Over 800 Ranker voters have come together to rank this list of The 21 Best Sigma Movies of All Time
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Deeply psychologically tormenting films about damaged or deranged men who fight their way into power and are viewed as heroes are some of the most common stories in all of Hollywood, but over the last few years, these Sigma movies have begun to take on a life of their own. Often regarded as the typical “film bro's” favorite movie, Sigma movies have garnered a terrible wrap over the last few years, but these films are some of the greatest works of are in the history of cinema, it's just the crowd they attract that usually causes an uproar. Regardless of the type of person who enjoys these movies, there is no doubt that Sigma movies deliver powerful, poignant, and deeply meaningful stories that offer audiences hundreds of ways to interpret.
From movies starring deranged, psychologically damaged male protagonists like American Psycho, Donnie Darko, and Joker to movies that showcase uber-popular and self-reliant alpha males showcasing their power through work ethic and success like in The Wolf of Wallstreet, The Godfather, and Blade Runner to movies that perfectly combine both of these elements like Whiplash, Drive, and Nightcrawler, each and every one of these films delivers exactly what they promise. Nonstop thrill rides that question authority, showcase alpha male machismo, and have a remarkable underlying dread that permeates through them all to create complex and heartstopping stories.
Vote up the best Sigma movies, and don't forget to check out The Best Movies For Men and The Best Action Movies of All Time to see what could be the next movie that garners a cult following and becomes engrained with the Sigma community.
Sigma movies have been described in two radically different ways. Movies starring deranged, psychologically damaged male protagonists, or, uber-popular and self-reliant alpha males showcasing their power through work ethic and success. Oddly enough, David Fincher's Fight Club manages to beautifully showcase both of these ideologies simultaneously in a film that pushes boundaries while also laughing at the changes it's made.
All the money, power, women, and suaveness in the world aren't enough to mask the insecurities and vileness inside of Patrick Bateman in American Psycho, a film that perfectly embodies both the great and terrible aspects of Sigma movies. While most see Bateman as the horrific monster that he is, many have pointed out the tendencies, ideologies, and alpha status that make him idyllic in their eyes. A film that is guaranteed to get people talking and a performance from Christian Bale that could be argued to be the best in his magnificent career, American Psycho elevates the typical “sigma male” movie into a wonderfully controversial and much-debated work of art.
There is arguably no better film that perfectly encapsulates that Sigma movie mentality than Nicolas Winding Refn's Drive. A film about a Holywood stuntman by day and a getaway driver by night, Ryan Gosling delivers arguably the best performance of his career as a dark, brooding loner who is as down on his luck as he can be, but still manages to look mighty suave in each and every scene he is in. With fantastic directing, some remarkable stuntwork, and a gripping and compelling story of isolation and heartbreak, Drive is a stellar film that every film bro undoubtedly has in their top 5 of all time.
Sigma movies and director Martin Scorsese go together like peanut butter and jelly, and there is arguably no better Sigma male movie in his illustrious catalog than 1976s Taxi Driver. All the tropes of this evergrowing genre were birthed right here in this film. A loner male protagonist who wants to take society down a peg, fantasies of violence and power, a struggle with one's own self but a feeling of superiority, and an alpha persona that inevitably explodes into a bombastic fit of rage and expressionism. Taxi Driver is a dark, melancholic, and powerful film that perfectly encapsulates the newfound Sigma movie genre.
Nightcrawler is, ironically, a film almost guaranteed to make audiences' skins crawl as they watch a sadistic, masochistic, and utterly deranged man fight tooth and nail to get what he believes is his time in the sun by muscling his way into the world of Los Angeles crime journalism. Jake Gyllenhaal has become a staple of the Sigma movie's evergrowing subgenre, as he perfectly encapsulates a man so close to teetering over the edge that one small push will cause more chaos then the world has ever known.
While the original Blade Runner was a pristine example of 80s Sigma male moviemaking, Blade Runner 2049 turns the subgenres dial up to eleven, delivering one of the most powerful, incredible, and resonant Sigma movies in decades. Following the tragic and heartbreaking tale of two men desperate to find answers and willing to risk their lives in order to get them, the film hits every beat of the growing subgenre but does so in brilliant and artistic ways that helps the film feel as though it is breaking the mold, as opposed to firmly settling into it.
