The best sci-fi movies of the 1980s
The top 3 according to 37 votes from people: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) · The Empire Strikes Back (1980) · The Terminator (1984). (Updated Dec 2, 2024.)
Blade Runner, Back to the Future and Aliens: the decade that defined modern science fiction (GamesRadar+, Looper, Collider).
Top 12
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1
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
A lonely boy and a friendly alien.
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2
The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
The pinnacle of the original trilogy.
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3
The Terminator (1984)
James Cameron's relentless machine from the future.
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4
Aliens (1986)
Ripley against the Queen.
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5
RoboCop (1987)
Paul Verhoeven's satirical cyborg cop.
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6
Brazil (1985)
Terry Gilliam's bureaucratic nightmare.
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7
The Fly (1986)
David Cronenberg and Jeff Goldblum's transformation.
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8
Blade Runner (1982)
A haunting, noir take on a dystopian future.
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9
The Thing (1982)
John Carpenter, Antarctica and paranoia.
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10
Akira (1988)
Katsuhiro Otomo's Neo-Tokyo.
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11
Back to the Future (1985)
A DeLorean, Doc Brown and the definition of 80s sci-fi.
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12
Escape from New York (1981)
Snake Plissken in a Manhattan prison.
How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.
Is something missing?
Comments (1)
Blade Runner at #1, the look of that film still hasn't been beaten.