her best friend to do her a favor which leads to further complications.
Pitt’s small role is a fine early performance from the actor but the movie itself failed to provide many laughs or fun for fans despite its quirky premise.
Cool World (1992) - 4.8
- Available on Prime Video and Hoopla
Shortly after the success of Who Framed Roger Rabbit, this live-action and animation hybrid attempted to duplicate its success with a very similar premise. The movie focuses on a cartoonist who is sucked into his own creation of an animated film noir world where one of the cartoon characters is attempting to escape into the real world.
Pitt plays a human detective inside the cartoon world. Even without the comparison to the superior Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Cool World is a mess of a movie.
Cutting Class (1989) - 4.5
Pitt was one of many actors whose career started in horror movies. One of his first roles was in the slasher movie Cutting Class. The movie is a high school whodunnit about a girl with two possible love interests but either one of them could be the killer murdering their fellow classmates. Pitt plays the ‘bad boy’ love interest.
The movie attempts to mix comedy and humor but doesn’t succeed with either. The result is a fairly forgettable slasher picture that is only notable as an early role for Pitt who would thankfully go on to more interesting projects.
