The 8 Best Adventure Movies of the 1980s

Every movie here scores 9.0 or higher. That's the problem. Ranking them means somebody's childhood finishes eighth, and the numbers don't care whose.

Number one beats Empire by two tenths. Start drafting your angry comment now.

1. 8
   E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)9.0

   The biggest hit on this list finishes last. Wild.

   $439.5 million domestic on a reported $10.5M budget, an A+ CinemaScore, 99% on Rotten Tomatoes. Its 9.0 would top most decades. This one is just greedy.
2. 7
   Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)9.1

   Still the most unhinged mashup a studio ever paid for.

   A reported $50.6M budget, the priciest here by miles, and every cent is on screen. Bob Hoskins acts opposite empty air for a 9.1 and never once blinks.
3. 6
   The Princess Bride (1987)9.2

   Theaters shrugged. Every sleepover since has not.

   Just $30.9 million domestic, then audiences adopted it: it beats 98% of movies with them. Cary Elwes and Mandy Patinkin sword fighting is still the best scene of the decade.
4. 5
   Aliens (1986)9.4

   The rare sequel that switches genres and wins anyway.

   Horror turned into a war movie and still landed a 9.4 across 850,784 IMDb votes. Sigourney Weaver carries a flamethrower and the whole franchise at the same time.
5. 4
   The Empire Strikes Back (1980)9.4

   The best Star Wars movie, and it only gets fourth.

   1.5 million IMDb votes, an 8.7, beats 99% of movies with audiences. Critics hold it to 89%, and that's the tenth of a point the next pick steals.
6. 3
   Back to the Future (1985)9.5

   The tightest script of the decade. Every setup pays off.

   Critics beat 95%, audiences 96%, a 9.5 nobody argues with. $391.5 million worldwide, and Crispin Glover as the dad is still the most awkward father ever filmed.
7. 2
   My Neighbor Totoro (1988)9.6

   Almost nothing happens, and that's exactly why it's second.

   Only $3.1 million domestic, yet audiences rate it above 99% of movies. No villain, no chase, just a giant fluffy creature at a bus stop. A 9.6, tied for the top.
8. 1
   Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)9.6

   The purest adventure movie ever made. Empire fans, sit down.

   The only movie here listed as pure Adventure. A 9.6, an A+ CinemaScore, $389.9 million worldwide. Harrison Ford outruns a boulder in the opening and never slows down.

$1,981 says the Empire fans in the comments outnumber everyone else combined by lunch.

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Current mood: ready to fight about it