EntertainmentStreamingFinished Reacher and James Bond on Amazon video? Here’s the best men’s movies to watch nextMore macho entertainment for dads, courtesy of Amazon’s underrated video streaming serviceWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
EntertainmentStreamingFinished Reacher and James Bond on Amazon video? Here’s the best men’s movies to watch nextMore macho entertainment for dads, courtesy of Amazon’s underrated video streaming serviceWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
More macho entertainment for dads, courtesy of Amazon’s underrated video streaming service
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Getty)
(Image credit: Getty)
Streaming services may be feeling the pinch right now, butAmazon PrimeVideo is having a moment in the sun thanks to the success ofReacherand the considerable coup of being able to stream the entire James Bond back catalogue, including the most recent entry,No Time To Die. You may be a bit surprised to learn – I certainly was – thatReacheris the most successful streaming show of 2022 so far. The word is that 007 is doing pretty well right now, too.
What does this mean? Clearly, that movies involving violent yet gentlemanly men, who are both in touch with their sensitive side, and able to punch you in yours, are having a resurgence.
Why is Amazon Prime Video so good?
A lot of Amazon Prime Video users probably only use it because it comes bundled with Amazon Prime – the subscription deal that gives you free, next-day delivery of products. As a result, the service is a little underrated.
It would be ridiculous to describe anything the trillion-dollar behemoth Amazon does as some kind of plucky underdog success story, but Prime Video hasn’t really received the props it deserves over the years. But the fact remains that there is a wealth of great stuff on there, whether from Amazon itself, movies and TV shows licensed from other broadcasters, or from an impressivesmorgasbordof 3rd-party, bolt-on ‘channels’, covering everything from art movies to old-time studio classics to horror.
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There’s no Amazon channelspecificallyfor manly/violent/escapist/crime/spying-related films and TV shows, as far as I know. However there is an awful lot of butch and rugged fun to be had from Prime Video, and these are 5 of my favourites. They’re all available in the UK and probably in other territories too, although there may be some variance.
Heat
Heat: acting and directorial masterclass. Also features lots of very large guns(Image credit: Amazon)
Heat: acting and directorial masterclass. Also features lots of very large guns
Heat: acting and directorial masterclass. Also features lots of very large guns
(Image credit: Amazon)
For Reacher and Bond fans who are… more serious
Road House
Road House: proof positive that pain don’t hurt(Image credit: Amazon)
Road House: proof positive that pain don’t hurt
Road House: proof positive that pain don’t hurt
(Image credit: Amazon)
For Reacher and Bond fans who are… very relaxed
I was hoping this Patrick Swayze classic would be available to stream for free on Prime Video. Sadly, it is not, but itcanbe bought for just £2.99. You see, another great thing about Amazon’s service is that if they can’t provide any given film to you as part of your Prime subscription, they will be more than happy to sell it to you, often for peanuts.
Road Houseis very ‘manly’ indeed and probably the greatest big-budget B movie of all time. Oh and it stars not only Swayze but also Sam Elliot at his absolute handsomest, meaning there is very much something for the ladies here – and, indeed, some of the gentlemen. And the director is called Rowdy Herrington! You just cannot improve on that.
Quotable lines fly at you throughout Road House like the flurries of punches that fly at Brad Wesley’s hired goons and Dalton’s team of inept bouncers. These include the memorable likes of, “Pain don’t hurt,” as Dalton receives stitches, and, “I want you to be nice… until it’s time not to be nice” – invaluable advice from Dalton to his bouncer boys. There is also a legendary threat delivered during the most intense fight scene inRoad Housethat is probably the funniest line I have ever heard in a film… but which is unfortunately much too rude to publish here.
If you can’t afford 3 quid and simply must have afreefilm starring Swayze, you’ll be glad to know that Kathryn Bigelow’s brilliantPoint Break, co-starring Keanu Reeves,isavailable on Prime Video for nothing. With The Swayze at his most macho-and-yet sensitive-and-thoughtful, this movie remains easily the best sky-diving, surfing, armed-robbing, mildly homoerotic bro buddy movie ever.
Legend
Legend:unlikely to appeal to people who hate Tom Hardy(Image credit: Amazon)
Legend:unlikely to appeal to people who hate Tom Hardy
Legend:unlikely to appeal to people who hate Tom Hardy
(Image credit: Amazon)
For Reacher and Bond fans who are… British dads
No, not Ridley Scott’sLegend, with Tom Cruise riding a unicorn. ThisLegendis the story of London’s notorious Kray twins, a pair of right dodgy geezers who terrorised the East End and Soho with their propensity for nightclub- and pub-based violence.
As it was probably quite hard to find identical twin actors to play the roles of Ronnie and Reggie, director Brian Helgeland hit on the rather excellent wheeze of getting Tom Hardy to play both of them. This is achieved more or less seamlessly, apart from a few slightly unreal looking scenes where both twins' faces are in shot in the same frame.
Hardy acquits himself well in the dual role too. He plays Ronnie as a mentally ill and relatively shy, violent psychopath who wears glasses and is gay. Forjust enoughcontrast, he does Reggie as a sharp and confident, violent psychopath who does not wear glasses and is not gay. I’m not going to pretend that’s Oscar-worthy but it is enough for the purposes of this particular movie.
Legendis not the most intelligent film about the Krays – that accolade must go to 80s filmThe Krays, which is excellent, despite starring Gary and Martin Kemp of Spandau Ballet. However,Legendis still a pretty smart film, and tells its violent and grimy story in an efficient and exciting manner. Style-wise, it’s undeniably a bit reminiscent of Guy Ritchie, right down to having voiceover work that you could probably do without. It’s considerably less stupid than Ritchie’s films though.
Brian Helgeland, incidentally, is best known for writing the excellentLA Confidential, which also just happens to be on Amazon Prime Video.
Boss Level
Boss Level: likeGroundhog Daybut with guns and Mad Mel(Image credit: Amazon)
Boss Level: likeGroundhog Daybut with guns and Mad Mel
Boss Level: likeGroundhog Daybut with guns and Mad Mel
(Image credit: Amazon)
For Reacher and Bond fans who are… gamers
Those looking for the more cerebral and sophisticated (but very violent) thrills of Reacher and Bond may find this film just a teensy bit on the stupid side, but I thought it was a blast, with just a littletinybit of depth. This film answers the question, ‘What wouldGroundhog Dayhave been like, had it been about killing people with bazookas and swords?’ Admittedly,Source CodeandEdge of Tomorrowhave both answered that question to an extent but neither of them is on Prime Video, and neither is as insanely testosterone-fuelled asBoss Level.
King of New York
King of New York: the best ever hip-hop gangster movie(Image credit: Amazon)
King of New York: the best ever hip-hop gangster movie
King of New York: the best ever hip-hop gangster movie
(Image credit: Amazon)
For Reacher and Bond fans who are… OG
Despite being among the whitest men alive – even his character’snameis Frank White – Christopher Walken plays the boss of an entirely non-WASP gang in, obviously, New York. His lieutenant is a never-better Laurence Fishburne as Jimmy ‘Jump’ Colt – a man with a level of gangster lean so pronounced, it’s a miracle he doesn’t fall over. He is also a man with no scruples whatsoever about icing any fool who crosses him, whether that be a witness – “I DON’T LEEEEEAVE NO WITNESSES!” he helpfully explainsto the police, while at the police stationat one point – or a fast food restaurant employee who fails to provide good customer service.
It takes a great cast to carry off a film as potentially laughable asKing of New York, but thankfully, a great cast is exactly what director Abel Ferrara assembled here. How does Walken, Fishburne, Wes Snipes, Giancarlo Esposito, David Caruso and Steve Buscemi grab you? Damn right it does.
This film can be seen for free on the IMDb TV Amazon channel, with adverts. If you would rather not have commercial breaks, you can also get it for nothing as part of a 7-day free trial of Arrow Video’s channel. There are so many ways to get great movies on Amazon Prime Video!
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