What is the best sci-fi movie of the 1980s?

The 1980s produced a golden age of science fiction — from dark dystopian visions to blockbuster crowd-pleasers that still hold up today. Which is the decade's finest?

1. 1
   The Terminator

   James Cameron's 1984 low-budget sci-fi breakthrough about a cyborg assassin sent from the future to kill a woman whose son will save humanity.
   1000pts

   BE
2. 2
   Back to the Future

   Robert Zemeckis's 1985 timelessly fun adventure about a teenager accidentally sent back to 1955 in a scientist's DeLorean time machine.
   555pts
3. 3
   Aliens

   James Cameron's 1986 superb action-horror sequel expanding the Alien universe with pulse-pounding colonial marine combat.
   555pts
4. 4
   The Empire Strikes Back

   Irvin Kershner's 1980 celebrated Star Wars sequel widely regarded as the high point of the franchise with the iconic Vader revelation.
   333pts
5. 5
   Blade Runner

   Ridley Scott's 1982 neo-noir sci-fi masterpiece set in a dystopian 2019 Los Angeles where a cop hunts rogue androids.
   333pts
6. 6
   RoboCop

   Paul Verhoeven's 1987 satirical sci-fi action film about a murdered Detroit cop resurrected as a crime-fighting cyborg.
   333pts
7. 7
   Tron

   Steven Lisberger's 1982 groundbreaking Disney sci-fi about a programmer transported into a digital computer world.
   333pts
8. 8
   Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

   Nicholas Meyer's 1982 acclaimed Star Trek film featuring a personal vendetta between Admiral Kirk and the genetically enhanced Khan.
   1pts
9. 9
   E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

   Steven Spielberg's 1982 beloved family sci-fi about a lonely boy who befriends a gentle alien stranded on Earth.
   1pts
10. 10
    The Thing

    John Carpenter's 1982 ice-cold paranoia sci-fi horror about a shape-shifting extraterrestrial infiltrating an Antarctic research station.
    1pts
11. 11
    Akira

    Katsuhiro Otomo's 1988 landmark Japanese animated cyberpunk epic set in a dystopian neo-Tokyo wracked by psychic powers.
    1pts
12. 12
    Total Recall

    Paul Verhoeven's 1990 Arnold Schwarzenegger sci-fi actioner about a man who discovers his memories of Mars may be real.
    1pts
13. 13
    Videodrome

    David Cronenberg's 1983 unsettling body horror about a cable TV programmer who stumbles upon a broadcast signal that blurs reality and flesh.
    1pts