There's nothing quite like that awesome tough guy speech moment in a movie. The music swells, tension is pumped up to 11, and we usually learn something about the character, the plot, or both - all while cheering on this badass moment. Tough guy movie monologues are hard to do, though. You need the right actor, you need the right dialogue (that can walk that line between cheesy and awe-inspiring), and you need the right situation.
Maybe it's a man leading his men to battle. Or a final farewell to life before he dives into battle with his arch-nemesis. Or a long diatribe rationalizing the heinous things he's done. Or an exposition-loaded macho monologue to bring the audience up to speed. Whatever the case, the tough guy speech is a thing of beauty.
We rounded up some of our favorite tough guy speeches and movie quotes, complete with video! Enjoy these moments of cinematic badassery and vote up your favorite movies!
http://www.ranker.com/list/tough-guy-movie-quotes/ranker-film,
Jules Winnfield - Pulp Fiction
What does Marcellus Wallace look like!?! Jules is a Royale with cheese-loving, Bible verse-spitting tough dude. He has an innate ability to be hilarious and terrifying at the same time, and his speeches are all the more memorable for it.
General Maximus - Gladiator
The beauty of this speech is that it's effectively a reveal and a threat in one sweeping monologue. Maximus goes on a tear about who he is and what wrongs have been done to him, promising Commudus will pay "in this life or the next."
President Whitmore - Independence Day
No list of speeches is complete without this impossibly awesome one. Even a list about kittens, because THIS IS OUR INDEPENDENCE DAY! Seriously though, has their ever been such an eloquent and rousing speech that began with a transistor radio and "good morning?"
William Wallace - Braveheart
The whole movie lead to this. Sadly people only remember the last word (which, to be fair, is uttered a few dozen times throughout the film). This speech - and it's delivery - is one of the best battle-rousing ones in cinema history.
Bane - The Dark Knight Rises
The two films leading up to this one were, in some ways, all setting up for this fight: the moment where Batman is completely outmatched and the iconic breaking of the bat occurs. This speech is incredible because it starts before the fight and carries through, all while delivering backstory on Bane, showing how impressive he is, and demeaning our hero.
Blake - Glengarry Glen Ross
This short scene is pretty much Baldwin's only scene in the film, but it's the most memorable scene in an incredible film. It's impossibly powerful and quotable. Coffee is for CLOSERS.
Quint - Jaws
This speech does a fantastic thing where it not only teaches us about Quint, but it makes both Quint and the shark (who we grow to fear more and more) even more intimidating.
Dilios - 300
The entire film is narrated by Dillios and is chock-full of badass lines and the occasional full-fledged monologue. But it's this last one that cements Dillios, Leonidas, and the rest of the Spartans as such tough MOFOs that we remember them to this day.
Col. Nathan R. Jessup - A Few Good Men
This speech. Oh man, this speech. There's so much more to love than just the "you can't handle the truth" portion. He delivers it violently and abrasively, all while sitting. He's a villain, doing awful things, but you almost, almost see where he's coming from.
Achilles - Troy
It's a short speech but it accomplishes a lot. We see why Achilles's men follow him. We see him as a leader, the leader. We see how much he loves his men. We see why, years later, we remember his name.