30 Guy Movies That Made Guys Cry

This is a collection of 30 movie scenes from action and adventure, sci-fi, sports, war and crime films that made men break a tear or two… or more.  Out of the 30, the top ten movie scenes that made men cry are presented in the end. 

Hey Tough Guy, Did These Movie Scenes Make You Cry?

These are scenes from guy films, namely action and adventure, sci-fi, sports, war and crime, but they struck and played our emotional chords when we saw them.  I thought of this topic after talking about movies with my buddies during our usual rounds of drinks.  As a writer in search of ideas, I thought that this would make a great article, and I’ll be the first to admit here that I become emotional every time I see some of the movie scenes I presented below.  After each movie scene, there is a gauge I placed called the Tear Factor.  Now everybody is affected differently from the various movie scenes presented below.  The Tear Factor is basically the movie scene’s effect on my sample group, namely my buddies and I.  There are just three levels, and they are self-explanatory.  They are classified as Some, High and Pretty High.  We’re in our late 30s too so the films are generally from the 70s and up.

Why Do These Movie Scenes Break Down a Guy?

There are a lot of factors why these movie scenes affect guys emotionally.  The music may be moving, and the timing may be a factor.  We also relate differently to them.  Maybe we have issues with our fathers, wives or girlfriends, and we may have had a strong emotional experience comparable to the movie scene.  Whatever the main reason is, the reaction proves that guys also have feelings so I hope women reading this will be very understanding. 

I.  Action and Adventure

1.  Die Hard 2 (1995)

The Scene:  John McClaine (Bruce Willis) yells “Holly!” over and over till Holly (Bonnie Bedelia) sees him from the plane he saved from crashing.

Tear Factor:  Some

There’s some tear factor in this.  The setting was blistering cold on a runway of planes and passengers.  Cut, bruised and tired, McClaine rambles on his wife’s name plane after plane after taking out one of the main baddies on the wing of their 747 and their 747 too.  “Too bad; I kinda like you McClaine!”  “I have enough friends!”  Remember?

2.  Lethal Weapon (1987)

The Scene:  After having dinner with Murtaugh’s family, Riggs (Mel Gibson) goes to his truck with Murtaugh (Danny Glover).  “It’s the only thing I’m ever good at”, Riggs says.  “What?”, Murtaugh says.  Riggs says, “You know, I did a guy in Laos at several yards at high wind.  Maybe two or even three guys in the world can only do that.”

Tear Factor:  Some

Do you have a job you think is relevant that others don’t understand?  Well, if you do like I do, this scene gets to you with Some Tear Factor.  It also came unexpectedly after some laughs in the dinner scene, and it’s when Riggs and Murtaugh bonded.

3.  First Blood (1982)

The Scene:  Col. Trautman (Richard Crenna) urges John Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) to surrender in the sheriff’s station. 

Tear Factor:  Some

You think you’re just watching an action film until the relevance and struggles of war veterans unfolds in this scene.  They’re heroes treated like dirt in some places.

4.  Con Air (1997)

The Scene:  With the movie theme song, “How Can I Live Without You”, playing in the background, Cameron Poe (Nicolas Cage) finally sees his wife (Monica Potter) again and daughter for the first time after seven years in prison and getting rid of Cyrus the Virus (John Malkovich) and his gang. 

Tear Factor:  Some

The dialogue between Poe and his daughter about his bunny rabbit gift really gets to you especially if you have a daughter yourself.  Somehow, the Tear Factor is negated in this scene by the gorgeous Monica Potter.  There’s no Tear Factor seeing her after seven years in prison.

5.  The 13^th Warrior (1999)

The Scene:  The remaining vikings recite their creed of Valhalla with the poisoned Buliwyf and his dog joining the battle with the villagers.  With the cannibal queen gone, they take down the attacking cannibal horde, and Buliwyf’s dog howls when Buliwyf dies.  His body is on a sitting position facing the sun.

Tear Factor:  Some

This is reminiscent of the Seven Samurai and made you wish your favorite viking or samurai be spared by the carnage.  The ending is dramatic with the lead Viking finishing the job before his time was up. 

6.  Spiderman 2 (2004)

The Scene:  MJ (Kirsten Dunst) decides to marry John, Peter (Tobey Maguire) gets slapped by Harry (James Franco) and Peter reluctantly has to take MJ and John’s picture for the Bugle.

Tear Factor:  High

There are actually lots of scenes in Spiderman 2 that played on my emotional chords.  These scenes have effects on guys who had to juggle between jobs, study, maintain close friendships and even get the girl too.  Life’s hard and there aren’t a lot of breaks for good guys making an honest living. 

7.  Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (1993)

The Scenes:  Bruce (Jason Scott Lee) and Linda (Lauren Holly) establishes the first Jeet Kune Do school.  Bruce beats Johnny Sun in less than a minute proving Jeet Kune Do’s superiority.

Tear Factor:  Pretty High

Guys were expecting an action-packed martial arts movie before they saw Dragon.  What they got was the action along with a moving movie score by Randy Edelman and a nice zero-to-hero story by Rob Cohen.  There are a lot of Tear Factor moments in the film because of that music. 

8.  Batman (1989)

The Scene:  The bat-signal lights up for the first time.  Alfred picks up Vicky Vale (Kim Basinger) from the street to meet Bruce Wayne (Michael Keaton).  Danny Elfman’s movie score plays triumphantly as the camera shows the audience Gotham’s tall buildings from below to above where on one building, the Batman stands solemnly facing the bat-signal.

Tear Factor:  High

This is not a sad but triumphant movie scene special to Batman fans.  The last time fans saw Batman prior to the movie was in the TV series with Adam West playing Batman.  Tim Burton resurrects Batman to the movie screens as a legendary hero same as what Frank Miller did to the character in The Dark Knight Returns. 

II.  Crime

1.  The Godfather (1972)

The Scene:  Michael (Al Pacino) visits his gunned-down father, Vito (Marlon Brando), in the hospital, sees no bodyguards and gets unexpected help from Enzo, the baker.  They move Vito, helpless on his hospital bed, to a safer room and guard the outside entrance of the hospital.  Cloaked in trench coats, they deceive assassins that they are armed and that Vito is guarded with more men inside.  But the scene that is touching here is Vito waking up momentarily smiling at Michael when they were moving him.  Michael replies something like, “Hey Pops, I’m here… I’m here.” 

Tear Factor:  Pretty High

Vito and Michael’s father and son relationship got a rift when Michael joined the marines to defy Vito’s plans for him.  We all got fathers and I’m sure we’ve had some disagreements and rifts with them.  However, in tight situations, they’re still our “old man”.  With ruffled up hair and cloudy eyes, Vito’s big fat smile at his youngest trying to protect him just really gets to you. 

2.  The Godfather Part 2 (1974)

The Scene:  Vito (Robert De Niro) is reluctantly fired from the grocery store he works in because mob boss Don Fanucci wants his nephew to work in it.  His former boss runs after him in the street giving him a bag of goods apologizing and asking for forgiveness that he can’t do anything about it.  Vito says, “It’s okay… It’s okay.”, and doesn’t take the bag.  Vito comes home and unwraps a pear for Mrs. Corleone without telling her what happened at work and have dinner.

Tear Factor:  High

Poverty-stricken and then unemployed, Vito, just took his situation with pure class.  Vito did not give the butcher or his wife a mouthful for what happened to him.  Instead, with the few pennies he had left, he even bought a pear for his family when he got home.  As a working man myself, that pulled an emotional chord in me. 

3.  The Departed (2006)

The Scene:  Queenan (Martin Sheen) falls from the building to a shocked Costigan (Leonardo Di Caprio) in the street below.

Tear Factor:  High

It’s high because of the shock and sympathy for a good and honest cop.  The original movie was more shocking because it just suddenly showed the impact of the fall of SP Wong (Anthony Wong) right behind Yan (Tony Leung).  In The Departed, Queenan was already shown falling in slow motion.

4.  The Untouchables (1987)

The Scene:  Elliot Ness (Kevin Costner) arrives at Jimmy Malone’s (Sean Connery) apartment only to see him bleeding and riddled with bullets.  Ness gets final words from his mentor.

Tear Factor:  High

Sean Connery won his first Oscar as Best Supporting Actor in The Untouchables mainly because of that scene.  The thing that gets you there is that you think Malone’s already dead after seeing the machine-gun fire from the trap set for him, but you still see him get his last gasps when Ness arrives. 

III.  Sci-fi

1.  Star Wars:  Return of the Jedi (1983)

The Scene:  Darth Vader witnesses Luke (Mark Hamill) being electrocuted by the Emperor’s Sith powers.  Converting to a Jedi now, Anakin throws the Emperor down the shaft getting electrocuted himself by the act.  While the Death Star is pounded by rebel ordinance, Luke carries and pulls his father to a shuttle.  “Luke, help me take my mask off.”  “But, father, you’ll die.”  “Nothing can prevent that now.  For the first time, let me see you with my own eyes.”  Luke disassembles that mask off, and sees old Anakin smiling.  “Father, I have to save you.”  “You already have Luke.  You already have.  Tell your sister, you were right… you were right about me.”  Anakin passes away.

Tear Factor:  Pretty High

From that, “Luke, help me take my mask off”, everything goes downhill for me.  Though his old man’s been bad, he’s still his old man, and Luke did his best to bring back Anakin from the dark side.

2.  Independence Day (1996)

The Scene:  President Whitmore‘s (Bill Pulman) 4^th of July speech to the troops before “the greatest aerial battle in history”.  “We will not go quietly into the night.  We will not vanish without a fight!  We’re going to move on!  We’re going to survive!  Today, we celebrate our Independence Day!”

Tear Factor:  Pretty High

This is pretty high because of the immense odds they were facing.  You know the climax is about to happen but did not expect an inspiring and uplifting speech like this to happen first to boost the men’s morale. 

3.  Soylent Green (1973)

The Scene:  Sol (Edward G. Robinson) and Thorn (Charlton Heston) are in the “Theater”.  Thorn reaches Sol, but it’s too late.  Sol is dying in the theater with classical music and scenes of nature being played.  Thorn, seeing all this in the separate viewing area, is amazed at how beautiful the earth really was.  Sol reveals the secret of soylent green to Thorn and passes away.

Tear Factor:  High

Soylent Green is a cautionary tale of environmental damage and population explosion.  When the two exchange, “I love you”, to each other, it was like father to son and vice-versa.  They were not related in the story but had to rely on one another’s skills to survive the mean conditions of future New York.  The impact of that theater scene and that dinner scene between the two having rare beef is high. 

4.  The Abyss (1989)

The Scene:  Bud (Ed Harris) finally reaches the abyss with no liquid oxygen left for a trip back to the underwater oil rig.  He completes his mission and texts Lindsey (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio), “You know this was a one-way trip…  Love you wife.”

Tear Factor:  High

Before that scene, Bud had to revive Lindsey with the most nerve-wracking CPR scene in cinematic history.  The Tear Factor’s high here because it was a long scene going to the abyss and the first time he called Lindsey his wife without having high blood pressure.

5.  Star Trek 2:  The Wrath of Khan (1982)

The Scene:  From the other side of the glass, Kirk (William Shatner) talks to Spock (Leonard Nimoy) weak and dying from high radiation inside the Enterprise’s engine. 

Tear Factor:  Pretty High

I was young when I saw that, and that was the first iconic character I saw die on screen.  Spock!!!

6.  Star Trek 3:  The Search for Spock (1984)

The Scene:  Kirk (William Shatner) detonates the Enterprise into a violent explosion.  The famous UFO-shaped part of the ship cracks like a cookie in two, and the ship crashes out of control and disintegrates into the atmosphere of the dying planet. 

Tear Factor:  High

After Spock, it’s now the Enterprise.  No!!!

7.  Star Trek 4:  The Voyage Home (1986)

The Scene:  After the adventure, at the end of the film, the new Enterprise 1701-A, is shown.  “We are home.”

Tear Factor:  Some

So that’s what the title is about.  Sniff.

8.  The Matrix (1999)

The Scene:  After being gunned down by Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving), Neo (Keannu Reeves) resurrects as “The One”.

Tear Factor:  High

Yeah!  Now go get that sucker!  That’s the feeling everyone has in this scene.  Don Davis’ musical score in the background and the bullets stopping in front of Neo is just pure Hollywood magic.  It played my emotional chords like a harp.

9.  Transformers:  The Movie (1986)

The Scene:  The voice of the dead Optimus Prime says, “Arise Rodimus Prime.”, after the matrix was finally opened by the unlikely Hot Rod.  A song plays with the lyrics, “You got the touch!”  Rodimus beats up Galvatron and save his fellow autobots from inside the planet transformer Unicrom.

Tear Factor:  High

I know this is an animated film but Prime’s deep voice and that matrix device getting finally opened in the autobots’ “darkest hour” just had the right timing and music.

10.  Terminator 2:  Judgment Day (1991)

The Scene:  John Connor (Edward Furlong) and Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) bid their farewells to their metal bodyguard (Arnold Schwarzenegger).  The Terminator lowers himself for self-destruction into molten metal.

Tear Factor:  Pretty High

This is reminiscent of Old Yeller.  John Connor even orders his buddy not to melt himself in the furnace.  I was glad it was dark in the movie theater when that scene went on when I saw it with my dad and bro. 

11.  Armageddon (1998)

The Scene:  Harry (Bruce Willis) decides he will be the one to set off the bomb.  He pulls AJ’s (Ben Affleck) oxygen tube from his space suit and knocks him back to the space shuttle’s lift.  Helpless to go back outside, AJ is mixed with surprise, sadness and anger.  He curses “That’s my responsibility!” and says “I love you Harry!” as the lift pulls him back to the shuttle.  Harry contacts NASA and says his farewell to his daughter Grace (Liv Tyler).

Tear Factor:  Some

You know it’s the right thing to do even if you’re the one who has to go.  You suck it in and do it anyway. 

IV.  Sports

1.  Rocky (1976)

The Scene:  Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) almost knocks down Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) after “going the distance”.  The announcer declares Creed as winner amidst some boos from the crowd.  Henry Mancini’s popular musical score commences.  Rocky doesn’t care what’s going on in the ring.  He screams Adrianne’s (Talia Shire) name over and over again.  Adrianne, at the far end of the crowd, goes through towards the ring losing her red hat that Rocky found nice before the fight.  Adrianne reaches Rocky.  All bloodied, cut and bruised from the fight of his life, Rocky says, “Adrianne, where’s your hat?”  Henry Mancini’s score closes triumphantly. 

Tear Factor:  Pretty High

This is a moving climatic scene coupled with Henry Mancini’s moving musical score.  In the fight, Rocky proves his point that he can go the distance against a quality fighter.  When Adrianne reaches him, he doesn’t say, “I did it!”, “Did you see me attack his body?” or “I broke my nose!”  Without concern for himself and focused only on Adrianne, it’s “Where’s your hat?” that he says.  That really nails it.  That’s great writing from Stallone himself. 

2.  The Natural (1984)

The Scene:  The scene is the climax of the movie wherein it was Roy Hobb’s (Robert Redford) turn to bat for the New York Knights.  He learns he has a son, cracks his legendary bat, “Wonderboy”, in two and is given a new hand-made bat, “Savoy Special” by his boy sidekick.  With his stomach bleeding from an old gunshot wound made worse by poison given by Memo Paris (Kim Basinger), he knocks the ball into the stadium lights setting a homerun highlighted by exploding light bulbs.

Tear Factor:  High

This is a great Hollywood climax.  The exploding light bulbs are like fireworks celebrating a hero.  There is even a shot of the explosions reflecting on the glasses of Hobb’s old coach in the dugout.  It’s just great.

3.  Million Dollar Baby (2004)

The Scene:  Frankie (Clint Eastwood) puts Maggie (Hilary Swank) out of her misery.

Tear Factor:  High

This is reminiscent of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.  I saw that when I was young, and I watched Million Dollar Baby because of Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman and a beautiful and athletic looking Hilary Swank.  Expecting the fine sports of women’s boxing, you’re suddenly brought to a tear-jerker at the second half of the film which you can’t stop because you want to know what will happen in the end. 

V.  War

1.  The Last Samurai (2003)

The Scene:  After a last charge and being peppered by a gatling gun, Algren (Tom Cruise) gives Katsumoto (Ken Watanabe) an honorable death in the middle of the battlefield. 

Tear Factor:  High

Do you have the guts to do that to your buddy?  That was what was going on my mind when I saw that scene.

2.  Braveheart (1995)

The Scene:  Wallace (Mel Gibson) is tortured and in the end, yells “Freedom!!!”

Tear Factor:  Pretty High

All the while, I was waiting for someone to rescue Wallace in the first time I saw this scene.  When Wallace yelled, “Freedom!!!”, the scene played a concerto on my emotional chords.

3.  Dances With Wolves (1990)

The Scene:  Captured by soldiers and asked of his name, Lt. Dunbar (Kevin Costner) says in the Lakota language, “I’m Dances with Wolves.”

Tear Factor:  Pretty High

He could have said he’s one of them to save his skin, but Dunbar has already chosen his side.  The Tear Factor was Pretty High too when Two Socks was shot following his master, Dances with Wolves.  Damn those trigger-happy soldiers!!!

4.  Glory (1989)

The Scene:  Pinned down by the enemy from an elevated position, Col. Robert Shaw orders the 54^th to charge and leads the attack.  He gets shot and dies.  Enraged by seeing their leader fall, the 54^th attacks the enemy with frenzy only to be killed one main character at a time.  It ends with a cannon firing at the remaining 54^th regiment soldiers (Cary Elwes and Morgan Freeman).

Tear Factor:  Pretty High

At that point of the movie, the 54^th has bonded to a brotherly level, and it was sad seeing them get their glory in the end.  The next scene was also emotional with Denzel Washington’s body falling over Matthew Broderick’s body in the grave dug for the 54^th in the beach. 

The Wrap-up:  The Top Ten Movie Scenes That Made Men Cry

I filtered the movies with movie scenes with Pretty High Tear Factor and summarized them below into a Top 10.  These are all based from my sample group, of course.

The Top Ten Movie Scenes That Made Men Cry

10.  The Godfather (Vito’s big smile at Michael in the hospital.)

9.  Dragon:  The Bruce Lee Story (Bruce and Linda live together and set up the first Jeet Kune Do school.  Bruce defeats Johnny Sun in less than a minute.)

8.  Glory (The 54^th gets their glory.)

7.  Braveheart (”Freedom!!!”)

6.  Dances With Wolves (Dunbar becomes Dances with Wolves.  Two Socks gets shot.)

5.  Terminator 2:  Judgment Day (”I order you not to go.”  The Terminator lowers himself into molten metal.)

4.  Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan (Kirk with Spock dying.  Spock’s coffin is released into space.)

3.  Independence Day (The 4^th of July speech.  “We will not go quietly into the night.  We will not vanish without a fight…”)

2.  Star Wars:  Return of the Jedi (Vader becomes Anakin again.  “Luke, help me take this mask off.”)

1.  Rocky (In the end of the fight, Adrianne goes to Rocky.  “Where’s your hat?”)

It was nice writing about the 30 movie scenes and filtering the Top Ten.  It gave me a good stroll along movie memory lane.  I hope you enjoyed this, and you may share your own movie scenes, especially ones I have missed out from my list.  You can do it anonymously too if that’s what you prefer.  I got to go now and get a tissue and a beer.