The best action movies of the 1980s
The top 3 according to 271 votes from people: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) · Die Hard (1988) · The Terminator (1984). (Updated Mar 10, 2025.)
Die Hard, The Terminator and Predator: the golden age of action cinema (Looper, GamesRadar+, Stacker).
Top 12
-
1
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Indiana Jones' first and greatest adventure.
-
2
Die Hard (1988)
John McTiernan's perfect action movie.
-
3
The Terminator (1984)
One of the best action movies of all time.
-
4
Aliens (1986)
James Cameron turns horror into war.
-
5
Predator (1987)
Schwarzenegger's commandos against an alien hunter in the jungle.
-
6
First Blood (1982)
Rambo's first, and best, outing.
-
7
Lethal Weapon (1987)
Mel Gibson and Danny Glover define the buddy cop film.
-
8
Bloodsport (1988)
The film that made Jean-Claude Van Damme a star.
-
9
Police Story (1985)
Jackie Chan's shopping mall finale.
-
10
The Killer (1989)
John Woo's heroic bloodshed with Chow Yun-fat.
-
11
Mad Max 2 (1981)
The Road Warrior, a dystopian classic.
-
12
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
Indy and his father, on par with Raiders for many fans.
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)
Die Hard is the best action movie ever and also the best Christmas movie ever.