Best Action Movies of the 1980s

1. 1
   The Empire Strikes Back 1980

   Directed by Irvin Kershner · Streaming on Disney Plus, YouTube TV
   8.4

   8.4 · 19K votes
2. 2
   Scarface 1983

   Directed by Brian De Palma · Streaming on Netflix
   8.1

   8.2 · 14K votes
3. 3
   Aliens 1986

   Directed by James Cameron · Streaming on Netflix, fuboTV, Philo
   8.0

   8.0 · 11K votes
4. 4
   Castle in the Sky 1986

   Directed by Hayao Miyazaki · Streaming on HBO Max
   7.9

   8.0 · 4.9K votes
5. 5
   Ran 1985

   Directed by Akira Kurosawa · Streaming on Kanopy, Plex, Plex Channel
   7.9

   8.0 · 2K votes
6. 6
   Raiders of the Lost Ark 1981

   Directed by Steven Spielberg · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Disney Plus, fuboTV
   7.9

   7.9 · 14K votes
7. 7
   Akira 1988

   Directed by Katsuhiro Otomo · Streaming on Crunchyroll
   7.9

   7.9 · 5.1K votes
8. 8
   Return of the Jedi 1983

   Directed by Richard Marquand · Streaming on Disney Plus
   7.9

   7.9 · 17K votes
9. 9
   Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade 1989

   Directed by Steven Spielberg · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Disney Plus, fuboTV
   7.8

   7.9 · 11K votes
10. 10
    Die Hard 1988

    Directed by John McTiernan · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, YouTube TV
    7.8

    7.8 · 13K votes
11. 11
    Platoon 1986

    Directed by Oliver Stone · Streaming on fuboTV, MGM+, Philo
    7.7

    7.7 · 5.4K votes
12. 12
    The Terminator 1984

    Directed by James Cameron · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, The Roku Channel
    7.7

    7.7 · 15K votes
13. 13
    The Blues Brothers 1980

    Directed by John Landis · Streaming on Netflix, YouTube TV
    7.7

    7.7 · 4.7K votes
14. 14
    Kagemusha 1980

    Directed by Akira Kurosawa
    7.6

    7.8 · 776 votes
15. 15
    Predator 1987

    Directed by John McTiernan · Streaming on fuboTV, YouTube TV, FXNow
    7.6

    7.6 · 9.6K votes
16. 16
    First Blood 1982

    Directed by Ted Kotcheff · Streaming on AMC+, Kanopy, YouTube TV
    7.5

    7.5 · 7.2K votes
17. 17
    The Killer 1989

    Directed by John Woo · Streaming on fuboTV, Kanopy, Shout! Factory TV
    7.5

    7.6 · 955 votes
18. 18
    Police Story 1985

    Directed by Jackie Chan · Streaming on HBO Max, Criterion Channel, Shout! Factory TV
    7.5

    7.6 · 1.1K votes
19. 19
    Saint Seiya: Legend of Crimson Youth 1988

    Directed by Shigeyasu Yamauchi
    7.4

    7.9 · 257 votes
20. 20
    Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan 1982

    Directed by Nicholas Meyer · Streaming on fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential
    7.4

    7.4 · 2.2K votes
21. 21
    Mad Max 2 1981

    Directed by George Miller · Streaming on YouTube Free
    7.4

    7.4 · 4.4K votes
22. 22
    RoboCop 1987

    Directed by Paul Verhoeven · Streaming on fuboTV, MGM+, Philo
    7.4

    7.4 · 6K votes
23. 23
    The Mission 1986

    Directed by Roland Joffé · Streaming on YouTube Free, Howdy
    7.3

    7.4 · 1.6K votes
24. 24
    Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom 1984

    Directed by Steven Spielberg · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Disney Plus, fuboTV
    7.3

    7.3 · 10K votes
25. 25
    Lethal Weapon 1987

    Directed by Richard Donner · Streaming on Fawesome
    7.3

    7.3 · 5.3K votes
26. 26
    They Live 1988

    Directed by John Carpenter · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video
    7.3

    7.3 · 3.7K votes
27. 27
    Saint Seiya: The Heated Battle of the Gods 1988

    Directed by Shigeyasu Yamauchi
    7.3

    7.7 · 223 votes
28. 28
    A Better Tomorrow 1986

    Directed by John Woo · Streaming on fuboTV, Kanopy, Fandango at Home Free
    7.2

    7.4 · 651 votes
29. 29
    Batman 1989

    Directed by Tim Burton · Streaming on HBO Max, Cinemax
    7.2

    7.2 · 8.9K votes
30. 30
    The Gods Must Be Crazy 1980

    Directed by Jamie Uys · Streaming on Kanopy, Plex, Plex Channel
    7.2

    7.3 · 1.4K votes
31. 31
    Beverly Hills Cop 1984

    Directed by Martin Brest · Streaming on fuboTV, Kanopy, Hoopla
    7.2

    7.2 · 4.8K votes
32. 32
    Big Trouble in Little China 1986

    Directed by John Carpenter · Streaming on Philo
    7.2

    7.2 · 3.5K votes
33. 33
    The Karate Kid 1984

    Directed by John G. Avildsen · Streaming on Netflix, YouTube TV
    7.2

    7.2 · 4.9K votes
34. 34
    Project A 1983

    Directed by Jackie Chan · Streaming on Hoopla, WeTV
    7.1

    7.3 · 601 votes
35. 35
    Saint Seiya: Warriors of the Final Holy Battle 1989

    Directed by Masayuki Akehi
    7.1

    7.4 · 266 votes
36. 36
    Godzilla vs. Biollante 1989

    Directed by Kazuki Ōmori · Streaming on HBO Max, Cinemax
    7.1

    7.3 · 321 votes
37. 37
    A Chinese Ghost Story 1987

    Directed by Tony Ching Siu-tung · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Philo, AMC Plus
    7.1

    7.3 · 356 votes
38. 38
    Rocky IV 1985

    Directed by Sylvester Stallone · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential
    7.1

    7.1 · 5K votes
39. 39
    The Professional 1981

    Directed by Georges Lautner · Streaming on Kanopy
    7.1

    7.2 · 621 votes
40. 40
    Bloodsport 1988

    Directed by Newt Arnold · Streaming on fuboTV, MGM+, Philo
    7.1

    7.1 · 2.3K votes
41. 41
    Top Gun 1986

    Directed by Tony Scott · Streaming on fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential
    7.1

    7.1 · 10K votes
42. 42
    Lethal Weapon 2 1989

    Directed by Richard Donner
    7.0

    7.1 · 3.9K votes
43. 43
    The Transformers: The Movie 1986

    Directed by Nelson Shin
    7.0

    7.2 · 654 votes
44. 44
    Escape from New York 1981

    Directed by John Carpenter · Streaming on The Roku Channel, Kanopy, Plex
    7.0

    7.0 · 3.7K votes
45. 45
    Violent Cop 1989

    Directed by Takeshi Kitano · Streaming on Kanopy, Cineverse
    7.0

    7.2 · 428 votes
46. 46
    To Live and Die in L.A. 1985

    Directed by William Friedkin · Streaming on fuboTV, MGM+, Philo
    7.0

    7.1 · 854 votes
47. 47
    Dragons Forever 1988

    Directed by Sammo Hung Kam-bo · Streaming on WeTV
    7.0

    7.2 · 326 votes
48. 48
    Police Story 2 1988

    Directed by Jackie Chan · Streaming on HBO Max, Criterion Channel, Shout! Factory
    7.0

    7.1 · 667 votes
49. 49
    The Return of Godzilla 1984

    Directed by Koji Hashimoto · Streaming on HBO Max, Criterion Channel, Cinemax
    7.0

    7.2 · 357 votes
50. 50
    Willow 1988

    Directed by Ron Howard · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Disney Plus
    7.0

    7.0 · 2.3K votes

Smart score = (votes × rating + 82 × 6.03) ÷ (votes + 82): the TMDB rating, pulled toward the catalog average as if every film had 82 extra average votes.

1. 1
   Ratas de la ciudad 1985

   Directed by Valentín Trujillo
   6.5

   8.1 · 24 votes
2. 2
   Tomorrow's Joe The Movie 1980

   Directed by Yoichiro Fukuda
   6.4

   8.4 · 16 votes
3. 3
   ThunderCats Ho! – The Movie 1987

   Directed by Katsuhito Akiyama
   6.5

   7.8 · 27 votes
4. 4
   Pistoleros famosos 1981

   Directed by José Loza
   6.5

   7.6 · 31 votes
5. 5
   Robotech: The Movie 1986

   Directed by Noboru Ishiguro
   6.4

   7.8 · 24 votes
6. 6
   Doctor Who: The Five Doctors 1983

   Directed by Peter Moffatt
   6.4

   7.8 · 22 votes
7. 7
   Apoorva Sagodharargal 1989

   Directed by Singeetham Srinivasa Rao
   6.4

   7.6 · 28 votes
8. 8
   Tomorrow's Joe 2: The Movie 1981

   Directed by Osamu Dezaki
   6.4

   7.7 · 21 votes
9. 9
   Space Runaway Ideon: Be Invoked 1982

   Directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino
   6.3

   7.9 · 16 votes
10. 10
    The Feathered Coyote 1983

    Directed by María Elena Velasco · Streaming on fuboTV
    6.3

    7.7 · 19 votes