20 Manly Movies Sure To Raise Your Testosterone Levels

Sometimes you just want to sit on the couch with a beer and watch something that taps into your manly essence. These manly movies cover all genres, from testosterone-filled action romps to tear-jerking dramas and sports extravaganzas. Some will teach you life lessons and help you become a better man, while others are more visually pleasing and will release more endorphins in your body and have you feeling good as explosions and car chases happen on-screen. 

Starring real men like Clint Eastwood, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Russell Crowe, you can almost smell the blood, sweat, and tears of the leading actors when watching these manly movies. The manliest movies will shock, inspire, and pump you up, with some of our favorites listed below.

20 Manly Movies Sure To Raise Your Testosterone Levels

1. Gladiator (2000)

Russell Crowe plays General Maximus Decimus Meridius in Ridley Scott’s historical epic set in Ancient Rome. Gladiator finds Crowe’s Meridius betrayed and left for dead. Found by slavers and forced to become a gladiator, he slowly rises through the ranks as he plots his revenge against the powerful Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix).

An action-packed drama with Crowe and Phoenix in top form, Gladiator won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Crowe.    

Watch on Pluto TV

2. Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985)

The first Rambo is still the best, but when it comes to masculine action with Sylvester Stallone getting down and dirty in the jungles of Vietnam, you can’t beat Rambo: First Blood Part II. Tasked with finding POWs that never made it out of the Vietnam War, John Rambo (Stallone) does what nobody thought possible and finds a group of imprisoned American soldiers, but is captured himself when betrayed by his government. 

This is pure 80s action with Stallone waging a one-man war against not only Vietnam but America’s other big enemy at the time, Russia. While it is a political commentary on the war and America’s involvement, this movie is also about a bare-chested Stallone killing a heap of bad guys in violent ways. 

Watch on HBOMax

3. Predator (1987)

Pitched as Rocky vs. Alien, Predator is an 80s action classic starring bodybuilder turned actor Arnold Schwarzenegger as special forces commander Dutch Schafer. The leader of an elite paramilitary rescue team made up of big-bodied soldiers like the tobacco-chewing Blain Cooper (Jesse Venture) and mean-looking Mac Eliot (Bill Duke), the team is sent into a South American jungle to retrieve a hostage when they come face to face with an alien that hunts for sport. As the creature picks them off one by one, Schafer must find a way to kill the alien and escape with his life. 

Predator is the definition of a popcorn movie, with plenty of violence, hilarious one-liners, and bulging muscles. The cast is fantastic and the pacing is just right. A surprise hit when released, Predator has spawned three sequels and a prequel (each of varying quality), and two crossover movies with the Alien franchise. 

Watch on HBOMax

4. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

Tim Robbins is put in jail for a crime he didn’t commit and befriends fellow inmate Morgan Freeman, with the two becoming embroiled in a money laundering scheme inside the prison. A movie about friendship, freedom, and redemption, The Shawshank Redemption is not only a manly movie but one of the best movies of all time and arguably the greatest Stephen King book adaptation ever filmed. Be sure to have a box of tissues handy. 

Watch on HBOMax

5. The Godfather (1972)

Arguably the greatest movie of all time, The Godfather is about as manly as it gets. An epic mafia drama following the rise and fall and rise again of the Corleone family over a ten-year period, Francis Ford Coppola’s masterpiece won three Academy Awards and features memorable performances from its cast, including Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Cann, Robert Duvall, and John Cazale.

The follow-up, The Godfather II, is just as good and regarded as one of the few sequels on par with the original. Do yourself a favor and have a Godfather marathon next time you have a free night and fulfill all your manly feelings. 

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6. Fight Club (1999)

A movie about men beating the shit out of each other in a private fight club is about as manly as it gets. While there is much more to Fight Club than the fighting, it resonated with many men across America, with several real-life “fight clubs” being organized until authorities shut them down. 

A very thematic movie about Ed Norton’s bored salesman and Brad Pitt’s charismatic go-getter, Fight Club cemented director David Fincher as one of the modern greats. 

Watch on Hulu

7. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

After playing the affable Han Solo in Star Wars, Harrison Ford got the chance to play another legendary movie character; Indiana Jones. In the swashbuckling 1981 adventure, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jones is on the hunt for the Ark of the Covenant. Also in hot pursuit are the Nazis who want to use the musical powers of the Ark to win the war. 

One of Steven Spielberg’s great 80s flicks, Raiders of the Lost Ark is a summer blockbuster that would go on to make an astonishing $389.9 million, going on to spawn four sequels, prequel TV series, several video games, and even a few comic books. 

Watch on Paramount

8. Dirty Harry (1971)

Clint Eastwood’s turn as Inspector “Dirty” Harry Callahan in the Dirty Harry series helped establish the rogue cop who will stop at nothing to catch his man. Of the five movies in the franchise, it’s hard to go past the original. Based on the real-life Zodiac Killer, Dirty Harry follows Callahan as he tries to capture a serial killer terrorizing San Francisco. 

Heavy on the violence, chock full of memorable dialogue (“You’ve got to ask yourself one question: ‘Do I feel lucky?’ Well do ya, punk?”), and featuring a commanding performance from Eastwood as the stoic, take no shit Callahan, Dirty Harry is one of the great 70s cop movies.  

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9. Goldfinger (1964)

When discussing manly movies you have to include at least one James Bond movie. While the Daniel Craig films turned Bond into a dinosaur struggling to survive in the new world, the older films, particularly those made when Sean Connery played 007, hark back to the days when men were chauvinists and overtly masculine. Now we aren’t agreeing with the way Bond treated women in these films (usually as sex objects), but the actual films themselves are quite entertaining.

Of the Bond films made during that time, Goldfinger is hands down the best. While investigating gold magnate Auric Goldfinger, Bond uncovers a plot to rob Fort Knox and must do all he can to stop this from happening. The quintessential Bond movie, Goldfinger has everything that makes the franchise so great, from thrilling action scenes to memorable villains and plenty of Bond gadgets. 

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10. The Searchers (1956)

A man’s man of the highest order, John Wayne dominated the screen during the 50s and 60s. Mostly cast as a tough guy in Westerns and war movies, his greatest role came in John Ford’s The Searchers. The movie finds Wayne, a Civil War veteran, spending years searching for his niece who was abducted by American Indians. 

A heavy drama dealing with race, sex, morals, and family, The Searchers is one of Wayne’s best roles. Few directors have captured Monument Valley in such splendor and the final scene is one that will live on forever. 

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11. Goodfellas (1990)

Martin Scorsese’s crime masterpiece is based on real-life gangster Henry Hill, who turned rat in the 80s. Goodfellas stars Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci, and Lorraine Bracco, and is a thrilling dive into the world of the mafia, brought to life thanks to Scorsese’s incredible script and direction.

The three-minute-long tracking shot through the Copacabana nightclub is one of the all-time one-takes in movie history, with Goodfellas Scorsese’s best crime caper. 

Watch on HBOMax

12. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)

Westerns are up there with action movies and crime capers when talking about manly movies. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is one of the best. Paul Newman and Robert Redford star as the title characters in this movie loosely based on the pair’s real-life adventures. The movie charts their final few years on the run from American authorities as they commit a string of robberies across the United States before ending up in Bolivia. 

Winning four Academy Awards and receiving much praise from critics, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is a must-watch for any man who loves a good Western. 

Watch on HBOMax

13. Pulp Fiction (1994)

Most view Pulp Fiction as Quinten Tarantino’s magnum opus. Featuring several interconnecting stories told in a non-linear format, the movie changed the face of independent film. At the heart of all his movies is the dialogue, with Pulp Fiction a pop culture referencing delight with witty one-liners and many memorable lines. It also has a fantastic soundtrack and an ensemble cast at the top of its game, including John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Ving Rhames, and Uma Thurman. 

Watch on Prime

14. Mad Max 2 aka The Road Warrior (1981)

While it’s true the latest entry into the franchise, 2015s Mad Max: Fury Road, is one of the best action movies in recent years, when it comes to the best Mad Max movie, it’s hard to go past the 1981 sequel Mad Max 2, also known as The Road Warrior.

A bigger, faster, and better take on the original, the movie finds “Mad” Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson) helping out a group of survivors under attack from an evil motorcycle gang led by The Humungus. It’s everything you want from an 80s action movie set in a post-apocalyptic Australia without a kangaroo in sight. 

Watch on Prime

15. Death Wish (1974)

Helping kick off the revenge genre of movies, Death Wish stars the grizzled Charles Bronson as a vigilante who takes to the streets looking for vengeance against the home invaders who attacked his wife and daughter. Michael Winner’s adaptation of Brian Garfield’s book of the same name is a brutal and violent picture not for the faint-hearted.

Bronson is perfectly cast as the brooding New York architect out for revenge and would return for four more films, although none matched the ferocity and originality of the first. The 2018 Eli Roth remake starring Bruce Willis is a poor remake we advise you to stay away from. 

Watch on Paramount

16. Tombstone (1993)

In the space of a year two movies based on Wyatt Earp hit cinemas. While Kevin Costnar’s Wyatt Earp is a serious take on the epic tale of the lawman’s life, Kurt Russell’s Tombstone is an action-packed Western with an incredible ensemble cast that has become a favorite of many movie lovers over the years. 

Russell stars as Earp in this manly flick focused on the infamous shooting at the O.K. Corral in the town of Tombstone. Joining Russell is Val Kilmer in career best form as his good friend Doc Holiday, Sam Elliot and Bill Paxton as his brothers Virgil Earp and Morgan Earp, and Powers Booth as bad guy “Curly Bill” Brocius. Also making their presence felt are Michael Biehn, Jason Priestley, Billy Bob Thornton, Charlton Heaston, and Thomas Haden Church.  

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17. Heat (1995)

The first time Robert De Niro and Al Pacino share the screen comes in Michael Mann’s crime epic Heat. Living up to expectations, one of the most talked about scenes in movie history doesn’t overshadow what is a brilliantly directed movie with a final shoot-out that’s as realistic as it gets. 

Pacino is a Robbery Homicide Detective on the hunt for De Niro’s career thief in this pulsating action flick that shows both sides of those involved in crime. While De Niro and Pacino are the stars, they receive great support from the ensemble cast that includes the late Tom Sizemore, Val Kilmer, Danny Trejo, Jon Voight, William Fichtner, Ashley Judd, and Wes Studi. A fantastic, testosterone-fueled crime thriller that is also one of the greatest movies ever made, at least in our opinion. 

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18. The Great Escape (1963)

War films usually fall into two categories; those that are serious and violent and show the horrors of war, and those that are more lighthearted and either played for laughs or straight-out action movies. The Great Escape falls in the latter camp. Coming in at nearly three hours long, it’s based on the non-fiction book about the mass escape of prisoners from a Nazi POW camp. 

What makes this movie work, besides the involving script, great direction, and comedic moments, is the all-star cast that includes Steve McQueen, Richard Attenborough, James Garner, Charles Bronson, Donald Pleasence, and James Coburn. 

Watch on HBOMax

19. The Dark Knight (2008)

Some call it the best superhero movie of all time. Whatever your take, there is no denying The Dark Knight is close to perfection when it comes to comic book adaptations. Batman is forced to confront his greatest foe, The Joker, wonderfully played by Heath Ledger in his career-defying role. 

The middle film of Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy is part crime thriller, part action flick with some incredible stunts and great acting from its main cast. A modern-day classic that is still the best Batman movie ever made and a fitting tribute to the talents of Ledger, who would pass away six months before the release of the film. 

Watch on Netflix

20. American History X (1998)

No film on this list is more relevant to modern society than American History X. As race continues to be a huge issue in America, this movie shows how hate can destroy people and the long road to redemption that must be taken to atone for your sins. Edward Norton is a powerhouse as a former Neo-Nazi who realizes the errors of his way while in prison for murder. 

Told in flashbacks, the movie details Norton’s days as a Nazi, how he reforms his ways in prison, and then trying to reconnect with his family after his release. Norton must also stop his brother (played by Edward Furlong), who has been groomed to be a Nazi, from going down the same path he once chose. 

Watch on Prime