The 10 Best Guy Movies of the Decade

The last ten years have been good to guy movies. You want sex and violence in equal measures? You’ve got hundreds of films to choose from.

But which are the very best guy movies of the decade? Here’s our take. These movies had to appeal primarily to guys, but did not have to be your typical crash-em-up, blow-em-up blockbuster.

10. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Ang Lee’s martial arts epic stands up to multiple viewings, even years later. The story is compelling, the acting is stellar, and the direction is fantastic.

9. Borat. Unbelievably crude and inappropriate. Unbelievably funny from almost start to finish.

8. The Bourne series. In Jason Bourne, Matt Damon creates a new kind of action hero – smart, controlled and deadly. Some of the best chase scenes around.

7. The 40 Year Old Virgin. The movie that made Judd Apatow, not to mention Steve Carell. The 40 Year Old Virgin proved that romantic comedies could actually appeal to guys.

6. Kill Bill. Quentin Tarantino’s wacky take on martial arts films. While not for everyone’s tastes, the fight scenes are hard to beat.

5. Gladiator. Russell Crowe at his manly best. An excellent cast conveys the intensity and gore of gladitorial combat.

4. The Departed. The best Scorcese film of the decade starred Leonardo DiCaprio in a role that was actually not annoying. Add in Jack Nicholson and Matt Damon and you’ve got a top-notch gangster drama.

3. There Will Be Blood. Now, one could argue that this is not strictly a guy movie. But it is about manly men doing manly things like drilling for oil, so it makes the list. The great Daniel Day Lewis does it again with an unflinching performance as a consummately evil man that is beguiling nonetheless.

2. Casino Royale. The best Bond movie of the decade and one of the best ever. Daniel Craig brings us a newer, manlier James Bond – one who can show emotion and still look great in a tux.

1. Memento. This is a truly great movie that many people forget about. It follows Guy Pearce as he pieces together fragments of his memory. A kaleidoscopic film about the all-consuming need for vengeance, this movie is the most original and entertaining of the last decade.

This list won’t make everyone (anyone?) happy, but what’s what lists like this are for – to encourage debate and get you thinking. So what would you add or take away from this list?