Dave Bautista started out as a WWE wrestler before turning his career sights on Hollywood. Since making the switch to films, Bautista has found himself in a variety of movies, including landing the iconic spot as Drax The Destroyer in the Guardians of the Galaxy MCU franchise. His portrayal as Drax spanned four films, including the new Thor: Love and Thunder, and many spinoff shorts within the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise.
Outside the MCU, Bautista has appeared in genres such as thrillers, crime, action, and comedy. While most of his roles outside the MCU have been action-thriller based, his comedy films have arguably been his most popular roles. Whether the comedy genre is the primary or split between action or sci-fi, Bautista shines with his hilarious one-liners. From starring with child stars in films like My Spy, which debuted on Amazon Prime Video to appearing with other well-known comedians like Stuber, Bautista delivers great comedic films. Here are his best comedy movies, ranked.
5 Enter the Warriors Gate
Enter the Warriors Gate is an action-meets-comedy film. The basic premise surrounds a teenager named Jack Bronson, played by Uriah Shelton, who loves video games and is often bullied. One day, his bullies chase him, causing him to seek shelter in his boss' shop until they leave. It's there that his boss gives Jack a game called The Warrior's Gate, which changes his life forever. That night, a warrior named Zhao, played by Mark Cho, wakes him up and tells him that the Black Knight must protect the Princes. She is left with Jack until the barbarians come to kill her. She fights them off, destroying Jack's house in the process. This leads the two into a portal that takes them to Ancient China, turning the video game into real life.
In the film, Bautista plays the head of the barbarians, Arun the Cruel. While this film is more action than comedy, make no mistake that some of Bautista's infamous one-liners come into play in the film. His character may be the villain in the story, but he helps the real Jack, as opposed to his in-game avatar, The Black Knight, learn how to have the confidence to stand up to his bullies in real life.
4 Thor: Love and Thunder
In the most recent Thor standalone film Thor: Love and Thunder, Drax and the rest of the Guardians of the Galaxy, except Gamora, appear for a few minutes of on-screen time with Thor. The film, which takes place a little while after the events in Avengers: Endgame, brings Thor out of retirement to face a new foe, Gorr the God Butcher, played by Christian Bale, who seeks the extinction of the gods. Thor enlists the help of King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), Korg (Taika Waititi), and ex-girlfriend Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) who can now wield Mjolnir, his magical hammer.
While this film has since been dubbed as the worst in Thor's franchise, it does feature a lot of comedy, which is one of its many complaints from viewers. The Guardians of the Galaxy are the ones who ultimately help Thor get back into shape. With some funny moments and lots of nice muscle shots, it's safe to say Drax and the rest of the Guardians help carry the movie despite only being at the beginning of the film.
3 My Spy
My Spy is one of the few solely-comedic films to star Bautista. Where most of his films are a crossover of genres, My Spy is an Amazon Prime original film starring Bautista as a CIA operative who finds himself at the mercy of a nine-year-old girl who caught him undercover. As part of the deal the two work up, JJ (Bautista) has to teach Sophie (Chloe Coleman) how to be a spy, while she teaches him how to be better with people, though the latter was unexpected.
The successful film does have a few action scenes — because what CIA film is complete without them? — but for the most part, it is pure comedy. The film is PG-13, so it does contain some family-appropriate comedy that also crosses the line for some parents. A sequel is also in the works, per Deadline, and looks to bring back both main characters.
2 Stuber
Similar to most of his roles, Stuber is another comedic film that is mostly a comedy, but one that is also packed with exciting action sequences. Most of these scenes deal with cars as the premise surrounds an Uber driver. Bautista plays Vic Manning, who is a blind cop that recruited Stu, played by Kumail Nanjiani, who is an Uber driver with no dreams of his own. The unlikely pair wind up working together to save the day and fight crime in their own ways.
In this film, there is no shortage of silly moments and plenty of fight scenes. As usual for Bautista, his deadpan delivery of comedy helps balance Nanjiani's loud reluctance to be a part of this unofficial team. Together, the two manage to survive each harrowing moment as only those do in a comedic film.
1 Guardians of the Galaxy Franchise
It's no secret that Bautista's role in the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise was one of the best things to happen in his career. Thanks to the film's comedic lines, action, and stunts, Bautista could carry a bit of Drax into all of his future roles. Part of what makes Drax so successful for Bautista is that the character is relatable. In the first film, he joins Quill, Rocket, Gamora, and Groot to band together and fight Ronan the Accuser. Drax's reasoning for joining the team is revenge for his wife and daughter, whom Thanos slaughtered. In the second film, Drax and the rest of the team are more friendly towards each other and stay together, officially titling themselves The Guardians of the Galaxy. Where he was seeking revenge for his family in the first film, he now fights for the safety of his new rag-tag family.