Related
The 1980s were an earned run average where absurdaction moviesreigned supreme , and search back , there are spate of movies that get wilder with every rewatch . From over - the - top releases from major stars likeArnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stalloneto less well - known type B - movie triumphs , there are so many bizarre and off - the - wall movies from this time to look back on fondly . While not all these films were box office tally at the time , with the world power of hindsight , it ’s clear they had a circle to offer up .
Some of the bestaction movie of the 1980swere totally absurd , as this was a ten that embraced the outrageous potency of over - the - top criminal offence stories . These admit rage classics that never fully get their due as well asall - time great moviesthat have achieved a exceptional variety of reverence within mainstream popular culture . This was a decade of pure military action - packed spectacle , and it ’s incredibly enjoyable to revisit these idiotic release .
10Gymkata (1985)
Directed by Robert Clouse
Your Rating
Your remark has not been saved
Cast
Gymkatawas truly one of the most preposterous martial nontextual matter natural action movies ever made . With former Olympian Kurt Thomas in the starring part , this exorbitant story see an American athlete traveling to take part in a contender not won by a outlander for 900 years . As a picture widely deride at the time of its release for its dubious assumption , pitiable output quality , and strange foreign setting , looking back , it ’s clear why Thomas ’s wild affair in a lethal competition in the fictional body politic of Parmistan has become a cult classic .
With Thomas receiving a Razzie nomination for bad Actor , Gymkatadefinitely fall into the class of a so - unsound - it’s - good movie . Gymkataboasted a unique common sense of humour that appear mostly knowing , as its truly outlandish premise lends itself to several outrageous situations . While Thomas ’s moving picture career floundered after the failure of this motion picture , Gymkataremains a cult classic for fans of ridiculous movies .
9Deadly Prey (1987)
Directed by David A. Prior
The assumption ofDeadly Preyalone was enough to categorise it as one of the most absurd activeness pic of the 1980s . Telling the story of a grouping of sadistic mercenary who kidnap free people off the street and fix them loose in their surreptitious cantonment , their finish was to train student to learn how to cut across down and kill their unsuspecting quarry . However , these mercenaries bite off more than they can manducate when they accidentally abduct a Vietnam stager who start to pick off the troop one by one .
As just one of many filmsinspired by Richard Connell ’s little chronicle “ The Most Dangerous Game,”Deadly Preyborrowed the gist detail from the story and imbued it with all the frenetic energy of the most exorbitant 1980s action tropes and cliches . While it ’s gentle to dismissDeadly Preyas a campy , disposable boron - movie , the sheer ridiculousness of its action - packed narrative made for wildly entertaining viewing .
8Hard Ticket To Hawaii (1987)
Directed by Andy Sidaris
The cult classicHard Ticket to Hawaiiwas a tight - paced action picture show that was packed with one laughable episode after another . pack with over - the - top violence and sight of unplanned humor , this story of an undercover DEA federal agent stumbling upon a drug trafficking operation while vacationing in Hawaii was a prime exercise of fun - filled , low - budget carnage . While you ’d be forgive for cerebrate the film ’s primary end was to give as much screentime as possible to the distaff co - stars Dona Speir and Hope Marie Carlton in scantily clad clothing , there was also plenty of opportunity for chintzy dialogue throughout .
toilsome Ticket to Hawaiiis the staring picture show to put on with a crowd of protagonist to hoot and holler at the sheer absurdity of it all . With an exotic fix , corny dialogue , and plenty of eye confect , backbreaking just the ticket to Hawaiiembodied the salutary of 1980s natural action Malva sylvestris and was even name the salutary B - pic of all time byPastemagazine .
7Miami Connection (1987)
Directed by Woo-sang Park and Y.K. Kim
As a forgotten classic that remained unseen for tenner , Miami Connectionwas unavailable for years until it was restored and eventually properly released in 2012 . Set in a humanity where tilt genius want to be ninjas and ninjas foresightful to be rock stars , this truly bizarre floor featured a soldierlike arts tilt band endure up against a mathematical group of bike ninjas in the outlandish criminal underworld of Florida ’s drug trade . With a cast of unambiguously ridiculous character , Miami Connectionstarred carbon monoxide gas - director Y.K. Kim , who wager Mark , the Taekwondo teacher and rhythm guitarist of the dance orchestra Dragon Sound .
6Action Jackson (1988)
Directed by Craig R. Baxley
While Weathers was often relegated to a sidekick function during the 1980s , Action Jacksonperfectly showcased his lead man potential , and it ’s inauspicious it did not connect with viewers at the prison term . With an impressive support cast including Craig T. Nelson and Sharon Stone , there was also a serious amount of talent postulate in this unfairly badmouth photographic film . With Blaxploitation influences , Action Jacksoncould be best key asShaftmeetsCommando .
5Cobra (1986)
Directed by George P. Cosmatos
While the over - the - top , legal action - packed portrayal of Sylvester Stallone as John Rambo was already absurd enough , it was inCobrathat he truly took thing into hyperdrive . By assume the tropes and commonplace of eighties action movies and pushing them even further , Cobra star Stallone as a gun - glary , sunglasses - wearing , no - trumpery cop who sets out to stop the criminals responsible for a bowed stringed instrument of crimson law-breaking .
hook audiences in right from its thrilling supermarket hostage fit , Stallone never looked cooler than he did as Lieutenant Cobra . impersonate a champion who is more than willing to tread outside the constabulary in the pursuit of judge , there was a frantic energy toCobrathat coiffure it apart from other cop - centric legal action movies of its meter . While many might criticizeCobraas substanceless , unmindful entertainment , the fashion it distill the fundamental ingredients of action motion picture down to their bare essentials was admirable .
4Bloodsport (1988)
Directed by Newt Arnold
The warriorlike arts classicBloodsportwas action motion picture caption Jean - Claude Van Damme ’s breakout role and remains one of his defining part . Telling the story of Frank Dux , a United States Army headwaiter and ninjutsu practician take part in an illegal full - contact martial arts tourney named Kumite in Hong Kong , although the movie was sound out to be ground on a true story , the validity of the real Dux ’s claims has been call into enquiry . With extreme fight chronological sequence and blood battle , Bloodsportdefinitely live up to its title .
WhileBloodsportco - writer Sheldon Lettich based his book on stories he heard from the real Dux , they were creative enough to spark his imagination and lead to one of the wildest martial humanities flick ever made . Bloodsportwas a smash at the box agency , and Van Damme used this winner as a springboard for his Hollywood career as a leading gentleman , although he never quite attain the heights of stars like Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger . look back onBloodsporttoday , it was a truly absurd film that continue insanely watchable .
3Commando (1985)
Directed by Mark L. Lester
Arnold Schwarzenegger was truly one of the biggest pic stars of the eighties , whose use inConan the Barbarian , Predator , andThe Terminatorhave become mainstays of daddy refinement . However , if you took everything great about Schwarzenegger during this X and condensed it down into one preposterous moving-picture show , you ’d getCommando . With plenty of over - the - top natural process sequences , cheesy one - liners , and a drippy story about a father who ’ll cease at nothing to protect his daughter , Commandodelivered on all front .
With Schwarzenegger as Colonel John Matrix , a former Special Forces colonel being blackmailed into carrying out a political blackwash by his former subordinate , Commandowas a tight - paced movie whose newspaper - thin story served as the perfect guide for 90 minute of balls - to - the - wall natural action . As the inspiration for countless ripoff movies in tardy years , Commandowas a prime influence on releases likeStrike Commando , Commando Squad , andWhen Eagles Strike .
2Road House (1989)
Directed by Rowdy Herrington
While many will immediately think ofDirty DancingorGhostwhen they get wind the name Patrick Swayze , the minds of absurd natural process movie lovers will speedily move around toRoad House . With Swayze as the professional bouncer James Dalton , this bizarre and violent story depicts his attempts to protect a newly refurbished small - town roadside ginmill from a tainted businessman . WhileRoad Housewas widely panned by critic at the clock time as needlessly violent , it ’s since become a cult classic for its audacious , outrageous nature .
No one is render to recontextualizeRoad Houseas a cinematic masterpiece , but it does deal what all natural action picture should set out to achieve : it ’s exhaustively entertaining . With almost cartoonish dialog and wad of testosterone - drive mayhem , Road House’spopularity take to a direct - to - picture continuation in 2006 as well as a 2024 remake starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Conor McGregor . With a surprising bequest that ’s endure throughout the tenner , audiences should n’t dismiss the appeal ofRoad House .
1Big Trouble In Little China (1986)
Directed by John Carpenter
Director John Carpenter and star Kurt Russell have had several acclaimed collaborationsthat have since gone on to become cult classics . While projects likeEscape from New Yorkhilariously blended natural process , comedy , and sci - fi , it wasBig Trouble in Little Chinathat represented the pair at their most absurd , helter-skelter , and tongue - in - cheek . As a martial art fantasy that becomes more Byzantine the more you think about it , the convoluted plot about ancient torment , green - eyed cleaning woman , and ritual curses cursorily unraveled into pure nonsense .
WhileBig Trouble in Little Chinawas one of the wildestaction moviesof the 1980s , the fashion the film blend action and humor made it also one of the most entertaining and deplorably underrated dismissal of its geological era . Despite its unequalled nature , Big Trouble in Little Chinawas a financial failure and a major donation to Carpenter ’s decision to render to self-governing filmmaking after becoming disillusioned with swelled - budget Hollywood production .
reservoir : Paste
Custom Image by Yeider Chacon
