Favorite Action Movies of the 1980s
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- DirectorJohn McTiernanStarsBruce WillisAlan RickmanBonnie BedeliaA New York City police officer tries to save his estranged wife and several others taken hostage by terrorists during a Christmas party at the Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles.
- DirectorRichard DonnerStarsMel GibsonDanny GloverGary BuseyTwo newly paired cops who are complete opposites must put aside their differences in order to catch a gang of drug smugglers.
- DirectorRichard DonnerStarsMel GibsonDanny GloverJoe PesciRiggs and Murtaugh are on the trail of South African diplomats who are using their immunity to engage in criminal activities.
- DirectorWalter HillStarsNick NolteEddie MurphyAnnette O'TooleA hard-nosed cop reluctantly teams up with a wise-cracking criminal temporarily paroled to him in order to track down a killer.
- DirectorJohn McTiernanStarsArnold SchwarzeneggerCarl WeathersKevin Peter HallA team of commandos on a mission in a Central American jungle find themselves hunted by an extraterrestrial warrior.
- DirectorJames CameronStarsArnold SchwarzeneggerLinda HamiltonMichael BiehnA human soldier is sent from 2029 to 1984 to stop an almost indestructible cyborg killing machine, sent from the same year, which has been programmed to execute a young woman whose unborn son is the key to humanity's future salvation.
- DirectorMark L. LesterStarsArnold SchwarzeneggerRae Dawn ChongDan HedayaA retired Special Forces colonel tries to save his daughter, who was abducted by his former subordinate.
- DirectorPaul Michael GlaserStarsArnold SchwarzeneggerMaria Conchita AlonsoYaphet KottoIn a dystopian America, a falsely convicted policeman gets his shot at freedom when he must forcibly participate in a TV game show where convicts, runners, must battle killers for their freedom.
- DirectorMartin BrestStarsEddie MurphyJudge ReinholdJohn AshtonA freewheeling Detroit cop pursuing a murder investigation finds himself dealing with the very different culture of Beverly Hills.
- DirectorTony ScottStarsEddie MurphyJudge ReinholdJürgen ProchnowAxel Foley returns to Beverly Hills to help Taggart and Rosewood investigate Chief Bogomil's near-fatal shooting and the series of "alphabet crimes" associated with it.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsHarrison FordKaren AllenPaul FreemanIn 1936, archaeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones is hired by the U.S. government to find the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis can obtain its awesome powers.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsHarrison FordKate CapshawKe Huy QuanIn 1935, Indiana Jones is tasked by Indian villagers with reclaiming a rock stolen from them by a secret cult beneath the catacombs of an ancient palace.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsHarrison FordSean ConneryAlison DoodyIn 1938, after his father goes missing while pursuing the Holy Grail, Indiana Jones finds himself up against the Nazis again to stop them from obtaining its powers.
- DirectorJohn GlenStarsTimothy DaltonMaryam d'AboJeroen KrabbéJames Bond is sent to investigate a KGB policy to kill all enemy spies, and uncovers an arms deal that potentially has major global ramifications.
- DirectorJohn GlenStarsTimothy DaltonRobert DaviCarey LowellA vengeful James Bond goes rogue to infiltrate and take down the organization of a drug lord who has murdered his friend's new wife and left him near death.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsMichael DouglasAndy GarciaKen TakakuraTwo NYC cops arrest a Yakuza member and must escort him when he's extradited to Japan.
- DirectorGeorge P. CosmatosStarsSylvester StalloneBrigitte NielsenReni SantoniA tough-on-crime street cop must protect the only surviving witness to a strange murderous cult with far-reaching plans.
- DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsRoddy PiperKeith DavidMeg FosterThey influence our decisions without us knowing it. They numb our senses without us feeling it. They control our lives without us realizing it. They live.
- DirectorHarley CokelissStarsBurt ReynoldsCliff RobertsonKenneth McMillanAn ex-C.I.A. hit man running from his past finds just how difficult it is to retire when he runs across a small town controlled by mercenaries and a family that's resisting their control.
- DirectorDick RichardsJerry JamesonStarsBurt ReynoldsKaren YoungPeter MacNicolLas Vegas is the backdrop for all the torrid action of heat, as Burt Reynolds plays the soft-hearted bodyguard who's out to protect his friends.
- DirectorPeter HyamsStarsGregory HinesBilly CrystalSteven BauerTwo street-wise Chicago cops have to shake off some rust after returning from a Key West vacation to pursue a drug dealer who nearly killed them in the past.
- DirectorTed KotcheffStarsSylvester StalloneBrian DennehyRichard CrennaA veteran Green Beret is forced by a cruel Sheriff and his deputies to flee into the mountains and wage an escalating one-man war against his pursuers.
- DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsKurt RussellKim CattrallDennis DunA rough-and-tumble trucker and his side kick face off with an ancient sorcerer in a supernatural battle beneath Chinatown.
- DirectorBruce MalmuthGary NelsonStarsSylvester StalloneRutger HauerBilly Dee WilliamsWhen one of Europe's most lethal terrorists shows up in New York, an elite undercover cop is assigned to take him down by any means necessary.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodSondra LockePat HingleWhen a woman exacts deadly revenge on the aggressors who raped her and her sister ten years earlier, Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan is assigned to the case.
- DirectorBuddy Van HornStarsClint EastwoodLiam NeesonPatricia ClarksonInspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan must stop a sick secret contest to murder various San Francisco celebrities, with himself being one of the targets.
- DirectorRichard TuggleClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodGeneviève BujoldDan HedayaNew Orleans single dad and cop Wes Block goes after a serial rapist-killer, but when he gets too close the hunter suddenly becomes the hunted.
- DirectorWalter HillStarsArnold SchwarzeneggerJim BelushiPeter BoyleA tough Russian policeman is forced to partner up with a cocky Chicago police detective when he is sent to Chicago to apprehend a Georgian drug lord who killed his partner and fled the country.
- DirectorAndrey KonchalovskiyAlbert MagnoliStarsSylvester StalloneKurt RussellTeri HatcherFramed by their ruthless arch-nemesis, a pair of mismatched LAPD officers must put their differences aside to get even with the brutal crime baron who sent them to rot in a maximum-security prison.
- DirectorPaul VerhoevenStarsPeter WellerNancy AllenDan O'HerlihyIn a dystopic and crime-ridden Detroit, a terminally wounded cop returns to the force as a powerful cyborg haunted by submerged memories.
- DirectorGeorge P. CosmatosStarsSylvester StalloneRichard CrennaCharles NapierRambo returns to the jungles of Vietnam on a mission to infiltrate an enemy base-camp and rescue the American POWs still held captive there.
- DirectorPeter MacDonaldStarsSylvester StalloneRichard CrennaMarc de JongeRambo mounts a one-man mission to rescue his friend Colonel Trautman from the clutches of the formidable invading Soviet forces in Afghanistan.
- DirectorGeorge MillerStarsMel GibsonBruce SpenceMichael PrestonIn the post-apocalyptic Australian wasteland, a cynical drifter agrees to help a small, gasoline-rich community to get rid of a horde of bandits.
- DirectorMartin BrestStarsRobert De NiroCharles GrodinYaphet KottoA bounty hunter pursues a former Mafia accountant who is also being chased by a rival bounty hunter, the F.B.I., and his old mob boss after jumping bail.
- DirectorJohn FlynnStarsJames WoodsBrian DennehyVictoria TennantA hitman approaches a writer to help him create his next best seller, but the violent world he was a part of has other plans.
- DirectorJames B. HarrisStarsJames WoodsLesley Ann WarrenCharles DurningAn obsessive, insubordinate homicide cop is convinced a serial killer is loose in the Hollywood area and disobeys orders in order to catch him.
- DirectorDennis HopperStarsSean PennRobert DuvallMaria Conchita AlonsoAn experienced cop and his rookie partner patrol the streets of East Los Angeles while trying to keep the gang violence under control.
- DirectorBurt ReynoldsStarsBurt ReynoldsCandice BergenGeorge SegalReleased from prison, Stick meets up with a friend and joins him on a job delivering a bag. His friend gets killed in the setup. Stick gets away and is ready to forget all and see his daughter, but they won't forget.
- DirectorBurt ReynoldsStarsBurt ReynoldsRachel WardVittorio GassmanTom Sharky is demoted to vice after a bust goes terribly wrong. He and his team stumble across a mob murder tied to prostitution and government.
- DirectorMichael CiminoStarsMickey RourkeJohn LoneArianeA police detective cracks down on organized crime in Chinatown after the murders of Triad and Mafia leaders.
- DirectorJohn FrankenheimerStarsDon JohnsonPenelope Ann MillerWilliam ForsytheA man kills a storekeeper and a cop. LASD homicide detective Jerry Beck gets the case. His murder suspect is connected to a heavily armed white supremacy group.
- DirectorJackie ChanChi-Hwa ChenStarsJackie ChanMaggie CheungBrigitte LinA virtuous Hong Kong Police Officer must clear his good name when the drug lord he is after frames him for the murder of a dirty cop.
- DirectorJackie ChanStarsJackie ChanMaggie CheungKwok-Hung LamThe Hong Kong supercop must stop a group of blackmailing bombers, while the villains of Police Story (1985) are out for revenge.
- DirectorJames CameronStarsSigourney WeaverMichael BiehnCarrie HennDecades after surviving the Nostromo incident, Ellen Ripley is sent out to re-establish contact with a terraforming colony but finds herself battling the Alien Queen and her offspring.
- DirectorWilliam FriedkinStarsWilliam PetersenWillem DafoeJane LeevesA fearless Secret Service agent will stop at nothing to bring down the counterfeiter who killed his partner.
- DirectorTom HollandStarsWhoopi GoldbergSam ElliottRubén BladesRita is a tough narc cop with a wig for every occasion. Outside a drug heist scene with several bodies and a hardly cut fatal drug, Fatal Beauty, she finds a Kroll Construction van with a dead Kroll employee in it. Who is Kroll?
- DirectorAndrew DavisStarsChuck NorrisHenry SilvaBert RemsenA Chicago cop is caught in the middle of a gang war while his own comrades shun him because he wants to take down an irresponsible cop.