Bigness epitomized the 1980s. Big hair, big music, and the biggest action movies to ever grace the screen dominated pop culture.
These ’80s action movies featured over-muscled heroes who carried hulking guns and blew up bad guys, often in the name of the USA. While the politics and plotting of these movies may make these films odious in many ways today, their explosions and set pieces still hold up. For anyone who wants to understand the ethos of the “greed decade,” these ’80s action movies represent the era better than others.
1. Die Hard (1988)
Arnold Schwarzenegger set the model for the ’80s action hero, a guy with outrageous muscles who mowed down his enemies without breaking a sweat. Bruce Willis changed all that with Die Hard, directed by John McTiernan and written by Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza.
Based in part on the novel Nothing Lasts Forever by Roderick Thorp, Die Hard stars Willis as New York cop John McClane, who comes to California to patch up his relationship with his estranged wife Holly (Bonnie Bedelia), just to get caught in the middle of a hostage situation led by terrorist Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman). Between that pulp premise, McTiernan’s first-class direction, and Willis’s relatable charm, Die Hard brought the over-the-top decade to a close on a (relatively) more human note.
2. Robocop (1987)
Robocop sounds like the sort of B-movie fare that went straight to VHS and filled up space on cable channels. Written by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner, Robocop stars Peter Weller as dull Detroit cop Alex Murphy, who gets transformed into the titular cyborg after a brutal attack by criminal Clarence Boddicker (Kurtwood Smith). And yet, Neumeier and Miner use that sci-fi plot to take a satirical look at corporate corruption and the failed police system.
Director Paul Verhoeven amplified those themes by one hundred, resulting in a film that’s thrilling, revolting, hilarious, and thought-provoking.
3. Aliens (1986)
Ridley Scott’s 1979 Alien didn’t need a sequel, as the movie’s power came from its focus on space-trucker Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) battling a single indestructible creature on a spaceship. But writer/director James Cameron found a way to continue the story by raising the stakes and delving deeper into Ripley’s psyche.
With Aliens, Cameron provides a master class in character development, using a single scene to introduce and differentiate the Space Marines who recruit Ripley in their war against the xenomorphs, while still taking time to explore the hero’s sorrow for the life she’ll never get back. Sci-fi and action directors continue to copy the model of Aliens, but no one has done it quite like Cameron.
4. Predator (1987)
Before Die Hard, John McTiernan put an end to the age of over-buff action heroes with Predator. The movie’s first half plays like the standard action film of the era, in which special agents Dillon (Carl Weathers) and Dutch (Schwarzenegger) lead a team of macho commandos into the jungle to take down some rebels. But after completing their mission in gratuitous fashion, the team meets a bigger bad in the form of the titular alien.
The script by Jim Thomas and John Thomas works as a perfect referendum on the action films of the era, without ever scrimping on the chaos and violence that one expects from a Schwarzenegger vehicle.
5. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
The roots of Indiana Jones go far deeper than the 1980s, and not just because Raiders of the Lost Ark takes place during World War II.
Writer/producer George Lucas and director Stephen Spielberg came up with the character after Eon Productions refused to let the latter make a James Bond film. To forget about that dapper Brit, Spielberg and Lucas drew from the action serials they loved as children, making Indiana Jones a two-fisted explorer in the vein of Doc Savage.
That said, countless movies reference the culture of the past. Raiders makes this list thanks to Speilberg’s pitch-perfect direction, a cracking script by Lawrence Kasdan, and a singular performance by Harrison Ford.
6. Escape from New York (1981)
Like Spielberg and Lucas, writer and director John Carpenter brought a love of genre pictures to his movies. Despite its futuristic setting, in which New York City has become a prison island after a disaster separated it from the rest of the country, Escape from New York feels a lot like a classic Western.
Grizzled loner Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell) has a John Wayne swagger, and he meets colorful characters on his mission to rescue the President (Donald Pleasance). With a cast that includes Harry Dean Staton, Lee Van Cleef, Isaac Hayes, and more, Escape from New York has enough old-school cool to feel timeless, even when it follows the production standards of the 1980s.
7. The Terminator (1984)
Before making Ellen Ripley into a grieving mother in Aliens, James Cameron made a slasher flick about an unstoppable robot from the future.
The Terminator has a fantastic plot, in which machines from the future send an android back to the past to kill the mother of their greatest enemy, John Connor. Linda Hamilton shines as Sarah Connor, a mundane waitress who must run for her life, and Michael Biehn brings a manic energy to Kyle Reese, the human soldier sent to the past to stop the Terminator.
But the movie would not work without Schwarzenegger’s star-making turn in the lead as the T-800. He looks and acts like a robot from the future, so much so that the special effects added to him midway through the film lessen, instead of enhance, his performance.
8. Action Jackson (1988)
In a better world, Action Jackson would have spawned numerous lackluster sequels, just like Die Hard did. Instead, viewers have just this single gem of an action film, starring Carl Weathers as the titular cop.
Against the James Bond pose Weathers makes on the movie’s poster, director Craig R. Baxley and writer Robert Reneau imagine Jackson as a man of the people, a good cop whose reputation suffered at the hands of shady businessman Peter Anthony Dellaplane (Craig T. Nelson). When Jackson starts to investigate the murders of local union bosses, he prepares for a rematch with Dellaplane. Sometimes cheesy but always riveting, Action Jackson gives us a look at a universe in which Weathers got the vehicles he deserved.
9. Lethal Weapon (1987)
Lethal Weapon isn’t the first buddy cop movie (keep reading to learn what is), but it may be the best.
Danny Glover plays grizzled vet Roger Murtaugh, who is “too old for this” at age 50, and Mel Gibson plays his wild-card partner Martin Riggs. Despite wanting to kill one another, the duo works together to keep the rogue military group Shadow Company from running wild on the Los Angeles streets.
Lethal Weapon has all the highlights of a great Shane Black script, from the witty banter to the Christmas setting, brought to life by Richard Donner’s sharp direction.
10. Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
Eddie Murphy was the breakout star of Saturday Night Live’s 1980 season, but the movie 48 Hrs. showed what the upstart could do in the action genre.
Off the strength of that film, Murphy was cast as Detroit cop Axel Foley in Beverly Hills Cop, directed by Martin Brest and written by Daniel Petrie Jr. The fish-out-of-water setting gave Murphy plenty of space for his motormouth riffing, but the script followed a traditional action structure. As a result, Beverly Hills Cop perfected the winking one-liners that became a staple of the genre in the ’80s.
11. The Road Warrior (1981)
Ten years ago, Mad Max 2, known in the U.S. as The Road Warrior, would rank much higher, and not just because of the way that star Mel Gibson has tarnished his own reputation.
Before 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road, the second Mad Max movie The Road Warrior stood as director George Miller’s masterpiece. Even after Fury Road perfected the franchise, The Road Warrior still works as a classic of post-apocalyptic action.
In addition to breathtaking car stunts and absurd costumes, The Road Warrior features memorable characters, including Kjell Nilsson as warlord Lord Humungus. These characters help The Road Warrior maintain a sense of humor, despite its bleak setting.
12. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
The original Star Wars had its exciting set pieces, such as the shootout in the Mos Eisley Cantina or the final attack on the Death Star, but A New Hope did not often feel like an action film. Thanks to its darker tone and bleak ending, the sequel Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back better fits that bill.
With Irving Kirschner stepping into the director’s chair with a script written by Kasdan and Leigh Brackett, The Empire Strikes Back puts rebels Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Han Solo (Ford), and Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) back on their heals as Darth Vader (David Prowse and James Earl Jones) mounts a counter-attack. From the opening battle on Hoth to the climactic duel between Luke and Vader, The Empire Strikes Back brings action to the galaxy far, far away.
13. Bloodsport (1988)
The Jean-Claude Van Damme vehicle Bloodsport has the most barebones plot imaginable. Fighter Frank Dux (Van Damme) enrolls in an underground tournament where combatants battle to the death.
Based on the unrealistic claims of real-life soldier Dux, Bloodsport plays more like an adaptation of a video game like Street Fighter, devoting most of its runtime to one-on-one duels. But director Newt Arnold knows better than to waste time with any complexities writers Christopher Cosby, Mel Friedman, and Sheldon Lettich put in the script. Instead, he devotes his attention to Van Damme’s natural athleticism, which allows him to shoot the fight scenes with maximum impact.
14. Road House (1989)
As numerous references on Mystery Science Theater 3000 demonstrate, it’s easy to make fun of Road House. Patrick Swayze might be the prettiest hero on this list, and his philosophy major turned bouncer Dalton says nonsense phrases like “Pain don’t hurt.” And yet, those elements make Road House a crackerjack romp.
Hired to work security at a rowdy Missouri club, Dalton soon wins the heart of physician Doc Clay (Kelly Lynch) and the ire of business magnate Brad Wesley (Ben Gazzara, never cooler). From that set-up, the script by David Lee Henry and Hilary Henkin builds to a classic showdown, filmed with slick dynamism by director Rowdy Herrington.
15. They Live (1988)
In most cases, putting a wrestler in the lead signals the death knell for an action movie. But when John Carpenter hired Rowdy Roddy Piper to play Nada in They Live, he transformed a smart bit of Reagan-era satire into a sci-fi classic. Even better, Carpenter paired Piper with the veteran character actor Keith David, letting the latter’s natural charisma carry any of the former’s rougher patches.
Together, these elements help They Live tell a biting story about aliens who control humans through capitalism, and the desperate resistance built against them.
16. First Blood (1982)
Some might argue that the 1985 sequel Rambo: First Blood Part II belongs on this list instead, as the later movie features the gun-toting patriot most associated with the Sylvester Stallone character. But First Blood, directed by Ted Kotcheff and written by Michael Kozoll, William Sackheim, and Stallone — based on the novel by David Morrell — better captures the soul of America at the end of the ’70s.
Veteran John Rambo (Stallone) just wants to pass through town undisturbed, when a group of abusive cops, led by Brian Dennehy’s Will Teasle, start to bully him. When Rambo fights back, Americans get a look at the fallout of their actions in Vietnam, both in terms of body count and psychological damage.
17. 48 Hrs. (1982)
In many ways, Walter Hill’s 48 Hrs. feels like a relic of the previous decade. The script Hill wrote with Roger Spottiswoode, Larry Gross, and Steven E. de Souza drips with the grimy cynicism of a ’70s movie about Dirty Harry or some other nihilistic cop.
Nick Nolte fills that role as maverick policeman Jack Cates, who has to hunt down psychopath criminals Ganz (James Remar) and Billy (Sonny Landham). But when Cates recruits Ganz’s ex-partner Reggie Hammond (Eddie Murphy) to help him, 48 Hrs. transforms into an ’80s flick, thanks to Murphy’s non-stop jokes. The tension between Nolte and Murphy allows 48 Hrs. to bridge the gap between the ’70s and ’80s and set the model for the buddy cop formula.
18. Commando (1985)
Commando is the platonic ideal of an 80s Schwarzenegger movie. The script by Steven E. de Souza has lots of great one-liners and few logical choices, and director Mark L. Lester leans into all the story’s excess.
Schwarzenegger plays a man called John Matrix, an unbelievable and wonderful name. When members of his old special forces unit wind up dead and his daughter Jenny Matrix (Alyssa Milano) is kidnapped, Matrix gears up to fight his former commander, Captain Bennett (Vernon Wells). It may not make a lick of sense, but Commando delivers all the explosive action that fans want.
19. Big Trouble in Little China (1986)
As with Escape from New York, John Carpenter casts Kurt Russell to riff on John Wayne for Big Trouble in Little China. Unlike Snake Plissken, however, Russell’s Big Trouble character Jack Burton is Wayne as a buffoon.
The screenplay by Gary Goldman and David Z. Weinstein, based on a concept by W. D. Richter, poses Burton as the meathead who swaggers into a world that he doesn’t understand to help his pal Wang Chi (Dennis Dun) rescue his beloved Miao Yin (Suzee Pai) from the immortal sorcerer David Lo Pan (James Wong). Carpenter balances goofy gags and great fight scenes, letting Burton play the fool while Wang plays the hero.
20. Top Gun (1986)
Top Gun is the most 1980s of the ’80s action movies on this list, an unabashed paean to the glory of the U.S. military. Even those who find such propaganda distasteful can’t help but be impressed by the high-octane thrills in Top Gun, written by Jack Epps Jr. and Jim Cash and directed by Tony Scott.
Tom Cruise plays the hot shot Maverick, who goes to the titular flight screw alongside best friend Goose (Anthony Edwards) and rival Ice Man (Val Kilmer). Top Gun follows the standard Tom Cruise movie arc, as Maverick begins the best knowing he’s the best, then other people doubt that he’s the best, but by the end of the movie, they too think he’s the best. That threadbare character development leaves more room for cool dogfight scenes, which is all anyone wants from Top Gun.
21. License to Kill (1989)
James Bond had a tough time in the 1980s, as Roger Moore shambled to the end of his run with 1985’s shoddy A View to a Kill. New 007 Timothy Dalton tried to give the series a shot in the arm by playing a more ruthless Bond in The Living Daylights but came into his own with his second and final film in the role, License to Kill.
Written by Michael G. Wilson and Richard Maibaum and directed by John Glen, License to Kill strips away Bond’s smooth facade to present him as a rogue agent, going after cruel drug lords to get revenge for his pal Felix Liter, whom the baddies fed to sharks. Although License to Kill can’t shake off all the excesses of the franchise, it does have a hard edge that fits within the decade’s aesthetics.
22. Conan the Barbarian (1982)
Arnold Schwarzenegger already had a few minor film roles on his resume before Conan the Barbarian, but it took director John Milius’s adaptation of Robert E. Howard’s novels to make him a viable actor. Written by Milius and Oliver Stone, Conan the Barbarian adheres to an unflinching moral code that may upset some viewers.
When asked what is best in life, Conan responds, “To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women.” Conan’s quest to destroy his enemy Thulsa Doom (James Earl Jones) embodies that ethos, making Conan the Barbarian one of the most unflinching movies on this list.
23. Red Dawn (1984)
Red Dawn is not just one of the only PG-13 movies on this list. It’s also one of the first PG-13 movies ever made.
Directed by John Milius, who co-wrote the script with Kevin Reynolds, Red Dawn takes the Conan worldview and applies it to Cold War politics. When a cabal of America’s enemies invade the country, a renegade band of teens dubbed “the Wolverines” conduct guerrilla warfare in their hometown. As the rating indicates, Red Dawn isn’t the most graphic movie on this list.
However, with outstanding performances from Patrick Swayze, C. Thomas Howell, and Harry Dean Stanton, Red Dawn has a unique edge despite its PG-13 rating.
24. Scarface (1983)
Like all of director Brian DePalma’s most memorable films, Scarface is all id and excess. Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer devour the scenery as Cuban drug lord Tony Montoya and his wife Elvira, who decimate their enemies as to establish a criminal empire. The script by Oliver Stone, remaking the 1932 Howard Hawkes movie Scarface, has some heady ideas about immigration and American capitalism. But De Palma is interested in just the operatic heights of the story, resulting in a singular fever dream of a movie.
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