Your move, creep

[Dowdsy McDowds]

So, I made a thread about action films from the 90s, now its time for the 80s.

To make it a bit tougher (and because I'm quite tired), I'm gonna narrow the choices down to 5, though if you want to do more that's fine.

RoboCop
I mentioned Verhoeven's Starship Troopers in the previous installment but RoboCop is my favourite film of his. I loved the TV cut when I was younger and even have a soft spot for the 3rd film due to the final fight where Murphy gets a jet-pack and battles the punks in the street.
Seeing the director's cut for the first time was like seeing the film again; Murphy's death scene is insane and oddly comical as one villain asks how is he still alive after being shot to pieces by shotguns at close range, another villain melting after having toxic waste spilled on him, Bob Morton's torture scene is also quite drawn out.
Verhoeven's dystopian vision is brought to life in the world of RoboCop as a violent, scary, laughably baffling one, but hugely entertaining all the same.

Ran
Sticking with the R's, Akira Kurosawa's 1985 masterpiece Ran is one of the finest Asian films ever made. Though it was made in the twilight of Kurosawa's career, it is amongst his very best films as he uses the colour coordination that would later be used to stunning effect in Hero and House of Flying Daggers (to a degree).
Kurosawa had remade Macbeth many years before as Throne of Blood (fantastic by the way) and Ran was his re-interpretation of King Lear.

The Terminator
I am a sucker for model work, and it was used brilliantly in the first of the franchise. Kyle Reese's flashbacks(forwards?) to his time in the war total less than a few minutes in their totality, yet it is these glimpses that help give a sense of urgency to the narrative for the world that Sarah Connor has to help prevent from happening.
The pacing of the film is one of its key strengths as it keeps building the stories even while the characters are on the run, with Reese telling Sarah what it was like growing up while out-running and out-gunning a killing machine. Fantastic stuff.

Aliens
My favourite film from the Alien franchise due to the shift from claustrophobic stalker horror film to all-guns blazing "FUCK SHIT UP MAN!" film... and the fact it works. Ripley's arc from Alien to Aliens is great, as she goes from seemingly unlikely survivor in the first to grizzled can't-be-fucked-with matriarch in the second.
Oh yeh, and it has one of THE best lines from any action film

Flash Gordon
A childhood favourite of mine and one of those films that if I'm flipping channels and find it, can find it very hard to keep moving through the channels. The bright costumes, amazing sky effects, Brian Blessed and his bird-men, that turntable battle-rink with the spikes and Flash.... AAAAHHHHH!, all tie in to this being an absolute joy to watch.

 

[Mustang Sally]

RoboCop

The overall sadness of the first movie is what made it memorable.....and unique. When you think of it, the film dealt with what it's like to be buried alive: where you wake up and find yourself in a coffin that's already six feet underground. In this movie, however, there's even more going on than that because Murphy is being compelled to follow his programming and protect the citizenry, even as he is discovering his own true identity and trying to come to grips with it. Of course, he's trapped mentally and physically by the knowledge that whatever peace he makes within, he can never walk among humans as he did before his death. It was sad and strange.

Compared to the first movie, the second and third were essentially plain old action movies, without the "heart" showed in the first. The plots of II and III were decent enough, but the sense of compassion contained in the first was missing, leaving them as simple blood n' guts movies: that is, a lot of blood and a hell of a lot of guts. Ugh.

I kind of enjoyed the first installment, although the violence of all three movies was so nauseating as to make me want to see them once.....and never again.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Rambo III- Yeah, and odd choice, I know.

I've always enjoyed Rambo III more than the other films in the franchise. First Blood is full of action, Part II usually bores me, and the 2008 version was so unnecessary. Rambo III features some highly entertaining scenes, and I really enjoy the story for this one. It's something different, because at the beginning, John Rambo is a changed man. He's become a peaceful man, who wants to finish building a Buddhist temple....but of course Rambo turns into a killing machine again, after Colonel Trautman's kidnapping. And for fans of the Rambo franchise, you'll still see some familiar Rambo traits. Good action, Stallone is still believable as an unstoppable ass-kicker, and Richard Crenna is still sharp as Colonel Trautman. Rambo III feels refreshing, and it's a fun action film. Oh, and I've always loved this scene:

[YOUTUBE]UIVFcpi_Sjk[/YOUTUBE]

Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior- The Empire Strikes Back, Aliens, and Evil Dead 2.

The Road Warrior joins a select list of sequels, that are considered to be better than the original. I'll vouch for Aliens and The Empire Strikes Back....but I can't do the same for The Road Warrior. It's a damn good post-apocalyptic action flick, but Mad Max was a violent thrill ride, and the stunts are amazing. The Road Warrior is a good sequel, but I can't put it over Mad Max.

Still, The Road Warrior is an excellent film. The action scenes are full of energy, the quick pacing throughout this film helps everything flow better, and you get to see more of Mel Gibson as a bad-ass here. Mad Max films have become lost gems in the post-apocalyptic genre, and these films will continue to receive the cold-shoulder treatment, because Mel Gibson was the star.

Aliens- Shouldn't be surprised by this pick.

I've said all I can say about Aliens in another thread, and words can't express how much I love this film. Aliens features more intense action, spectacular visuals, James Horner's marvelous scores, a more entertaining supporting cast, and Sigourney Weaver delivers a great performance here.

Predator- A unique entry in the sci-fi/action genre.

Predator has gained a tremendous cult following over the years, and this is one of those movies I can watch over and over again. In fact, I can't count the number of times I've seen Predator. I think it's well over 30 something by now. Anyway, Predator is a brutal and violent sci-fi/action film. The disgusting and graphic gore can bring plenty of "holy shit!" reactions out of anyone, and Predator has to be one of the most quotable films ever ("GET TO THE CHOPPER!!!" or "I ain't got time to bleed..."). The entire cast had the perfect look, and everyone man fits the role of a convincing tough guy (including that sneaky Carl Weathers).

The Terminator- Well, Dowds narrowed it down to five this time, so I can't include Commando, and I can't snub The Terminator. I just can't, sorry Die Hard.

Arnold really brought life to the persona of a cold-blooded killing machine, and Schwarzenegger is the true highlight of this one. The Terminator can be a chilling and dark action/sci-fi flick, the tension is just great, and this film features characters you can care about. The cast is excellent, and The Terminator is one of the true action/sci-fi classics.

 

[GrandSword]

The movies listed in this thread have to be some of my all time favourites. I agree with all of them. Terminator, Aliens, Mad Max 2, Evil Dead 2, Empire Strikes Back, Predator, even Flash Gordon is just a lot of fun. haha.. Die Hard though has to be up there also somehow. Really unsure how you can pin it down to just five.

Mustang Sally I must say taht you are spot on about the first Robocop, and your expalnation about its sequals not having any heart are sort of how I look at Rambo 3. Rambo 3 is a great action film and a heap of fun, but it misses the heart of the original, where John Rambo is a broken man who returns home to realise that it and himself have changed so much that he isn't wanted there and he no longer belongs.

I could go on, but I'm just rambling and getting off topic... but I think the heart of certain movies is what drives it to be really strong films and make them more than just guts and bullets. Same can be said for the Die hard sequels etc.

The top action movie of the 80's or any decade, or of any genre.. for me though has to be Raiders of the Lost Ark. For me it has it all, a great hero, amazing villains, a great macguffin, great scenery, a fantastic story and some of the most memorable (action) sequences in movie history. Indy navigates around traps before stealing the golden idol, the giant boulder that looks to trap him in the temple forever, Indy's escape from the Well of the Souls, the fight underneath the plane, Indy going under the truck to retake the Ark, the ending sequence with the "power of God", just amazing stuff!

Another not mentioned is of course Blade Runner, Ridley Scott's masterpeice in every sense of the word. What an amazing film and one that even with today's technoclogy just doesn't seem to be equalled even by Scott himself!