March Movie MADNESS: 80's Action

by ranksfornothin | created - 31 Mar 2023 | updated - 31 Mar 2023 | Public

Episode 270. Out now wherever podcasts are available.

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1. Predator (1987)

R | 107 min | Action, Adventure, Horror

47 Metascore

A team of commandos on a mission in a Central American jungle find themselves hunted by an extraterrestrial warrior.

Director: John McTiernan | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Kevin Peter Hall, Elpidia Carrillo

Votes: 455,264 | Gross: $59.74M

2. Aliens (1986)

R | 137 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

84 Metascore

Decades 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.

Director: James Cameron | Stars: Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, Carrie Henn, Paul Reiser

Votes: 763,601 | Gross: $85.16M

3. Batman (1989)

PG-13 | 126 min | Action, Adventure

69 Metascore

The Dark Knight of Gotham City begins his war on crime with his first major enemy being Jack Napier, a criminal who becomes the clownishly homicidal Joker.

Director: Tim Burton | Stars: Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl

Votes: 404,472 | Gross: $251.19M

4. RoboCop (1987)

R | 102 min | Action, Crime, Sci-Fi

70 Metascore

In a dystopic and crime-ridden Detroit, a terminally wounded cop returns to the force as a powerful cyborg haunted by submerged memories.

Director: Paul Verhoeven | Stars: Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Dan O'Herlihy, Ronny Cox

Votes: 283,341 | Gross: $53.42M

5. They Live (1988)

R | 94 min | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi

55 Metascore

They 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.

Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Roddy Piper, Keith David, Meg Foster, George 'Buck' Flower

Votes: 145,638 | Gross: $13.01M

6. Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)

PG-13 | 107 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

71 Metascore

After being exiled from the most advanced town in post apocalyptic Australia, a drifter travels with a group of abandoned children to rebel against the town's queen.

Directors: George Miller, George Ogilvie | Stars: Mel Gibson, Tina Turner, Bruce Spence, Adam Cockburn

Votes: 147,796 | Gross: $36.20M

7. Bloodsport (1988)

R | 92 min | Action, Biography, Drama

29 Metascore

"Bloodsport" follows Frank Dux, an American martial artist serving in the military, who decides to leave the army to compete in a martial arts tournament in Hong Kong where fights to the death can occur.

Director: Newt Arnold | Stars: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Donald Gibb, Leah Ayres, Norman Burton

Votes: 94,068 | Gross: $11.81M

8. Die Hard (1988)

R | 132 min | Action, Thriller

72 Metascore

A 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.

Director: John McTiernan | Stars: Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Bonnie Bedelia, Reginald VelJohnson

Votes: 946,131 | Gross: $83.01M

9. Over the Top (1987)

PG | 93 min | Action, Drama, Sport

40 Metascore

Tough trucker Lincoln Hawk is determined to win back his son and triumph at the world arm wrestling championships.

Director: Menahem Golan | Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Robert Loggia, Susan Blakely, Rick Zumwalt

Votes: 59,435 | Gross: $16.06M

10. Tango & Cash (1989)

R | 104 min | Action, Comedy, Crime

41 Metascore

Framed 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.

Directors: Andrey Konchalovskiy, Albert Magnoli | Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Kurt Russell, Teri Hatcher, Jack Palance

Votes: 113,653 | Gross: $63.41M

11. Kickboxer (1989)

R | 97 min | Action, Sport, Thriller

33 Metascore

Kurt Sloane must learn the ancient kick boxing art of Muay Thai in order to avenge his brother.

Directors: Mark DiSalle, David Worth | Stars: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dennis Alexio, Dennis Chan, Michel Qissi

Votes: 60,913 | Gross: $14.70M

12. The Last Dragon (1985)

PG-13 | 109 min | Action, Comedy, Drama

58 Metascore

In New York City, a young man searches for a Master to obtain the final level of martial arts mastery known as the Glow.

Director: Michael Schultz | Stars: Taimak, Vanity, Christopher Murney, Julius Carry

Votes: 17,497 | Gross: $25.75M

13. The Running Man (1987)

R | 101 min | Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller

45 Metascore

In 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.

Director: Paul Michael Glaser | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Maria Conchita Alonso, Yaphet Kotto, Jim Brown

Votes: 167,845 | Gross: $38.12M

14. Lethal Weapon 2 (1989)

R | 114 min | Action, Crime, Thriller

70 Metascore

Riggs and Murtaugh are on the trail of South African diplomats who are using their immunity to engage in criminal activities.

Director: Richard Donner | Stars: Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Joe Pesci, Patsy Kensit

Votes: 188,942 | Gross: $147.25M

15. American Ninja (1985)

R | 95 min | Action, Adventure, Romance

20 Metascore

American soldier, obviously very skilled in martial arts, single-handedly takes on mercenaries in the Philippines.

Director: Sam Firstenberg | Stars: Michael Dudikoff, Steve James, Judie Aronson, Guich Koock

Votes: 16,745 | Gross: $10.50M

16. Road House (1989)

R | 114 min | Action, Thriller

36 Metascore

A bouncer hired to clean up the baddest honkytonk in a Missouri town. Armed with a black belt in karate and a degree in philosophy, Patrick Swayze sets out to tame the Double Deuce for its owner.

Director: Rowdy Herrington | Stars: Patrick Swayze, Kelly Lynch, Sam Elliott, Ben Gazzara

Votes: 101,157 | Gross: $30.05M

17. Above the Law (1988)

R | 99 min | Action, Crime, Drama

45 Metascore

A former Special Operations Vietnam vet works as a Chicago cop, and uncovers C.I.A. wrongdoing.

Director: Andrew Davis | Stars: Steven Seagal, Pam Grier, Henry Silva, Ron Dean

Votes: 34,628 | Gross: $18.87M

18. The Karate Kid Part II (1986)

PG | 113 min | Action, Family, Sport

55 Metascore

Daniel accompanies his mentor, Mr. Miyagi, to Miyagi's childhood home in Okinawa. Miyagi visits his dying father and confronts his old rival, while Daniel falls in love and inadvertently makes a new rival of his own.

Director: John G. Avildsen | Stars: Pat Morita, Ralph Macchio, Pat E. Johnson, Bruce Malmuth

Votes: 98,939 | Gross: $115.10M

19. Red Heat (1988)

R | 104 min | Action, Comedy, Crime

61 Metascore

A 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.

Director: Walter Hill | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jim Belushi, Peter Boyle, Ed O'Ross

Votes: 76,105 | Gross: $34.99M

20. Rambo III (1988)

R | 102 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller

36 Metascore

Rambo mounts a one-man mission to rescue his friend Colonel Trautman from the clutches of the formidable invading Soviet forces in Afghanistan.

Director: Peter MacDonald | Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Richard Crenna, Marc de Jonge, Kurtwood Smith

Votes: 140,258 | Gross: $53.72M

21. Best of the Best (1989)

PG-13 | 97 min | Action, Drama, Sport

26 Metascore

A team from the United States is going to compete against Korea in a Tae Kwon Do tournament. The team consists of fighters from all over the country - can they overcome their rivalry and work together to win?

Director: Robert Radler | Stars: Eric Roberts, James Earl Jones, Sally Kirkland, Phillip Rhee

Votes: 15,275 | Gross: $1.70M

22. Conan the Barbarian (1982)

R | 129 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy

43 Metascore

A powerful warrior seeks to avenge the genocide of his people and the murder of his parents at the hands of a snake cult.

Director: John Milius | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, James Earl Jones, Max von Sydow, Sandahl Bergman

Votes: 162,596 | Gross: $39.57M

23. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)

PG | 118 min | Action, Adventure

57 Metascore

In 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.

Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Harrison Ford, Kate Capshaw, Ke Huy Quan, Amrish Puri

Votes: 535,527 | Gross: $179.87M

24. 48 Hrs. (1982)

R | 96 min | Action, Comedy, Crime

71 Metascore

A hard-nosed cop reluctantly teams up with a wise-cracking criminal temporarily paroled to him in order to track down a killer.

Director: Walter Hill | Stars: Nick Nolte, Eddie Murphy, Annette O'Toole, Frank McRae

Votes: 85,339 | Gross: $78.87M

25. Top Gun (1986)

PG | 109 min | Action, Drama

50 Metascore

As students at the United States Navy's elite fighter weapons school compete to be best in the class, one daring young pilot learns a few things from a civilian instructor that are not taught in the classroom.

Director: Tony Scott | Stars: Tom Cruise, Tim Robbins, Kelly McGillis, Val Kilmer

Votes: 503,007 | Gross: $179.80M

26. Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

R | 105 min | Action, Comedy, Crime

66 Metascore

A freewheeling Detroit cop pursuing a murder investigation finds himself dealing with the very different culture of Beverly Hills.

Director: Martin Brest | Stars: Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Lisa Eilbacher

Votes: 203,501 | Gross: $234.76M

27. Red Dawn (1984)

PG-13 | 114 min | Action, Drama, Thriller

53 Metascore

It is the dawn of World War III. In the west mountains of America, a group of teenagers band together to defend their town, and their country, from invading Soviet forces.

Director: John Milius | Stars: Patrick Swayze, C. Thomas Howell, Lea Thompson, Charlie Sheen

Votes: 63,137 | Gross: $38.38M

28. The Terminator (1984)

R | 107 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

84 Metascore

A 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.

Director: James Cameron | Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Michael Biehn, Paul Winfield

Votes: 924,797 | Gross: $38.40M

29. Big Trouble in Little China (1986)

PG-13 | 99 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy

53 Metascore

A rough-and-tumble trucker and his side kick face off with an ancient sorcerer in a supernatural battle beneath Chinatown.

Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Kurt Russell, Kim Cattrall, Dennis Dun, James Hong

Votes: 154,113 | Gross: $11.10M

30. Superman II (1980)

PG | 127 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

83 Metascore

Superman agrees to sacrifice his powers to start a relationship with Lois Lane, unaware that three Kryptonian criminals he inadvertently released are conquering Earth.

Director: Richard Lester | Stars: Gene Hackman, Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Ned Beatty

Votes: 114,676 | Gross: $108.19M

31. Escape from New York (1981)

R | 99 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

76 Metascore

In 1997, when the U.S. president crashes into Manhattan, now a giant maximum security prison, a convicted bank robber is sent in to rescue him.

Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine, Donald Pleasence

Votes: 157,629 | Gross: $25.24M

32. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

PG | 124 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy

82 Metascore

After the Rebel Alliance are overpowered by the Empire, Luke Skywalker begins his Jedi training with Yoda, while his friends are pursued across the galaxy by Darth Vader and bounty hunter Boba Fett.

Director: Irvin Kershner | Stars: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams

Votes: 1,380,744 | Gross: $290.48M



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