12 Movies from the 1980s Full of Machismo That Are Not Arnie or Sly
Ah, the 80s, when testosterone was a superpower! And this century needs to learn a lot from them. Hello everybody, be welcome to my new movie post and the second of this 2025. This time I bring you 12 movies that will raise your T levels and I know you will love them.
“This is the AK-47 assault rifle, the preferred weapon of your enemy; and it makes a distinctive sound when fired at you, so remember it.” – Clint Eastwood as Sergeant Highway in Heartbreak Ridge (1986)
The 1980s were a time when testosterone ruled, the credit card became the symbol of the decade, the infamous Berlin Wall finally fell, and the great Ronald Reagan was in the office. He-Man, The Transformers and G.I. Joe ruled the cartoons, there were manly TV shows like The A-Team and Miami Vice, and hair metal was at its best. Gone were the moody 1970s and the Hollywood industry started making great movies marketed mostly to men. The term “action movie” was invented in the 1980s, and it’s been said that the action genre stared with the release of Rocky in 1976.
Action movies, starring Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger, became campier and dominated the box office. But as much as I love those movies, this post is not about them. I also didn’t want to include movies from Mel Gibson, Bruce Willis or Chuck Norris, since you must have watched movies with those great guys all your life, and if you haven’t well, my friend, we’re gonna have to take your man card out of you.
On this post you will find 12 different movies with 12 different manly actors that, while not quite well-known as something from Arnie or Sly, they’re still worthy of your time. These ones are more character-driven movies, are kind of gritty, and will teach you a few lessons in manliness here and there. Don’t worry, they still have enough shooting, car chases, and fighting to make you beat your chest and feel great about being a man.
So, without further ado, let’s begin our manly ride:
12- Escape from New York (1981)
Kurt Russell as Snake Plissken in Escape from New York' (1981) (via: collider.com)
Played to perfection by Kurt Russell, Snake Plissken has got to be the coolest guy that has ever worn en eye patch in movie history. It’s 1997, the world has seen its third war, and New York City has been transformed into a giant prison. Snake Plissken, a federal prisoner with a bad attitude, is selected to rescue the President of the US after the Air Force One has been crashed on purpose in a New York City that is now in ruins and ruled by gangs and pimps. Snake is given just 24 hours to complete his mission in exchange for a pardon for all his crimes.
Written and directed by John Carpenter, this is one of the best dystopias ever made in cinema history. Fun, gritty, and even stylish at the same time, it has become a cult classic for the ages. The music theme, composed by Carpenter himself, is also one of the best sci-fi themes ever; even the poster of this movie is a work of art. This was the second of five collaborations between Kurt Russell and John Carpenter, and Russell has stated that this is his favorite of all his films. Isaac Hayes played a cool villain as a flamboyant pimp, and great actors like Lee Van Cleef and Ernest Borgnine complete the cast. My favorite part here is when Snake must fight the pimp’s champion in a deathmatch.
So, let Snake guide you with his wits and badassery and don’t miss this one. Check trailer:
Escape From New York Official Trailer #2 (1981)
11- Licence to Kill (1989)
Timothy Dalton as James Bond in Licence to Kill (1989) (Via: 3brothersfilm.com)
Something from the best character ever created in movie history must be on this list. The sixteenth James Bond movie follows Bond as he goes rogue while trying to find the drug lord who killed his friend Felix Leiter. Bond will travel to exotic places, will be involved with a few gorgeous women, and will face a brutal henchman in an explosive ending.
This was Timothy Dalton’s second and final film as the lethal agent 007. Dalton, who is Christopher Nolan’s favorite Bond ever, has been referred to as “the misunderstood Bond”. I personally liked him in that role. His take of the character was darker and grittier than that of Roger Moore, he had the stamina and a serious persona that was needed for a character like this. I would have loved to see him in at least one more movie; in the early 1990s, we desperately needed a Bond movie, and had to wait until 1995, when Pierce Brosnan resurrected the character.
Licence to Kill was influenced by the Miami Vice type of stories that were popular at the time and, in turn, influenced Christopher Nolan’s terrific opening scene from The Dark Knight Rises. A little spoiler: the part where James Bond finally kills the henchman, played by Benicio del Toro, is just fucking insane.
Check trailer here:
10- The Evil That Men Do (1984)
Charles Bronson in The Evil That Men Do (1984) (via: reddit.com)
You cannot make a list like this one without including the man that could be considered as the manliest actor in movie history. After playing Paul Kersey in Death Wish (1974), Charles Bronson’s career switched directions to become more focused on tough gritty protagonists.
In The Evil That Men Do he stars as Holland, a retired CIA assassin now living comfortably in a Caribbean island. But a man will show him some videos about people who have been subjected to horrible tortures in the hands of a guy called "The Doctor", and who has killed an old friend of his. Hesitant at first, Holland will travel to Guatemala in order to stop the evil doctor.
This criminally underrated movie was one the best Charles Bronson made in the 1980s. Here, you will see shootouts, torture, evil disgusting people, and kidnapping. I like how Charles Bronson was dressed here, timeless and discreet at the same time. Take note of how Mr. Bronson deals with a brutish guy that makes passes at the lady he’s with. This was the third highest grossing Charles Bronson movie of the 80s and one of the nine movies he made with director J. Lee Thompson. Just a warning, the torture scenes in this movie are really gruesome, so be discreet.
This is old-school machismo and a movie that deserves more love. Check trailer here:
9- Heartbreak Ridge (1986)
Clint Eastwood in Heartbreak Ridge (1986) (via: screenrant.com)
Me and my cousins used to love this one when we were kids. In 1986, Clint Eastwood starred and directed this military-action comedy about a down on his luck, but tough motherfucker named sergeant Highway, who is commissioned with training a bunch of indiscipline Marines in order to make real soldiers of them.
The training parts are great and they start when Clint Eastwood throws a radio to the wall and gives a speech to the guys now under his command. The guys hate his guts, but he’s the only one with enough stamina to toughen them up. The irony here is that while sergeant Highway demands strict discipline from his platoon, he himself has little respect for his own superiors, albeit he’s always careful with prefacing his insults “with all due respect.” Highway must also deal with the failed relationship with his own ex-wife. The part where Mr. Eastwood gets into a fight with a big muscular Swedish guy is a little over the top, but fun to watch anyway. At the end of the training, the guys, now tough soldiers, must go to the island of Grenada to complete the mission they were trained for.
This cool movie received a nomination from the Academy for Best Sound and although it’s just fiction, some sequences were based on actual events from the invasion of Grenada by the U.S. Check trailer here:
8- Uncommon Valor (1983)
Gene Hackman and the cast of Uncommon Valor (1983) (Via: themoviedb.rog)
Produced by the great John Milius and directed by Ted Kotcheff, this is a movie that portraits the Vietnam veterans in a good way. It’s the 1980s, war has ended a long time ago but there are rumors that American MIAs are still held prisoners in the jungles of Laos. Determined to find the son that could be trapped there, a former colonel will ensemble a team of soldiers who fought in that war in order to bring his son back together with the other prisoners. But his operation will face the surveillance of the US government and other obstacles.
The late and great Gene Hackman did a fine performance as the colonel who is willing to bring his son back, no matter what happens. His resilience, courage, and the way he overcomes the different obstacles that will get in his way is truly remarkable. The late Fred Ward and a very young Patrick Swayze, in one of his earlier roles, complete the cast. When the team is assembled, they set a mockup of the POW camp for training, they make fun of each other, and I love the part when they all start singing and dancing to the rhythm of a cover of Sunshine of Your Love, originally by Cream. After a few setbacks, the bold mission will continue with enough helicopters, guns, explosions, and courage. This was the first of the “bring them back from Vietnam” movies of the early 1980s; Missing in Action (1984) and Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985), would follow later.
A movie that has flown under the radar for decades, but you won’t believe how good it is. Check trailer here:
7- To Live and Die in L.A. (1985)
Willem Dafoe in To Live and Die in LA (via: brothers-ink.com)
This is a poignant crime film also famous for the great car chase that includes. Richard Chance, a somewhat corrupt Secret Service agent, is determined to eliminate a network of counterfeit money led by an artist who has kept a low profile for years. To accomplish his goal, Chance will take unethical and illegal measures, and this will crash with his new partner, who comes from a family of police officers who are sworn to uphold the law.
This was the first and best movie actor William Petersen made in his entire career. Petersen was selected by director William Friedkin after playing the part of Stanley Kowalski in a theater play, and gave a great performance as the corrupt agent Richard Chance. This was also the first movie of Willem Dafoe, one of my favorite actors ever, who stole the show as the charismatic counterfeiter Eric Masters. The movie has a gritty and yellowish cinematography, and a nice soundtrack courtesy of 80s pop band Wang Chung. But what is impressive here it’s the car chase, one of the best of the 1980s, and one of the best ever put on film. This was the last great movie director William Friedkin gave us; after The Exorcist (1973), this could be considered his best movie. May he rest in peace.
So, watch a great crime thriller, and enjoy the car chase. Check trailer here:
6- 48 Hrs. (1982)
Eddie Murphy and Nick Nolte in 48 Hrs. (via: collider.com)
A movie I repent not having seen a long time ago; it was only in the past decade when I finally was able to watch it entirely. A San Francisco detective must take a prisoner out him to help him capture another criminals, including a killer who targets cops; but he only has 48 hours with said prisoner. This was Eddie Murphy’s breakthrough role in cinema. When we first see him, he’s in a prison cell and he’s singing Roxanne by The Police; later, he will steal the show in a great scene at a bar. Nick Nolte also did fine job here as a cold tough detective who will not stop at anything to get his mission done.
You will see here enough shootouts, fighting –both verbal and physical–, explosions and car chases. The detective and the prisoner don’t get along at first, but as time progresses they form a bond and end up becoming pals, well, sort of. The chemistry between both Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy is undeniably cool. Gritty, politically incorrect, tough and macho, this is a movie only the 1980s could have produced; Lethal Weapon, released five years later, is just a soft version of this one.
It’s very difficult to believe a movie like this would be made today, and it’s the kind of movie men desperately need right now. Check trailer here:
5- The Border (1982)
Jack Nicholson in The Border (1982) (Via: theplaylist.net)
I discovered this one a few years ago when I was checking a list about movies of 1982, and then I was lucky enough to find it on cable. I really liked a lot. Border agent Charlie Smith does his job well in keeping invaders at bay who want to enter the US illegally. He has a good life, house, and wife, and he’s good friends with his brother-in-law, who is also an immigration enforcement agent. But later, agent Smith will discover a secret operation to smuggle people from Central America to do slave work in the US. Things will take a major turn when a baby is put up for sale on the black market and agent Smith finds out his brother-in-law is involved in this.
Jack Nicholson had a fructiferous career in the 1980s. He made several acclaimed movies, played the Joker in Batman and even won an Oscar. Yet, The Border is a movie that is never talked about. Too bad, because it’s a really good one. Gritty, tough, manly, this is also one of the best movies that has tackled the theme of human trafficking. Nicholson did a good performance as agent Charlie Smith, while Harvey Keitel, whose career wasn’t at the best after he was fired from Apocalypse Now, played a very good antagonist as a corrupt border agent and Smith’s brother-in-law. You will also see here very good shootouts and car chases; the climactic scene is just explosive.
This is probably the most underrated and under seen Jack Nicholson movie ever. Apparently, Nicholson once said that this was the best film he had ever made. Check trailer here:
4- Road House (1989)
Patrick Swayze in Road House (1989) (via: whatculture.com)
“Never underestimate your opponent, expect the unexpected”; “take it outside” and “be nice,” those are Dalton’s rules, a bouncer hired to restore order in a rowdy Midwest bar. Using his skills and martial arts training, Dalton will make the bar a better place, attract more clientele, and get rid of all the nasty things that happen inside. He will start a romance with a sexy blonde doctor and will recruit the help of an old friend. But when a corrupt crime boss puts the town in danger, Dalton will have to face him and his crew.
Released in 1989, Road House was met with criticism over its violence. But time has been kind; it has become a favorite of the 1980s, and its cult following just keeps on growing. Patrick Swayze was born to play bouncer James Dalton, and proved he had what it takes in both acting and fighting. America’s favorite cowboy Sam Elliott played the part of the old wise guy who comes to the rescue of a friend, while Kelly Lynch served as the eye-candy sexy doctor we all would love to have in all hospitals. Veteran actor Ben Gazzara, who always played mobsters and thugs, did a good performance as the corrupt business man who kept the town under his thumb. You will also see some cool cars in this movie. The fighting sequences are realistic and brutal; Patrick Swayze suffered two broken ribs and a busted knee, and had to turn down Tango & Cash choosing to make the romantic Ghost instead.
Dalton’s attitude here is something to be admired. Stay away from the 2024 remake, and watch the real thing. Check trailer:
3- Runaway Train (1985)
Jon Voight in Runaway Train (1985) (via: slashfilm.com)
I discovered this movie in the early 2000s when I read Marlon Brando’s autobiography and he said there that this was one of his favorite movies. When I first saw it, it blew me away. This is a quest for freedom and everything a man is willing to do for it. After spending three years in solitary confinement in a prison in Alaska, a convict conducts a plan to escape from there. He reluctantly accepts another inmate to join him, and both of them jump into a train that later go out of control. As soon as he finds out about the escape, the warden of the prison will go after the two inmates.
Directed by Russian Andrei Konchalovsky, and based on a story by non-other than Akira Kurosawa, this one has been referred to as the best movie ever produced by the now extinct Cannon Group. Jon Voight did a terrific performance as the escaped inmate looking for freedom, while the much underrated John P. Ryan played a good part as the warden of the prison. Eric Roberts and Rebecca De Mornay complete the cast, and you can also see here briefly Machete himself, Danny Trejo, in his film debut as a brutish boxer in prison. One of the best movies I have ever seen about trains; the action sequences are very well done, but what is really great here is the powerful speech about life and work Jon Voight gives to Eric Roberts.
You cannot miss this one, Marlon Brando was right. Check trailer here:
2- Full Metal Jacket (1987)
A still of Full Metal Jacket (via: whatculture.com)
The first half of this movie is perfection made cinema, and features the toughest son of a bitch instructor ever put on screen. A bunch of young recruits, Private Joker among them, are taken to an island to prepare for the Vietnam War. There, gunnery sergeant Hartman will be the one in charge of the training and will make life impossible for a certain fat recruit. After training is completed, Joker will be witness to a terrible act, and will be sent later to Vietnam.
Once in the war, Joker will face battles, bureaucracy, deaths, and obnoxious soldiers. Then, he will join a group led by a tough guy they call Animal Mother in order to face a sniper who is killing American soldiers one by one. This is one of the best movies about the Vietnam War. Due to director Stanley Kubrick’s fear of flying, it had to be shot in the UK with French cars and Spanish palm trees. This is also the best movie actors Matthew Modine and Vincent D'Onofrio made in their careers and was also the first movie of R. Lee Ermey, who was terrific as the instructor Hartman, in a role no one else could have ever played better. Many interpretations have pointed that this movie is a glorified gang rape, but I’ll let you be the judge of that.
Be thankful you don’t have to deal with a motherfucker like sergeant Hartman, but be sure to learn from him. Check trailer here:
1- Raging Bull (1980)
Robert De Niro as Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull (via: cbr.com)
The tumultuous life of boxer Jake LaMotta is portrayed here in a magnificent way by the hand of Martin Scorsese. With a script by the legendaryPaul Schrader, and shot in a spectacular black and white, this is the rise and fall of a boxer who will later find some sort of redemption. Obviously made as a response to Rocky (1976), this one has brutal fights, domestic violence, dark humor, romance, family issues, corruption and jail time. It was the also the first of four collaborations between Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci, who played LaMotta’s brother and manager.
Raging Bull was nominated for 8 Academy Awards, including Best Picture which it lost to the now forgotten Ordinary People. Robert De Niro won his second and last Oscar for his excellent portrait of Jake LaMotta, in a performance that could be considered one of the best of all time. This movie is also famous for the more than 20 kg (60 pounds) De Niro gained for the last part. Instead of following a traditional plot structure, this is more of a character study of a troubled man. The relation between the two brothers, the failed marriages, jealousy, paranoia, the time in jail… this is not a movie for the faint of heart. It’s raw, brutal and unflinching. The boxing scenes are finely crafted and you can almost feel the punches on your face. Once I recommended this movie to a woman, and she said: “That’s a movie for men”. Well, my friend, I’m here to tell you that if you’re a man worth his salt you have to watch this one, at least once in your life.
For many, including the late Roger Ebert, this is Martin Scorsese’s best film ever. Check trailer:
Conclusion
Escape From New York (1981) (via: collider.com)
So there you have it guys, 12 movies to make you beat your chest, walk taller, and raise your T levels. Despite of what the leftist woke media wants you to believe, masculinity is not “toxic”, masculinity is great, and being a man is the best thing that could have happened to you. Stand up and look around: everything you see there has been created by men. If you’re a woman reading this, show this post to the men in your family, I think they desperately need it.
Let me know what you think of this post in the comment section. Have you ever seen any of these great movies? Did you discover something new? Which one of these caught your attention the most? I’ll be waiting for your answers.
Since you’re here, check now 10 movies with 10 female warriors I’m sure you will love:
https://ecency.com/hive-121744/@thereadingman/10-female-warriors-so-much
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Until Next Time
Take care
Orlando Caine.
I definitely want to watch license kill just to see the part where James Bond kills the henchman. I really want to see how insane it is. Thanks for sharing .
I have not seen any of these movies despite growing up in the 80s/90s. I did see the sequel to "Escape from New York" which is "Escape from LA."
My favorite 'action movie' is probably True Lies. It came out at just the right age for me (around 12). Later I got the Super Nintendo game that was based on the movie and I enjoyed that as well.