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Best Action Movies of the 1980s
#1 The Empire Strikes Back (1980) · ★ 8.4 · 18,538 votes · 2h 4m · action, adventure, science-fictionThe epic saga continues as Luke Skywalker, in hopes of defeating the evil Galactic Empire, learns the ways of the Jedi from aging master Yoda. But Darth Vader is more determined th…
#2 Scarface (1983) · ★ 8.2 · 13,380 votes · 2h 50m · action, drama, crimeAfter getting a green card in exchange for assassinating a Cuban government official, Tony Montana stakes a claim on the drug trade in Miami. Viciously murdering anyone who stands…
#3 Aliens (1986) · ★ 8.0 · 11,229 votes · 2h 17m · action, thriller, science-fictionRipley, the sole survivor of the Nostromo's deadly encounter with the monstrous Alien, returns to Earth after drifting through space in hypersleep for 57 years. Although her story…
#4 Castle in the Sky (1986) · ★ 8.0 · 4,826 votes · 2h 5m · action, fantasy, adventureA young boy and a girl with a magic crystal must race against pirates and foreign agents in a search for a legendary floating castle.…
#5 Ran (1985) · ★ 8.0 · 1,921 votes · 2h 40m · action, drama, historyShakespeare's King Lear is reimagined as a singular historical epic set in sixteenth-century Japan where an aging warlord divides his kingdom between his three sons.…
#6 Return of the Jedi (1983) · ★ 7.9 · 17,265 votes · 2h 12m · action, adventure, science-fictionLuke Skywalker leads a mission to rescue his friend Han Solo from the clutches of Jabba the Hutt, the Emperor prepares to crush the Rebellion with a more powerful Death Star, and t…
#7 Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) · ★ 7.9 · 13,971 votes · 1h 55m · action, adventureWhen Dr. Indiana Jones – the tweed-suited professor who just happens to be a celebrated archaeologist – is hired by the government to locate the legendary Ark of the Covenant, he f…
#8 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) · ★ 7.9 · 11,140 votes · 2h 7m · action, adventureIn 1938, an art collector appeals to eminent archaeologist Dr. Indiana Jones to embark on a search for the Holy Grail. Indy learns that a medieval historian has vanished while sear…
#9 Akira (1988) · ★ 7.9 · 5,026 votes · 2h 4m · action, science-fiction, animationA secret military project endangers Neo-Tokyo when it turns a biker gang member into a rampaging psychic psychopath that only two teenagers and a group of psychics can stop.…
#10 Die Hard (1988) · ★ 7.8 · 12,672 votes · 2h 12m · action, thrillerHigh above the city of L.A. a team of terrorists has seized a building, taken hostages, and declared war. One man has manages to escape... An off-duty cop hiding somewhere inside.…
#11 Kagemusha (1980) · ★ 7.8 · 772 votes · 3h 0m · action, drama, historyAkira Kurosawa's lauded feudal epic presents the tale of a petty thief who is recruited to impersonate Shingen, an aging warlord, in order to avoid attacks by competing clans. When…
#12 The Terminator (1984) · ★ 7.7 · 15,035 votes · 1h 48m · action, thriller, science-fictionIn the post-apocalyptic future, reigning tyrannical supercomputers teleport a cyborg assassin known as the "Terminator" back to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor, whose unborn son is desti…
#13 Platoon (1986) · ★ 7.7 · 5,309 votes · 2h 0m · action, drama, warAs a young and naive recruit in Vietnam, Chris Taylor faces a moral crisis when confronted with the horrors of war and the duality of man.…
#14 The Blues Brothers (1980) · ★ 7.7 · 4,692 votes · 2h 13m · action, comedy, crimeJake Blues, just released from prison, puts his old band back together to save the Catholic home where he and his brother Elwood were raised.…
#15 Predator (1987) · ★ 7.6 · 9,465 votes · 1h 47m · action, adventure, thrillerA team of elite commandos on a secret mission in a Central American jungle come to find themselves hunted by an extraterrestrial warrior.…
#16 The Killer (1989) · ★ 7.6 · 945 votes · 1h 50m · action, thriller, dramaMob assassin Jeffrey is no ordinary hired gun; the best in his business, he views his chosen profession as a calling rather than simply a job. So, when beautiful nightclub chanteus…
#17 First Blood (1982) · ★ 7.5 · 7,144 votes · 1h 33m · action, adventure, thrillerWhen former Green Beret John Rambo is harassed by local law enforcement and arrested for vagrancy, he is forced to flee into the mountains and wage an escalating one-man war agains…
#18 Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) · ★ 7.5 · 2,214 votes · 1h 53m · action, adventure, thrillerThe starship Enterprise and its crew is pulled back into action when old nemesis, Khan, steals a top secret device called Project Genesis.…
#19 Police Story (1985) · ★ 7.5 · 1,054 votes · 1h 39m · action, comedy, thrillerOfficer Chan Ka Kui manages to put a major Hong Kong drug dealer behind the bars practically alone, after a shooting and an impressive chase inside a slum. Now, he must protect the…
#20 RoboCop (1987) · ★ 7.4 · 5,982 votes · 1h 42m · action, thriller, science-fictionIn a violent, near-apocalyptic Detroit, evil corporation Omni Consumer Products wins a contract from the city government to privatize the police force. To test their crime-eradicat…
#21 Mad Max 2 (1981) · ★ 7.4 · 4,327 votes · 1h 36m · action, adventure, thrillerMax Rockatansky returns as the heroic loner who drives the dusty roads of a postapocalyptic Australian Outback in an unending search for gasoline. Arrayed against him and the other…
#22 The Abyss (1989) · ★ 7.4 · 3,612 votes · 2h 20m · action, adventure, thrillerA civilian oil rig crew is recruited to conduct a search and rescue effort when a nuclear submarine mysteriously sinks. One diver soon finds himself on a spectacular odyssey 25,000…
#23 The Mission (1986) · ★ 7.4 · 1,607 votes · 2h 5m · action, adventure, dramaWhen a Spanish Jesuit goes into the South American wilderness to build a mission in the hope of converting the Indians of the region, a slave hunter is converted and joins his miss…
#24 A Better Tomorrow (1986) · ★ 7.4 · 643 votes · 1h 35m · action, drama, crimeA reforming ex-gangster tries to reconcile with his estranged policeman brother, but the ties to his former gang are difficult to break.…
#25 Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) · ★ 7.3 · 10,408 votes · 1h 58m · action, adventureAfter arriving in India, Indiana Jones is asked by a desperate village to find a mystical stone. He agrees – and stumbles upon a secret cult plotting a terrible plan in the catacom…
#26 Lethal Weapon (1987) · ★ 7.3 · 5,232 votes · 1h 50m · action, comedy, adventureA veteran cop and an unstable detective become partners who must put their differences aside in order to bring down a heroin-smuggling ring run by ex-Special Forces.…
#27 They Live (1988) · ★ 7.3 · 3,662 votes · 1h 33m · action, thriller, science-fictionA lone drifter stumbles upon a unique pair of sunglasses that reveal aliens are systematically gaining control of the Earth by masquerading as humans and lulling the public into su…
#28 The Gods Must Be Crazy (1980) · ★ 7.3 · 1,374 votes · 1h 49m · action, comedyA Coca-Cola bottle dropped from an airplane raises havoc among a normally peaceful tribe of African bushmen who believe it to be a utensil of the gods.…
#29 Project A (1983) · ★ 7.3 · 595 votes · 1h 45m · action, comedy, adventureIn late 19th century Hong Kong, the British may rule the land, but the pirates rule the waters. Coast Guard officer Dragon Ma is determined that his beloved Coast Guard will not be…
#30 Batman (1989) · ★ 7.2 · 8,818 votes · 2h 6m · action, fantasy, crimeHaving witnessed his parents' brutal murder as a child, millionaire philanthropist Bruce Wayne fights crime in Gotham City disguised as Batman, a costumed hero who strikes fear int…
#31 The Karate Kid (1984) · ★ 7.2 · 4,873 votes · 2h 7m · action, drama, familyNew Jersey teen Daniel LaRusso moves to Los Angeles with his mother, and soon strikes up a relationship with Ali. He quickly finds himself the target of bullying by a group of thug…
#32 Beverly Hills Cop (1984) · ★ 7.2 · 4,759 votes · 1h 45m · action, comedy, crimeFast-talking, quick-thinking Detroit street cop Axel Foley has bent more than a few rules and regs in his time, but when his best friend is murdered, he heads to sunny Beverly Hill…
#33 Big Trouble in Little China (1986) · ★ 7.2 · 3,396 votes · 1h 40m · action, comedy, fantasyTruck driver Jack Burton gets embroiled in a supernatural battle when his best friend Wang Chi's green-eyed fiancée is kidnapped by henchmen of the sorcerer Lo Pan, who must marry…
#34 Midnight Run (1988) · ★ 7.2 · 1,344 votes · 2h 6m · action, comedy, thrillerA bounty hunter pursues a former Mafia accountant who is also being chased by a rival bounty hunter, the F.B.I., and his old mob boss after jumping bail.…
#35 Thief (1981) · ★ 7.2 · 903 votes · 2h 3m · action, thriller, dramaFrank is an expert professional safecracker, specialized in high-profile diamond heists. He plans to use his ill-gotten income to retire from crime and build a nice life for himsel…
#36 The Professional (1981) · ★ 7.2 · 615 votes · 1h 48m · action, adventure, thrillerJosselin Beaumont, a French secret agent, is tasked with assassinating Njala, the president for life of Malawi in Africa. A shift in French policy means that assassinating Njala is…
#37 Top Gun (1986) · ★ 7.1 · 9,954 votes · 1h 50m · action, adventure, romanceFor Lieutenant Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell and his friend and co-pilot Nick 'Goose' Bradshaw, being accepted into an elite training school for fighter pilots is a dream come true. But…
#38 Rocky IV (1985) · ★ 7.1 · 4,992 votes · 1h 31m · action, dramaRocky Balboa holds the world heavyweight championship, but a new challenger has stepped forward: Drago, a six-foot-four, 261-pound fighter who has the backing of the Soviet Union.…
#39 Bloodsport (1988) · ★ 7.1 · 2,285 votes · 1h 32m · action, thriller, dramaAn American Army Major goes AWOL to Hong Kong for an outlawed martial arts contest called the Kumite.…
#40 To Live and Die in L.A. (1985) · ★ 7.1 · 839 votes · 1h 56m · action, thriller, crimeWhen his longtime partner on the force is killed, reckless U.S. Secret Service agent Richard Chance vows revenge, setting out to nab dangerous counterfeit artist Eric Masters.…