For the last couple of months, theaters around the nation have been rereleasing some of John Woo’s classic films, like Hard Boiled and A Better Tomorrow. After seeing both, I noticed two consistent details in each showing: they were mostly guys, and despite the fact that they were action movies, they were quite romantic.
I don’t think it would be a stretch to say that most men are not the biggest fans of romance movies. Take the recent adaptation of Emily Brontë’s novel by Emerald Fennell, Wuthering Heights. Although some were already skeptical of the film because of certain casting choices and a general aversion to Fennell’s directing style, I can say confidently that not one man I knew was dying to see it. And I asked a lot of them.
While those movies fulfill a certain niche for the romantically inclined, men usually don’t come out in droves to see them. But you know what they do show up for? Action films. The real question, though, is why.
If we apply Occam’s razor to the question, it’s probably because it’s fun to see things blow up and people fight to the death. But I think there’s something deeper to the reason why men in particular love action cinema. Looking at The Killer, which is coming back to theaters in April, we can see that melodrama and mayhem often go hand in hand.
The (Righteous) Killer
What article about action movies would be complete without mentioning John Woo? Since his films are basically the blueprint for the overly theatrical, male-dominated action films we see today, it’s only fair to talk about the godfather of Dude Cinema himself.
The lead duo in The Killer are, unsurprisingly, men who work on opposite sides of the law. Chow Yun Fat plays a virtuous assassin who accidentally blinds a lounge singer during one of his hits. Wrought with guilt over it, he decides to pay for her eye surgery by taking one last job. His counterpart is played by Danny Lee, who’s a hothead inspector tasked with taking him down. But after he realizes his true motives, he decides to help him during the final shootout with the triads.
Honor and duty play a huge role in the film, as seen through the titular killer’s shame for harming an innocent. He may be a ruthless, gun-toting hitman, but he’s an honorable man at the end of the day. And because of that, Danny Lee’s Inspector Yang develops a conflicting respect for him. Even though his head tells him he’s a criminal, his heart says otherwise.
Even though the set pieces are gratuitously glorious, the moments where The Killer really shines are when the pair have their heart-to-hearts. Behind the glamour of seeing gangsters get blown back from shotgun blasts, we see how their heroics bond them closer. They grow to be brothers even though the world pits them against one another. As Jeff (yes, that’s the hitman’s real name) says to him at one point:
“Who knew that the one person who would understand me would be a cop?”
While The Killer and the next movie being discussed, RRR, couldn’t be farther apart in terms of filmmaking, they do share one common theme: the power of friendship can overcome anything. In Ram & Bheem’s case, it can even defeat British colonization.
RRR and the perfect bromance
First off, if you haven’t seen RRR yet, free up your afternoon and watch it on Netflix right now. While the three-hour runtime might seem intimidating, it always finds a way to entertain you throughout. Whether it be through dramatic showdowns, insane set pieces, or the occasional dance sequences, it’ll leave you wanting more.
The basic plot is this: two revolutionaries fight for India’s independence in their own ways, which often conflict with one another. Ram (Ram Charan) infiltrates the British Army to take it down from the inside while Bheem (N. T. Rama Rao, Jr.) is a warrior trying to get a kidnapped girl back to his village. The conflict comes from the fact that they fight for their freedom, but are on the opposite side of the law.
The biggest factor in why it’s such a great movie is the chemistry and brotherhood felt between the two leads. There’s an unspoken respect they have for each other despite their differences in praxis. They also share very personal details with each other (usually after a heavy action scene, of course).
Those action scenes carry the film into being a spectacle, but seeing them go from strangers to friends to enemies then back to friends is really at the heart of why men love it so much. They fight, lie, and cheat on each other, but at the end of the day, they hug it out and get back together. It’s just an “enemies to lovers” plot covered up with fist fights.
So are action films only for guys?
In the last couple of years, it seems like the action genre that we’re familiar with is entering a kind of “post-modern” era. Movies like Furiosa (2024) shift away from a male-oriented gaze and look at masculinity through a critical lens, which makes it a breath of fresh air among the rest. Even John Woo decided to revisit The Killer with his own gender-swapped remake of it, though the results were a bit underwhelming.
To be clear, the answer is no. Obviously, men don’t get to keep the genre as a whole for themselves. There have been a lot of women filmmakers who have explored the genre in interesting ways. Kathryn Bigelow, for example, has created films that understand masculinity while challenging its more toxic aspects. They also happen to have some of the most iconic action scenes as well.
This is a part of what makes the action genre so captivating to most men. It’s a space for them to explore their emotions under the pretense of gunfights and car chases. In The Killer and RRR, the male leads get to be vulnerable with each other without outright saying it sometimes. Sure, they have their moments in the quiet scenes, but what creates a stronger bond than fighting together against a sea of faceless goons?
Why men are attracted to action movies
When thinking about why men in particular love action movies, I go back to this image a lot:
Some of you might remember this trend from a while back. Inspired by the death of Ryan Gosling’s character in Blade Runner 2049 (2017), it was basically guys posting about the perfect places to bleed out. They were often photos of isolated, serene, and snowy areas.
This image/trend really encapsulates why I think men are inherently prone to loving the action genre. Men love to quietly suffer, even if talking to someone would help them a lot. It’s a mix of pride and embarrassment that makes it hard for them to open up in general, but in particular, to other men. The action genre, however, gives them the space to be open without being so direct. Guys might not be able to openly say how meaningful their friendships are, but they love to imagine that they would take a bullet for them. It’s like having to give a dog some medicine; you have to wrap it in peanut butter first, so they’ll eat it.
Action movies are romantic in their own bizarre kind of way. Running through an airport for love or holding a boombox to someone’s window is romantic. But so is blowing up a detonator to give your friend time to escape. Or jumping in front of a bullet in slow-mo during a standoff. It’s the same idea, just in a different font. Maybe it’s not that serious, but tell that to the guy who cries while rewatching Heat.
