Reviewed 2021-02-23 l Last update on 2021-10-24
Icon Male is the powerhouse of erotic, high-class, gay hardcore. Watching one of their movies is like being at the cinema, and that's thanks to the high-end production values, the scenarios, the lighting sound and, of course, the acting. You're looking at over 450 exclusive, high-quality man-on-man movies with some of the top names in gay porn. These are available for streaming-only with an option to upgrade to download, they come with images, are shot in HD, and updates are happening.
Icon Male was started when Mile High Media and director Nica Noelle joined forces and produced a series of high-end, gay hardcore movies. Their quest was perfection in the male models and the stories, the cinematography, and all production values, and they sure achieved it. Later, it was run by Gamma Entertainment Inc (who produce Next Door Studios productions), and in 2019 it was taken over by the Men.com team who are currently still running it, as far as I know. The original production values have remained, and it is still a powerhouse of top male performances and directors, even writers who come up with believable plots. Chi Chi LaRue is among the directors behind the cameras. The movies are more than just wham-bam hardcore fuck sessions; they go for passion and reality, for chemistry between their models, and the end results are as excellent as they were when Icon Male was first envisaged.
That's the background, here's what we have now.
To start with, you've got 459 movies that are exclusive to Icon Male. There are also trailers for 113 full movies, most scenes come with galleries, and there is a model index of 204 of the industry's top male stars. If you'll allow me to name drop for a moment, you will find Dominic Pacifico, Colby Jansen and Jaxton Wheeler, who are among the daddies of the gay porn world. They play together or with younger, 30-something guys and jocks like Dante Cole, Jack Hunter and Wolf Hudson. 'Twinks' also get a look in, though the Icon Male definition of a twink is a hard-bodied, fit, 20-something stud, rather than fey, 18 + teen. Check out Zak Bishop, Daniel Hausser and Brent Corrigan.
Whatever the age of the cast, you've got guys who are fit, studly, defined and physical, and scenes that are pumping hardcore with male passion included, big dicks, power bottoms and rough tops. There's a fair smattering of beefy, hairy guys, silver-haired dads and fit Latinos among the mainly white cast, and each one has the ability to act as well as fuck. Movies are always high-octane and very often bareback.
The 495 scenes are for streaming. If you want to download, you pay more, but we'll look at that in a little while. Your streaming options start at 1,920 x 1,080 HD in an adaptive payer that also comes with 720p, 480p and 320p, and where you can skip through and go full screen. Movies run for around 20 to 35 minutes, and the quality is excellent.
Many of them come with galleries with various numbers of images each, shown in small thumbnails that enlarge. These, you can save one at a time at 800 x 533 px, but to take the zip file of the full set, you will, again, need to upgrade. Many of the galleries hold posed shots plus action ones, and the quality is good, but not all movies have an image set.
You will also find 113 trailers in the Movies section. These are advertising Icon Male's full-length DVDs with details (just a model list) and scenes, though I only found one scene per DVD, and for streaming only. Release dates and other info is shown, as it is with videos, and you get a choice of four stream speeds with each one.
And as for that download option You can click the download link, and it shows that you will get 1080p, 720p, 480p and 320p options in Mp4, but only once you have signed up for a further $14.99 per month on top of your membership. There's also a 'Switch Now' button all over the place which tempts you to sign up for the yearly membership, but I am not sure if that includes downloads; I don't think it does. I would consider your Icon Male membership a streaming-only experience, but a hot and heady one where you get to see some of the best gay hardcore porn being made today.
You'll have no trouble with navigation or anything technical in this members' area. Everything is neatly set out, and you can easily get from scenes to DVD trailers to models. From each section, you can then link to the others, so from scenes to models and back again, and there are linked tag words on video pages to help you search for the kind of specifics you might want. There are also a few filters with the videos and models and ways to rearrange the index pages by date, popularity etc.
The model index gives you links to each guy's scenes, but the details and info boxes are empty. I'd like to see a way to reorganise and search the index by age, body type and so on, as it's rather basic at the moment, but the sample shots are large and clear. Video viewing pages give you clear links to trailers, info, images, descriptions and the category list. You can also put scenes aside to watch later, add them to a favourites area, and give them likes/dislikes, but you can't comment.
Signing up is easy and safe enough, so no worries there. There is a two-day trial to consider, but not only does it limit what you can see, it comes back at $34.99 every 30 days. The monthly (30 days) membership is set at $17.99, which is fine but add on the $14.99 to download if you upgrade and you're looking at $32.98 per month. A 12-month membership is also advertised inside and outside the members' area, and this works out the cheapest at $8.33 per month (equivalent). Watch out for a pre-checked $1.00 upgrade to premium for two days when you fill out your details. This renews at $34.97 every 30 days on top of whatever sign-up deal you take.
Icon Male continues to be iconic in its style, high production values, cast members and hardcore gay bareback porn. It's top-notch entertainment, that's for sure, but downloading comes at a premium. Updates continue to come in but are not 100% regular right now, but there's a wealth of excellent content waiting for you. There was once a bonus site included, but I saw no sign of this. In brief: excellent hardcore, stunning videos, but at a price.
