The best action movies of the 1980s
Was this the ultimate decade for hi-octane cinema?
We’ve already talked about the best action movies ever here on Shortlist. In hindsight, it was a dauntingly broad brief.
If we’re to get hyper specific here, there’s one decade that pretty much owns this genre. Eight out of the 20 entries in that list came from a particular 10 year period.
We’re talking, of course, about the 1980s – the era of shoulder pads, big hair, gated reverb, and wanton materialism.
Was there something in the water that made ‘80s audiences crave the sight of conventionally attractive men and women shooting and blowing up one another in a variety of creative ways?
We’ll leave that one for the sociologists to figure out. What we’re here to do is index and curate the best action movies of the ‘80s.
What exactly constitutes an action movie is a question that’s bothered me in the writing of this piece. The only answer I could come up with, at least for the artificially contrived parameters of this here listicle, is this: if I would define a movie predominantly as something else (kung fu, fantasy, sci-fi, spy etc.), it doesn’t make the cut.
Is that a wholly satisfying answer? Probably not. Have I applied it consistently throughout the deliberations? Hell no. But like a pig-headed ‘80s movie cop, I’m blundering forward regardless.
With that said, let’s settle down for the show. Lights, camera, action!
20. 48 Hours
Walter Hill’s movie gave starts to two important fixtures of the decade. It was the first movie role for a certain fast-talking comedian named Eddie Murphy, and it was also film that set the template for the ‘80s buddy cop movie. Here we find Murphy’s tricky convict paired up with Nick Nolte’s gruff detective – against their will, naturally – to capture a pair of violent criminals. It’s shocking to think how many ‘80s action movies wouldn’t have existed without 48 Hours.
19. Road House
Patrick Swayze plays the most overqualified nightclub bouncer ever in this ludicrously entertaining slice of ‘80s cheese. His James Dalton has the kind of skillset that should really see him protecting presidents or running shady special ops, but instead finds him manning the door at a rundown Missouri dive bar. As with all of the best ‘80s action movies, it’s best not to think about it too much. Just sit back, enjoy the terrible music, and watch Swayze kick a bunch of boozed-up douche bags in the chops.
18. Top Gun
Top Gun is the film that launched Tom Cruise to new heights – both literally and figuratively. Variations of his cock sure prodigy, Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, would be played repeatedly over the following decades – occasionally even by Cruise himself. The diminutive star plays an outrageously gifted young pilot battling to be top of the class at an elite flight school. Top Gun puts all that glossy ‘80s excess right up there on the screen, from the pumping soundtrack to the slick aerial set pieces and the melodramatic character beats. It’s kind of irresistible.
17. Big Trouble in Little China
On a surface level, Big Trouble in Little China seems to be one of the dumbest action movies on this list. Which is really saying something. Its comic book mash-up of magic, mysticism, and kung fu elements proves to be huge fun, but it’s all pretty nonsensical. This being a John Carpenter joint, though, there’s a surprisingly subversive film buried among all the high wire theatrics. Kurt Russell’s tough trucker turns out to be less a leading man and more a hapless observer, dragged along by a far more capable supporting cast.
16. Armour of God
Among his more technical kung fu-practicing cadre, Jackie Chan has to be considered the king of pure action. The fearless star frequently applied his unique athleticism to the kind of large scale practical stunts that would have made Buster Keaton balk back in the day. Armour of God is one his finest efforts, melding his death-defying feats with a classic treasure-hunting story. It’s like Indiana Jones, but if Harrison Ford had joined the circus as a kid.
15. Beverley Hills Cop
It’s hard to think of another actor playing Beverley Hills Cop’s central part, a Detroit detective investigating the murder of his childhood friend over on the West Coast. Yet a cursory glance at the production notes reveals that the role of Axel Foley (cue iconic synth line) was initially offered to Mickey Rourke. It then survived a humour-neutering pass from Sylvester Stallone before finding its natural home. The result is one of the most purely enjoyable action movies of the ‘80s, and it all hinges on Murphy’s undeniable screen presence.
14. First Blood
The Rambo series is a tricky one to grade within an action movie context. When most people think of the Sylvester Stallone’s second most famous character, it’s a muscle-bound soldier mowing down dozens of ruthless enemy combatants – a real power fantasy for certain hawkish types. But it all started with First Blood, the finest movie of the series, which took its time to paint a portrait of a troubled Vietnam veteran wandering across a country that had turned its back on him. The action, when it finally hits, is oddly low key, but all the more effective for it.
13. Lethal Weapon
Lethal Weapon wasn’t the first buddy cop movie ever made, even within an ‘80s action movie context (see 48 Hours above), but it might just be the most enduring. Part of that is down to writer Shane Black’s snappy, rapid-fire script, aided by typically zesty direction from seasoned operator Richard Donner. But the film’s magic really stems from the chemistry between its two leads – Mel Gibson’s suicidal ex-Special Forces soldier and Danny Glover’s world-weary veteran cop. The 1989 sequel could also have justified a place on this list.
12. Police Story
There are action stars, and then there’s Jackie Chan, who must chuckle every time he reads the latest puff piece praising Tom Cruise for doing his own stunts. Chan spends much of Police Story’s run time throwing himself off buildings, through windows, and into high speed car collisions – and that’s not even getting into the various tightly choreographed fight scenes. The mall-set finale, in particular, is an enduring high point for action cinema. What a guy. What a movie.
11. Commando
Some action movies have a satirical or allegorical point to make. Some strive for artistic or technical excellence. Commando? Commando just wants to make you grin the stupidest grin possible. It’s filled with the most ludicrously over the top action, the cheesiest one liners, and the campiest villain imaginable. If there’s one film that exemplifies Arnold Schwarzenegger’s schtick, it’s Commando, with the Austrian oak meting out lethal justice and groan-inducing quips on an industrial scale.
10. The Killer
This is undoubtedly a very Hollywood-centric list, but few ‘80s directors had such a strong influence on ‘90s and ‘00s action cinema as Hong Kong’s John Woo. The Killer formed the director’s calling card, showcasing his unique gift for balletic slow-mo ‘gun-fu’ action sequences and surprisingly meaty character work. Chow Yun-fat plays a hitman with a heart, seeking to make amends for a job gone wrong. Without The Killer, would The Matrix have looked quite the way it did 10 years later? It seems doubtful.
9. Escape from New York
It’s an odd thing to say for a genre that involves a lot of violence and death, but there’s a certain sense of joy – or at least glee – to much of ‘80s action cinema. Which makes Escape from New York stand out all the more. Auteur director John Carpenter’s cynical world view is on full display, as Kurt Russell’s disgraced army vet is sent on a suicide mission to rescue the US president from an open prison – aka New York. Few films on this list have such a visceral sense of ticking clock urgency.
8. The Running Man
We could reflect on The Running Man’s eerie prescience, with its futuristic tale of a brutal reality TV show in which contestants lay their very lives on the line for the entertainment of the baying masses. But we’d much rather talk about the gonzo action set pieces dotted throughout Paul Michael Glaser’s 1987 movie, or the R-rated-Gladiators style of the themed ‘stalkers’ that hunt Arnold Schwarzenegger’s disgraced army captain throughout the film. Forget Edgar Wright’s oddly flat remake – this ‘80s original is way better.
7. Mad Max II
It wasn’t the first movie in the series, but Mad Max II essentially laid the template for the rest of George Miller’s cult post-apocalyptic series, right through to 2015’s Fury Road and its 2024 prequel. It introduced us to a distinctive form of automotive-based action, filled with modified muscle cars, heavily armoured trucks, and visceral close range combat between half-crazed gangs. At the heart of it all, Mel Gibson’s laconic drifter, looking for his next gallon of precious fuel and stumbling upon a worthy cause in the middle of the Aussie outback.
6. The Terminator
We featured Terminator 2 in our ‘best action movies of all time’ list, but the ‘80s original deserves just as much love. While much lower in budget, the first film punched well above its weight, essentially making the careers of both director James Cameron and star Arnold Schwarzenegger – two of the most consequential figures in ‘80s action cinema. Schwarzenegger’s turn as the impassive mechanical killer from the future is legendary, particularly the scene where he lays waste to a fully tooled up police department.
5. Robocop
One thing that’s evident when you scan this list is that a sense of humour goes a long way in action cinema. In the case of Robocop, said humour takes on a bitingly satirical form. Paul Verhoeven’s movie is a blunt but effective send up of Reagan-era America, as the titular tank-like super cop blasts his way through scumbag criminals and venal corporate stooges. Without wishing to come across all NRA-ish, is there a cooler gun in all of action cinema than the one belonging to reconstructed Detroit cop Alex Murphy?
4. Predator
Die Hard director John McTiernan built up to his definitive action movie masterpiece with this thrilling slice of sci-fi carnage. The premise is a simple one, as Arnie’s crack military crew discovers that they’re not the deadliest thing stalking this particular Central American jungle. Predator is packed full of creative action set pieces, as our elusive extraterrestrial hunter picks off the crew one by one, forcing our muscle-bound hero to change up his tactics.
3. Raiders of the Lost Ark
Raiders of the Lost Ark is essentially George Lucas and Stephen Spielberg’s ode to the swashbuckling serials of the 1930s and 1940s, which were foundational to the whole action genre. Our hero, Indiana Jones, is one of the all time greats – smart, quick to throw a punch, handy with both whip and gun, but with a tendency to bite off way more than he can chew. With a rip-roaring pace and a knowing sense of humour, it’s an action movie that would have been a joy in any decade.
2. Aliens
Given that it’s the sequel to a movie that’s considered to be both among the finest sci-fi movies and the finest horror movies ever made, it really says something that Aliens is considered an action all-timer. James Cameron took Ridley Scott’s moody original in a completely new direction, ramping up the body count (both human and xenomorph) by introducing a team of trigger-happy marines into the equation. The tense build-up is delicious, but once the bullets start flying, few other movies can match the mayhem.
1. Die Hard
Forget the ‘80s – Die Hard is the greatest action movie of all time. It also might just be the best Christmas movie, but now we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Die Hard wears its decade proudly like a badge, from its glitzy Japanese skyscraper setting to its coked up executives and sleazy European bad guys. Bruce Willis’s off-duty New York cop cuts through it all in timeless fashion, cursing and killing with streetwise impudence. But it’s Alan Rickman’s big bad that really steals the show – that and a whole bunch of visceral action set pieces.
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