Movies with Positive Black Male Protagonists
Movies starring an African-American or black person who is portrayed in a positive or non-stereotyped manner.
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- DirectorThomas CarterStarsSamuel L. JacksonRick GonzalezRobert Ri'chardControversy surrounds high school basketball coach Ken Carter after he benches his entire team for breaking their academic contract with him.Based on a true story, Coach Carter locks down his teams championship season when his team fails to honor their academic contract with him. When he is criticized by the players and their parents, he sticks to his guns, determined that they excel in class as well as on the court.
- DirectorRobert MarkowitzStarsLaurence FishburneAllen PayneMalcolm-Jamal WarnerThe true story of how a group of African-American pilots overcame racist opposition to become one of the finest United States fighter groups in World War II.
- DirectorThomas CarterStarsCuba Gooding Jr.Kimberly EliseAunjanue Ellis-TaylorBiography of Ben Carson who grew up to be Dr. Ben Carson, a world famous neurosurgeon at Johns Hopkins.Inspired by his mother (Kimberly Elise) to never give up, Detroit native Ben Carson (Cuba Gooding Jr.) overcomes poverty and prejudice to become a neurosurgeon.
- DirectorBarry SonnenfeldStarsTommy Lee JonesWill SmithLinda FiorentinoJames, an NYC cop, is hired by Agent K of a secret government agency that monitors extraterrestrial life on Earth. Together, they must recover an item that has been stolen by an intergalactic villain.A police officer (Will Smith) is recruited into a secret organization that polices and monitors extraterrestrial life. Together, with his straitlaced and crusty new partner (Tommy Lee Jones), he investigates a series of unauthorized events and discovers the deadly plot of an intergalactic terrorist.
- DirectorJohn LandisStarsEddie MurphyPaul BatesGarcelle BeauvaisAn extremely pampered African prince travels to Queens, New York and goes undercover to find a wife that he can respect for her intelligence and strong will.
- DirectorBarry SonnenfeldStarsTommy Lee JonesWill SmithRip TornAgent J is sent to find Agent K and restore his memory after the re-appearance of a case from K's past.
- DirectorRyan CooglerStarsChadwick BosemanMichael B. JordanLupita Nyong'oT'Challa, heir to the hidden but advanced kingdom of Wakanda, must step forward to lead his people into a new future and must confront a challenger from his country's past.
- DirectorTerry GeorgeStarsDon CheadleSophie OkonedoJoaquin PhoenixPaul Rusesabagina, a hotel manager, houses over a thousand Tutsi refugees during their struggle against the Hutu militia in Rwanda, Africa.
- DirectorAlex ProyasStarsWill SmithBridget MoynahanBruce GreenwoodIn 2035, a technophobic cop investigates a crime that may have been perpetrated by a robot, which leads to a larger threat to humanity.In 2035, highly intelligent robots fill public service positions throughout the world, operating under three rules to keep humans safe. As Detective Del Spooner (Will Smith) investigates the alleged suicide of a U.S. Robotics founder, he begins to wonder how safe humanities dependence on robots really is.
- DirectorBrian LevantStarsCuba Gooding Jr.James CoburnSisqóWhen a Miami dentist inherits a team of sled dogs, he's got to learn the trade or lose his pack to a crusty mountain man.A successful Miami dentist learns that he is adopted and that his birth mother has died and left him an inheritance in Alaska. His inheritance- her beloved sled dogs. In this fun PG comedy, Ted Brooks (Cuba Gooding, Jr) must learn to work with his new team and in the process learns more about himself and his family.
- DirectorBob PersichettiPeter RamseyRodney RothmanStarsShameik MooreJake JohnsonHailee SteinfeldTeen Miles Morales becomes the Spider-Man of his universe and must join with five spider-powered individuals from other dimensions to stop a threat for all realities.
- DirectorGabriele MuccinoStarsWill SmithThandiwe NewtonJaden SmithA struggling salesman takes custody of his son as he's poised to begin a life-changing professional career
- DirectorFrancis LawrenceStarsWill SmithAlice BragaCharlie TahanYears after a plague kills most of humanity and transforms the rest into monsters, the sole survivor in New York City struggles valiantly to find a cure.
- DirectorRoland EmmerichStarsWill SmithBill PullmanJeff GoldblumThe aliens are coming and their goal is to invade and destroy Earth. Fighting superior technology, mankind's best weapon is the will to survive.
- DirectorJames ClavellStarsSidney PoitierJudy GeesonChristian RobertsIdealistic engineer-trainee and his experiences in teaching a group of rambunctious white high school students from the slums of London's East End.
- DirectorBarry SonnenfeldStarsWill SmithKevin KlineKenneth BranaghThe two best special agents in the Wild West must save President Grant from the clutches of a diabolical, wheelchair-bound, steampunk-savvy, Confederate scientist bent on revenge for losing the Civil War.The world needs more Steampunk Westerns
- DirectorRob ReinerStarsMorgan FreemanVirginia MadsenMadeline CarrollMonty Wildhorn, an alcoholic novelist of Westerns, has lost his drive. His nephew pushes him to summer in quiet Belle Isle. He begrudgingly befriends a newly single mom and her 3 girls who help him find the inspiration to write again.
- DirectorGeorge Tillman Jr.StarsCuba Gooding Jr.Robert De NiroCharlize TheronThe story of Carl Brashear, the first African-American U.S. Navy Diver, and the man who trained him.
- DirectorSpike LeeStarsDerek LukeMichael EalyLaz AlonsoSet in 1944 Italy, the story of four black American soldiers who get trapped in a Tuscan village during WWII.
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsJamie FoxxChristoph WaltzLeonardo DiCaprioWith the help of a German bounty-hunter, a freed slave sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal plantation owner in Mississippi.The 'R' rating makes this a movie best viewed after the kids have gone to bed, but its fun to see a Western that deviates a little from the norm. The costumes are fabulous. Not every gentleman can pull off blue velvet suits.
- DirectorRichard DonnerStarsMel GibsonDanny GloverGary BuseyTwo newly paired cops who are complete opposites must put aside their differences in order to catch a gang of drug smugglers.
- DirectorStephen NorringtonStarsWesley SnipesStephen DorffKris KristoffersonA half-vampire, half-mortal man becomes a protector of the mortal race, while slaying evil vampires.
- DirectorAntoine FuquaStarsDenzel WashingtonChris PrattEthan HawkeSeven gunmen from a variety of backgrounds are brought together by a vengeful young widow to protect her town from the private army of a destructive industrialist.
- DirectorBruce BeresfordStarsMorgan FreemanJessica TandyDan AykroydAn old Jewish woman and her African-American chauffeur in the American South have a relationship that grows and improves over the years.
- DirectorBarry SonnenfeldStarsWill SmithKevin KlineKenneth BranaghThe two best special agents in the Wild West must save President Grant from the clutches of a diabolical, wheelchair-bound, steampunk-savvy, Confederate scientist bent on revenge for losing the Civil War.
- DirectorBoaz YakinStarsDenzel WashingtonWill PattonWood HarrisIn 1971 Virginia high school football was everything to the people of Alexandria. But when the school board was forced to integrate an all-black school with an all-white one, the very foundation of football's tradition was put to the test.
- DirectorNick CastleStarsDamon WayansMichael IronsideBam Bam BigelowWhen a recently discharged Marine struggles to adjust to civilian life, his commanding officer brings him back to the military to train and lead a group of misfit JORTC cadets.Major Payne's entire life has been combat, but, when he runs out of wars to fight in, he must face his biggest challenge yet - civilian life. In this hilarious comedy, Major Payne must build a winning team out of a group of apathetic teenage boys.
- DirectorEdward ZwickStarsMatthew BroderickDenzel WashingtonCary ElwesRobert Gould Shaw leads the U.S. Civil War's first all-black volunteer company, fighting prejudices from both his own Union Army, and the Confederates.Following the Battle of Antietam, Col. Robert Gould Shaw (Matthew Broderick) is offered command of the United States' first all-African-American regiment, the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. aThey are a strong and proud unit, including the escaped slave Trip (Denzel Washington) and the wise gravedigger John Rawlins (Morgan Freeman).
- DirectorPenny MarshallStarsDenzel WashingtonWhitney HoustonCourtney B. VanceAn angel comes to Earth to help a preacher save his church and his family.
- DirectorRob LettermanStarsRyan ReynoldsJustice SmithKathryn NewtonIn a world where people collect Pokémon to do battle, a boy comes across an intelligent talking Pikachu who seeks to be a detective.
- DirectorGuillermo del ToroStarsWesley SnipesKris KristoffersonRon PerlmanBlade forms an uneasy alliance with the vampire council in order to combat the Reapers, who are feeding on vampires.
- DirectorMichael PackStarsClarence ThomasJoe BidenAnita HillA controversial figure, loved by some, reviled by others, few know much more than a few headlines and the recollections of his contentious confirmation battle with Anita Hill. A story truly and fully, without cover-ups or distortions.
- DirectorPete DocterKemp PowersStarsJamie FoxxTina FeyGraham NortonJoe is a middle-school band teacher whose life hasn't quite gone the way he expected. His true passion is jazz. But when he travels to another realm to help someone find their passion, he soon discovers what it means to have soul.
- DirectorPen TennysonStarsPaul RobesonEdward ChapmanSimon LackIn a Welsh coal mining valley, a young man with a beautiful singing voice is called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice when a pit disaster threatens.
- DirectorMichael SchultzStarsTaimakVanityChristopher MurneyIn New York City, a young man searches for a Master to obtain the final level of martial arts mastery known as the Glow.
- DirectorMichael BayStarsWill SmithMartin LawrenceLisa BoyleTwo hip detectives protect a witness to a murder while investigating a case of stolen heroin from the evidence storage room from their police precinct.
- DirectorHarald ZwartStarsJackie ChanJaden SmithTaraji P. HensonWork causes a single mother to move to China with her young son; in his new home, the boy embraces kung fu, taught to him by a master.When 12-year-old Dre Parker's mother's latest career move has landed him in China he is left with no friends in a strange land. In order to combat the school bullies, Dre learns kung fu and self discipline from the maintenance man (Jackie Chan).
- DirectorAva DuVernayStarsDavid OyelowoCarmen EjogoOprah WinfreyA chronicle of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s campaign to secure equal voting rights via an epic march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, in 1965.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsMorgan FreemanMatt DamonTony KgorogeNelson Mandela, in his first term as President of South Africa, initiates a unique venture to unite the Apartheid-torn land: enlist the national rugby team on a mission to win the 1995 Rugby World Cup.
- DirectorRyan CooglerStarsMichael B. JordanSylvester StalloneTessa ThompsonThe former World Heavyweight Champion Rocky Balboa serves as a trainer and mentor to Adonis Johnson, the son of his late friend and former rival Apollo Creed.
- DirectorLee DanielsStarsForest WhitakerOprah WinfreyJohn CusackAs Cecil Gaines serves eight presidents during his tenure as a butler at the White House, the civil rights movement, Vietnam, and other major events affect this man's life, family, and American society.
- DirectorJon TurteltaubStarsJohn CandyLeonDoug E. DougWhen a Jamaican sprinter is disqualified from the Olympic Games, he enlists the help of a dishonored coach to start the first Jamaican Bobsled Team.
- DirectorGeorge NolfiStarsAnthony MackieSamuel L. JacksonNicholas HoultIn the 1960s, two African-American entrepreneurs hire a working-class white man to pretend to be the head of their business empire while they pose as a janitor and chauffeur.
- DirectorPaul McKellipsStarsCylk CozartAllan CreelEmilio DelgadoWhite stars as Reggie Knox, a pro football player who retires, frustrated because he hasn't won a championship. Knox begins coaching a Portland, Ore., high school football program, where he befriends a troubled student.
- DirectorJohn G. AvildsenStarsMorgan FreemanBeverly ToddRobert GuillaumeThe dedicated but tyrannical Joe Clark is appointed the principal of a decaying inner-city school he is determined to improve by any and all means.
- DirectorStephen HopkinsStarsStephan JamesJason SudeikisEli GoreeJesse Owens' quest to become the greatest track and field athlete in history thrusts him onto the world stage of the 1936 Olympics, where he faces off against Adolf Hitler's vision of Aryan supremacy.
- DirectorBrian HelgelandStarsChadwick BosemanT.R. KnightHarrison FordIn 1947, Jackie Robinson becomes the first African-American to play in Major League Baseball in the modern era when he was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers and faces considerable racism in the process.
- DirectorDestin Daniel CrettonStarsMichael B. JordanJamie FoxxBrie LarsonWorld-renowned civil rights defense attorney Bryan Stevenson works to free a wrongly condemned death row prisoner.