10 Non-Superhero Movies To Watch if You Like 'The Boys' (2024)

Since it was based on a comic book series that was never considered particularly extraordinary, no one really expected much from Amazon's The Boys. As such, it came as a huge shock when the show turned out to be not only vastly superior to the source material but also one of the best satire TV shows of the 21st century. Spoofing superheroes and their stories while also delivering plenty of thoughtful sociopolitical commentary, this series is an incisive critique of contemporary Western society.

With the show's fourth season quickly approaching and the recent announcement that season five will be the last, there's no doubt that fans of The Boys will be left craving more content akin to the show's tone, characters, and themes. Thankfully, there are many movies from all throughout history that should scratch that itch for anyone seeking those kinds of films.

10 'Team America: World Police' (2004)

Directed by Trey Parker

Team America: World Police is one of the most beloved satire movies of the 21st century, directed by none other than Trey Parker, co-creator of South Park, one of the best satire TV shows of all time. It's a dark comedy about a popular Broadway actor who's recruited by an elite counter-terrorism organization to fight alongside them as the world crumbles.

Those whose favorite element of The Boys is watching someone way out of their element join a butt-kicking crime-fighting organization aresure to click with Team America's creative action and sense of humor. The fun puppetry work and biting critique of America's war on terror are just the cherry on top, making this a movie that knows it's controversial and has an absolute blast with that.

Team America: World Police

R

Comedy

Action

Where to Watch

*Availability in US

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Release Date

October 15, 2004

Director

Trey Parker

Cast

Trey Parker , Kristen Miller , Maurice LaMarche , Daran Norris , Matt Stone , Masasa

Runtime

98 minutes

9 'This Is the End' (2013)

Directed by Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen

Seth Rogen is a prominent presence behind the scenes in The Boys, serving as one of the show's main executive producers and having clear creative influences. Thankfully for those looking for movies similar to The Boys, Rogen has co-directed a couple of great comedies with his friend Evan Goldberg. The first one was This Is the End, a highly meta film where six Hollywood friends—Rogen, James Franco, Jonah Hill, Jay Baruchel, Danny McBride, and Craig Robinson—get stuck in Franco's house after a series of apocalyptic events destroy Los Angeles.

Apocalyptic survival films are always fun, but an apocalyptic survival stoner comedy with Rogen's signature sense of humor is something entirely different. Fans who love having a good laugh with The Boys' unique blend of pitch-black humor and genre parodies should definitely check out This Is the End. They're sure to enjoy its clever plot and meta-jokes.

This is the End

R

Comedy

Action

Fantasy

Where to Watch

*Availability in US

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Not available

Release Date

June 12, 2013

Director

Evan Goldberg , Seth Rogen

Cast

James Franco , Jonah Hill , Seth Rogen , Jay Baruchel , Danny McBride , Craig Robinson

Runtime

107

Studio

Columbia Pictures

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8 'The Manchurian Candidate' (1962)

Directed by John Frankenheimer

The Manchurian Candidate is one of the best war movies ever made, and that's certainly a category full of tough competition. It stars Frank Sinatra as an American prisoner of war in the Korean War who's been brainwashed as an unwitting assassin for an international Communist conspiracy. Released at the height of Cold War paranoia and not long after the end of McCarthyism, it's a powerful portrait of the United States' frame of mind at the time.

The Boys, too, is a story characterized by portraying the current political division and social chaos of American society, as well as by having a story where neither the main characters nor the audience know who to trust. The Manchurian Candidate is one of the best examples of '60s Hollywood political satire, which fans of the show are guaranteed to find plenty of food for thought in.

The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

PG-13

Thriller

Drama

Where to Watch

*Availability in US

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Not available

Release Date

October 24, 1962

Director

John Frankenheimer

Cast

Frank Sinatra , Janet Leigh , Angela Lansbury , Henry Silva

Runtime

126 minutes

7 'The Wolf of Wall Street' (2013)

Directed by Martin Scorsese

Since he started his career in the late 1960s, Martin Scorsese hasn't stopped proving that he's one of the greatest auteurs cinema has ever been blessed with. Even in recent years, when there's really nothing left to prove, he's made films as tremendously acclaimed as The Wolf of Wall Street. It's a biopic centered on Jordan Belfort, from his rise to wealthy stockbroker to his fall involving crime and corruption.

Belfort is one of Scorsese's best characters, and the director's depiction of his life is one gargantuan sea of depravity, immorality, and law-breaking—not too dissimilar from The Boys episodes like the infamous "Herogasm." These carefree depictions of shameless moral corruption are definitely not for everyone, but for those interested in seeing how Scorsese subtly critiques this lifestyle, this is a must-watch.

The Wolf of Wall Street

Where to Watch

*Availability in US

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Release Date

December 25, 2013

Director

Martin Scorsese

Cast

Leonardo DiCaprio , Matthew McConaughey , Margot Robbie , Jonah Hill , Cristin Milioti , Jon Bernthal

Runtime

179 minutes

6 'American Psycho' (2000)

Directed by Mary Harron

The often-misunderstood cult classic American Psycho wasn't particularly successful when it initially came out. Today, though, it's remembered as one of the best serial killer dramedies ever made, having had an impact on the genre that can't be understated. It tells the chilling tale of a wealthy NYC banking executive who hides his alternate bloodthirsty ego from his co-workers and friends as he dives deeper into his violent, hedonistic fantasies.

With a stellar Christian Bale performance, some great music, and brutal violence that'll surely remind The Boys fans of some of Kimiko's best episodes, American Psycho is as much a provocative portrait of masculinity and sadism as it is an incisive jab at the dark underbelly of the American dream. Its distinct sense of dark humor will not appeal to everyone, but those who love The Boys' comedy will surely have a riot.

American Psycho

R

Crime

Drama

Thriller

Where to Watch

*Availability in US

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Release Date

April 13, 2000

Director

Mary Harron

Cast

Christian Bale , Justin Theroux , Josh Lucas , Bill Sage , Chloe Sevigny , Reese Witherspoon

Runtime

102

Studio

Lionsgate Films

5 'The Interview' (2014)

Directed by Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen

Another Goldberg-Rogen comedic gem, The Interview follows the two men who run the celebrity tabloid show "Skylark Tonight." When they land an interview with a surprise fan, North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un, they're recruited by the CIA to assassinate him. As the premise alone makes abundantly evident, the movie didn't come out without a fair share of controversy surrounding it, which has only made it more timeless.

Like in This Is the End, there is plenty of Rogen-esque humor in The Interview that fans of The Boys will love. Add to that the plot of trying to assassinate a seemingly unstoppable leader, and you get a match made in heaven for those who enjoy the show. There are no revolutionary political critiques or cerebral themes in The Interview, but that doesn't make it any less hilarious.

The Interview

R

Comedy

Action

Where to Watch

*Availability in US

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Release Date

December 25, 2014

Director

Evan Goldberg , Seth Rogen

Cast

James Franco , Seth Rogen , Randall Park , Lizzy Caplan , Diana Bang , Tommy Chang

Runtime

112

Studio

Columbia Pictures

4 'Fight Club' (1999)

Directed by David Fincher

It's hard to believe that Fight Club is already 25 years old, because it reads like just as timely a sociopolitical satire today as it did back in 1999. It's the story of a nameless insomniac office worker, who joins a devil-may-care soap maker named Tyler Durden to form an underground fight club that evolves into something way bigger than they had anticipated.

It's hard to delve deep enough into what makes Fight Club so brilliant and widely beloved without touching on spoiler-y territory. Even then, it's fair to say that there are numerous similarities between Fincher's masterpiece and The Boys. The satirical sense of humor feels familiar, the anarchist political themes are also constantly present in the show, and the protagonist's relationship with Tyler feels eerily similar to Hughie's relationship with Butcher.

Fight Club

R

Drama

Thriller

Mystery

Crime

Where to Watch

*Availability in US

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Not available

Release Date

October 15, 1999

Director

David Fincher

Cast

Edward Norton , Brad Pitt , Helena Bonham Carter , Meat Loaf , Zach Grenier , Richmond Arquette

Runtime

139 minutes

3 'Citizen Kane' (1941)

Directed by Orson Welles

The main theme that The Boys explores consistently all throughout each of its episodes is power. Namely, how power corrupts, and what can be done when that power is so unstoppable that trying to fight the corruption is futile. There is no greater example of a film that explores this same theme than Orson Welles's magnum opus, Citizen Kane, about a reporter scrambling to uncover the meaning behind the dying word of a publishing tycoon.

There may not be many tonal or narrative similarities between The Boys and Citizen Kane, but their thematic connection is so solid that they could pretty much be considered companion pieces in that regard. Then again, even if that weren't the case, there can never be enough excuses to watch what some consider to be the best motion picture ever made.

Citizen Kane

NR

Drama

Documentary

Mystery

Where to Watch

*Availability in US

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Release Date

April 17, 1941

Director

Orson Welles

Cast

Orson Welles , Joseph Cotten , Dorothy Comingore , Agnes Moorehead , Ruth Warrick , Ray Collins

Runtime

119

Studio

RKO Radio Pictures

2 'Inglourious Basterds' (2009)

Directed by Quentin Tarantino

It's not crazy at all to equate The Boys' bloody, graphic thirst for violence with Quentin Tarantino's consistent knack for the same kind of action. For proof, one needn't look further than Inglourious Basterds. This revisionist WWII film takes place in Nazi-occupied France, where a group of Jewish American soldiers hatch a plan to assassinate Nazi leaders.

Thanks to its iconic main ensemble (very reminiscent of the Boys themselves), suspenseful story, and satirical humor worthy of the best episodes of The Boys, Inglourious Basterds is usually considered by Tarantino lovers as one of the auteur's best outings. One can only dream that Homelander will one day be present in a scene similar to this movie's hard-hitting ending.

Inglourious Basterds

Action

Drama

Thriller

War

Where to Watch

*Availability in US

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Not available

Release Date

August 19, 2009

Director

Quentin Tarantino

Cast

Brad Pitt , Mélanie Laurent , Christoph Waltz , Eli Roth , Michael Fassbender , Diane Kruger

Runtime

152 minutes

Studio

Universal Pictures

1 'Brazil' (1985)

Directed by Terry Gilliam

Originating from the iconic British comedy troupe Monty Python, Terry Gilliam has since those days become one of the leading voices in cinematic surrealism. He has done so through movies as outstanding (and head-scratchingly bizarre) as Brazil, a sci-fi dystopian epic about a bureaucrat in a futuristic society who becomes an enemy of the state as he pursues the woman of his dreams.

Touching on themes of governmental repression and conspiracy, the control that the media hold over people, and the seductions of rebelliousness, both The Boys and Brazil share elements too tightly connected to ignore. The superhero show may not be quite as strange as Gilliam's magnum opus, but its viewers are sure to enjoy both works equally.

Brazil

R

Sci-Fi

Drama

Thriller

Where to Watch

*Availability in US

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Not available

Release Date

December 18, 1985

Director

Terry Gilliam

Cast

Jonathan Pryce , Kim Greist , Robert De Niro , Katherine Helmond , Ian Holm

Runtime

132 minutes

NEXT:The Best Homelander Episodes on 'The Boys'