What are the best action movies of the 1980s?

From muscle-bound icons to slick cops and cyborg killers, the decade delivered a relentless parade of adrenaline-fueled classics. Which one reigns supreme?

1

Die Hard

Bruce Willis plays a cop trapped in a skyscraper taken over by terrorists on Christmas Eve.

2

The Terminator

A cyborg assassin is sent back in time to kill a woman whose son will lead the human resistance.

3

RoboCop

A slain police officer is resurrected as a cyborg law enforcer in a crime-ridden future Detroit.

4

Predator

An elite military team is hunted in a jungle by an alien creature with advanced camouflage technology.

5

Lethal Weapon

A suicidal detective and a by-the-book cop become partners to take down a drug trafficking ring.

6

First Blood

Vietnam veteran John Rambo is pushed to his limits by a small-town sheriff and wages a one-man war.

7

Raiders of the Lost Ark

Archaeologist Indiana Jones races to find the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis can weaponize it.

8

Top Gun

A hotshot Navy pilot competes at the elite fighter weapons school while falling for his instructor.

9

Aliens

Ellen Ripley returns to the alien planet with a unit of marines to face a terrifying colonial infestation.

10

Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior

In a post-apocalyptic wasteland, Max helps a group of settlers defend their oil refinery from a brutal gang.

11

Beverly Hills Cop

A street-smart Detroit detective goes undercover in Beverly Hills to solve his friend's murder.

12

Commando

A retired Special Forces operative is forced back into action when his daughter is kidnapped.

13

Total Recall

A construction worker discovers his memories are implants and that he may be a secret agent on Mars.

14

Escape from New York

Snake Plissken must rescue the U.S. President from Manhattan, which has been turned into a maximum-security prison.

15

The Running Man

A wrongly convicted man must survive a deadly televised game show where the penalty for losing is death.