The 10 Best Colin Farrell Movies, Ranked - and How to Stream Them

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Colin Farrell could have got by on his matinee-idol looks, churning out action movies and romantic comedies and enjoying a pleasantly lucrative cinema career. Actors like that tend to toss in the odd arthouse hit or experimental cameo role to see off accusations of typecasting. In the case of Colin Farrell, the interesting films have gradually replaced the mainstream ones, but he has a knack for starring in boundary-pushing movies that still do well at the box office. See below for our pick of the ten best Colin Farrell films, and where to stream them.

Colin Farrell’s best early work was in collaboration with the director Joel Schumacher. In Tigerland, Farrell is a man of contrasts as an anti-war protestor who is drafted to fight in Vietnam and finds, at the training camp that gives the film its name, that he is a gifted soldier and leader of men. Farrell and Schumacher reunited for Phone Booth, a high-concept thriller that relies on Farrell constantly being on screen as an adulterous man threatened by an unseen sniper. In between those, Farrell cemented his Hollywood status with a crucial supporting role in Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report.

Now in the big time, Farrell took a while to find his rhythm as a proper film star: the blockbusters he appeared in during the early 2000s are hit and miss. Signs of a more interesting actor started to emerge in Oliver Stone’s historical epic Alexander, and when Farrell took a lead role in provocative romantic drama The New World, directed by arthouse legend Terrence Malick, as a colonial settler helping to establish Jamestown, Virginia. Then he shone in Michael Mann’s successful reboot of the cult TV series Miami Vice, before finding the director with whom Farrell would do his best work: Martin McDonagh.

McDonagh’s first movie was In Bruges, a fantastic thriller soaked in the blackest comedy. As a hitman riven with guilt at a job gone wrong, Farrell gives his definitive performance: funny and sexy when required, but with a dark vulnerability. Those qualities had been present before but the acclaim for In Bruges crystallised what sort of actor Farrell could be - he’s never looked back.

Collaborations with daring Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos were fruitful, notably The Lobster, in which Farrell’s alpha-male urges are curbed entirely as he plays a cuckolded man sent to a hotel where singletons are forced to pair up. Farrell also stuck with Martin McDonagh and In Bruges co-star Brendan Gleeson, scoring a huge critical hit with the deceptively simple comedy The Banshees of Inisherin, with Farrell as a naive man who cannot understand why his best friend has tired of him.

Even his superhero movies are a cut above: Colin Farrell is now starring in the TV series The Penguin, having revealed the damaged man inside the Gotham City villain in the 2022 movie The Batman.

Where to watch the best Colin Farrell movies online

As The Penguin reaches the small screen, you’ll want to stream The Batman to remind yourself of how Farrell got started in the role. For those wanting to find out where to watch the other movies on our list of Colin Farrell’s ten best, see below.

Netflix
Disney Plus
Amazon Prime Video
Apple TV Plus
Apple TV
Rakuten TV
Crunchyroll
Amazon Video
Paramount Plus
Channel 4
Sky Go
Crunchyroll Amazon Channel
BBC iPlayer
MUBI
Google Play Movies
BFI Player
Sky Store
Microsoft Store
Freevee
Curzon Home Cinema
ITVX
YouTube
Shudder
ARROW
Arrow Video Amazon Channel
Talk Talk TV
UKTV Play
GuideDoc
Movietickets
Netflix Kids
YouTube Premium
BFI Player Amazon Channel
Hayu
Hayu Amazon Channel
My5
BritBox Amazon Channel
MUBI Amazon Channel
STUDIOCANAL PRESENTS Apple TV Channel
STV Player
Curiosity Stream
Flix Premiere
Hotstar
Revry
DOCSVILLE
Now TV
Spamflix
Dogwoof On Demand
Plex
WOW Presents Plus
Magellan TV
BroadwayHD
Filmzie
MovieSaints
Acorn TV
AcornTV Amazon Channel
Dekkoo
True Story
DocAlliance Films
Hoichoi
Now TV Cinema
CuriosityStream Amazon Channel
DocuBay Amazon Channel
Discovery+ Amazon Channel
Fandor Amazon Channel
Full Moon Amazon Channel
ITV Amazon Channel
Pokémon Amazon Channel
Shout! Factory Amazon Channel
Shudder Amazon Channel
Eros Now Amazon Channel
FilmBox Live Amazon Channel
W4free
Paus
Pluto TV
Eventive
ShortsTV Amazon Channel
Cultpix
FilmBox+
Yupp TV
Paramount+ Amazon Channel
Discovery+
Curzon Amazon Channel
Icon Film Amazon Channel
Hallmark TV Amazon Channel
Studiocanal Presents Amazon Channel
Sundance Now Amazon Channel
Sooner Amazon Channel
Takflix
Klassiki
Sun Nxt
Viaplay
Netflix basic with Ads
Paramount Plus Apple TV Channel
Runtime
OUTtv Amazon Channel
HistoryPlay Amazon Channel
Crime+ Investigation Play Amazon Channel
Shahid VIP
Univer Video
Acorn TV Apple TV
Tastemade Apple TV Channel
CuriosityStream Apple TV Channel
BFI Player Apple TV Channel
Kocowa
Amazon Prime Video with Ads
ODEON Cinemas
Cineworld
Vue
Arte
Showcase Cinemas
MGM Plus Amazon Channel
Tubi TV
Plex Live TV
Everyman Cinema
Filters
  1. In Bruges

    In Bruges

    2008

    #1

    Ray and Ken, two hit men, are in Bruges, Belgium, waiting for their next mission. While they are there they have time to think and discuss their previous assignment. When the mission is revealed to Ken, it is not what he expected.

  2. The Banshees of Inisherin

    #2

    Two lifelong friends find themselves at an impasse when one abruptly ends their relationship, with alarming consequences for both of them.

  3. Phone Booth

    Phone Booth

    2003

    #3

    A slick New York publicist who picks up a ringing receiver in a phone booth is told that if he hangs up, he'll be killed... and the little red light from a laser rifle sight is proof that the caller isn't kidding.

  4. The Lobster

    The Lobster

    2015

    #4

    In a dystopian near future, single people, according to the laws of The City, are taken to The Hotel, where they are obliged to find a romantic partner in forty-five days or are transformed into animals and sent off into The Woods.

  5. Tigerland

    Tigerland

    2000

    #5

    A group of recruits go through Advanced Infantry Training at Fort Polk, Louisiana's infamous Tigerland, last stop before Vietnam for tens of thousands of young men in 1971.

  6. Minority Report

    Minority Report

    2002

    #6

    John Anderton is a top 'Precrime' cop in the late-21st century, when technology can predict crimes before they're committed. But Anderton becomes the quarry when another investigator targets him for a murder charge.

  7. Miami Vice

    Miami Vice

    2006

    #7

    A case involving drug lords and murder in South Florida takes a personal turn for undercover detectives Sonny Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs. Unorthodox Crockett gets involved romantically with the Chinese-Cuban wife of a trafficker of arms and drugs, while Tubbs deals with an assault on those he loves.

  8. The Batman

    The Batman

    2022

    #8

    In his second year of fighting crime, Batman uncovers corruption in Gotham City that connects to his own family while facing a serial killer known as the Riddler.

  9. The New World

    The New World

    2005

    #9

    A drama about explorer John Smith and the clash between Native Americans and English settlers in the 17th century.

  10. Alexander

    Alexander

    2004

    #10

    Alexander, the King of Macedonia, leads his legions against the giant Persian Empire. After defeating the Persians, he leads his army across the then known world, venturing farther than any westerner had ever gone, all the way to India.