I grew up on the 1980’s action genre and admittingly I still love many of those films. So in honor of these cheesfests I so adore, this week I’m listing 5 Phenomenal tough guy one-liners. Now on the surface that probably looks pretty easy, but it didn’t take long before the one-liners started stacking up. So I put the emphasis on “TOUGH GUY”. There’s a lot of great movie one-liners but this list is restricted to those sometimes cheesy but always memorable action movie one-liners that were a staple of so many films. As always, I wouldn’t call this the definitive list, but there’s no denying that these movie tough guy one-liners are absolutely phenomenal.
#5 – “YOU’RE A DISEASE, AND I’M THE CURE” – MARION COBRETTI (“COBRA”)
Sylvester Stallone’s 1986 cheese-fest “Cobra” is a guilty pleasure of mine. In many ways it epitomized what the 80’s action genre was all about. It had the tough-as-nails hero, over-the-top action sequences, and plenty of corny but fun dialogue. In the opening scene, Cobretti (aka “The Cobra”) is called in to take care of a lunatic who has taken hostages inside a supermarket. The two have a standoff inside where the maniac rambles on about how he is a new world hunter. The Cobra simply replies “You’re a disease, and I’m the cure”. He follows that by wiping the guy out in typical 80’s tough guy fashion. Sure it was cheesy, but even today I still get a kick out of it.
#4 – “I’M YOUR HUCKLEBERRY” – DOC HOLLIDAY (“TOMBSTONE”)
One of the best things about 1993’s “Tombstone” was Val Kilmer’s performance as Doc Holliday. Since then Kilmer has fallen off the map but looking back he had several memorable roles including this one. In this particular scene a drunken Johnny Ringo (Michael Biehn) is stumbling through the streets of Tombstone when he comes across Wyatt Earp (Kurt Russell) and his brothers. Ringo decides to pick a fight with the Earps. After Wyatt turns down his challenge, Doc steps off the porch and utters the memorable line “I’m your huckleberry”. Ringo’s gang rushes in to lead him away which certainly shows that Doc qualifies as a tough guy. Kilmer’s huckleberry line is simply unforgettable.
#3 – “LAUGH IT UP FUZZBALL” – HAN SOLO (“THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK”)
Ok sure, Han Solo had a soft side. But he was also the quintessential tough guy. The one-time smuggler became an important part of the rebellion but he never fully shed his tough guy personality. After rescuing Luke on the ice planet Hoth, Han and Chewbacca drop by the medical ward to check on him. Also there is Princess Leia and Han immediately begins to give her a hard time. Leia fires right back at Han causing Chewie to let out a hearty laugh. Han gives his furry friend a look and utters the great line “Laugh it up Fuzzball”. Obviously this one is quite different than the other one-liners on this list, but it’s a tough guy line nonetheless and I still love to this day.
#2 – “HASTA LA VISTA, BABY” – THE TERMINATOR (“TERMINATOR 2”)
You could do an entire list of great Arnold Schwarzenegger one-liners. In almost every film of his you could expect an assortment on them. So for the sake of variety I chose one Schwarzenegger one-liner. It was hard to leave off classic cheese such as “I’ll be back” from the first Terminator film, “Stick around” from “Predator”, and “Let off some steam Bennett” from “Commando”. Instead, I chose a one-liner that is a classic in every sense of the word. After being chased, shot at, and beaten up by a newer Terminator model, Arnie finally gets the upper hand, pulls out his pistol, and says the now famous line “Hasta la vista, baby” before shattering the frozen T-1000 into pieces. It’s the perfect mix of toughness, humor, and cheese and it’s a line that almost everyone immediately recognizes. How could it not be on this list?
#1 – “GO AHEAD, MAKE MY DAY” – HARRY CALLAHAN (“SUDDEN IMPACT”)
Could any other tough guy one-liner honestly top this one? It’s a Clint Eastwood line that people know and recognizes even if they’ve never seen the movie. Just as he does each morning, San Francisco police detective Harry Callahan grabs a newspaper and walks into his favorite cafe for a cup of coffee. He leaves, takes a sip of his coffee and finds it to be loaded with sugar. This tips him off that something is wrong. The cafe is actually being held up for several armed gunman. Harry comes in the back way with his buddies Smith and Wesson (aka his .44 magnum) and takes care of business. The one surviving robber grabs a hostage and tries to escape. Harry meets him at the door, points his .44 at his face, gives him the Clint squint, and utters the famous line “Go ahead, make my day”. Classic! Eastwood delivered several memorable movie lines especially with his Dirty Harry character. But when it comes down to it, this is the one that will always stand out.
Like my list? Dislike my list? See a one-liner that I left out? Disagree with one I included? What’s you’re favorite tough-guy one-liner? Please leave a comment or share your own favorites below.
Keith & the Movies 
My husband quotes Arnie lines at me all day, his favourite being, “See you at the party, Victor” from Total Recall.
LOL! I remember that line mainly because of Arnie’s way of saying it! Fabulous!
Along with, “Billy, get to the chopper!” from Predator.
You mean “Choppaaaa”!!!!! 🙂
Yes, you are right! 😉
Ha! This is brilliant Keith! I think this could have been populated purely by Arnie or Sly quotes, so good work on finding some other classics!
Arnie could have his own top 10 couldn’t he!
Great post, glad to see Clint Eastwood.
Clint = THE MAN
Schwarzenegger could fill all of them 😀
Yep, Like I mentioned in the piece, you could do a top ten of his one-liners alone.
Haha you could do that with just Commando alone 😀
Nice list. Can’t disagree with Clint at first. Such a great scene.
Isn’t a great? The line is great in itself, but Clint’s delivery makes it a classic.
Gotta love Eastwood. That line lasted for decades…fun post!
Thank you! It was certainly fun to write! 🙂
Great list!
Off the top of my head I thought of:
“Are you gonna’ pull those pistols or whistle Dixie” from Clint in The Outlaw Josey Wales.
“You know you’re gonna’ look awfully silly with that knife sticking out of your ass” Clint again in High Plains Drifter.
“Hey Buddy you want my opinion you’re in the wrong business” delivered by Charles Bronson in Mr Majestyk…and “Do you believe in Jesus?..You’re gonna meet him!” from Bronson again in one of the Death Wish movies.
Great ones!!! There are so many great ones especially for those of us who grew up loving the classic action genre.
Fine post and quotes, Keith. Mine would probably include another from Tombstone, the one where Wyatt Earp (Kurt Russell) is bitch-slapping Billy Bob Thornton’s character:
Oh yes! That’s a good one. Kurt Russell had another good one from Tombstone:
“You tell ’em Hell’s comin’. You tell ’em I’M comin’.
I absolutely love this article. Cobra was so bad! One that you should add to the list is Wesley Snipes in Blade ‘some muthafuckas are always tryin to iceskate uphill’!
Thanks man. Sooo many cool lines to choose from through the years. You talk about a hard list to narrow down to five!
Awesome list, Keith! I haven’t seen Tombstone & Cobra but those are great one liners. Glad to see “Go ahead, make my day” on here as that’s an absolute classic! I also prefer the ‘Hasta La Vista’ line over the ‘I’ll be back’ from Terminator.
Thanks Ruth! I’m surprised you haven’t see Tombstone. It’s a very pop style western but it’s a lot of fun. Several good tough guy lines in it.
I’m not huge on Westerns but I may check it out as I quite like Val 😀
It has a fun cast. Val, Kurt Russell, Sam Elliot, Powers Boothe, Michael Biehn, Bill Paxton, etc.
Dead or alive, you’re coming with me!
Yes!!! Robocop!!! I’ll always remember that one.
Oh btw Keith, I know you already have one from Terminator but I quite like this one: “Come with me if you want to live.” It’s so iconic they keep using that in every movie 😀
Yes!!! Isn’t that when he arrives to save Sarah at the mental hospital?
Yeah I think so! But it’s also uttered by other characters in all the Terminator movies. LOVE it!
Come with me or there will be…trouble.
Skin that smoke wagon and see what happens.
Let’s see you take *this* under advisement, jerkweed
But Number one is clearly the one you picked. When the President uses a line from a movie, to throw down with Congress, then you know you have reached iconic status
LOL! Great point and some great mentions. Isn’t it amazing how these lines have stayed in our minds after so many years?
So many possibilities! Great list Keith, I was pleasantly surprised to see Han Solo on here 😀
LOL, I had to sneak him on there!
What’s great about the #1 line is that it became so identifiable w/ the character, that I find most people surprised not to hear it in the first “Dirty Harry” film and it’s first use was in the fourth film.
Exactly! It’s synonymous with Dirty Harry the character but certainly not the movie! Such a great line!