Lethal Weapons Die Hard: The Complete Story of the 1980s Action Film Genre

By Dr. Robbie King

The Complete Story of the Genre That Shaped an Entire Generation
If you are a gen-xer or an early millennial or even a late boomer, a large part of your life was likely forged by the movies you watched growing up at some point in the 1980s or early 1990s. Some of these flicks were undoubtedly those in the action genre of the 1980s, a very unique moment in the history of cinema… a time when heroes were bold, brave, and buff figures who would laugh in the face of danger and destroy the bad guys without even blinking an eye. We're talking about the Ramboes, the Lethal Weapons, the Terminators, John McClaines, Nicos, Robocops, Rockys, Axel Foleys and everybody in between. In short, the guys who you looked up to at that moment from a time long gone.
For the first time in history, here we present a comprehensive book that covers the alpha to omega of that extremely niche genre, from its origins to its influences, to its historical context, creations, major players and 100 best movies.
This is the first book of its kind in the world. For while books on this category of motion pictures have been written before, there has never been something like this in level of detail and analysis.
Now, come with me if you want to learn!

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Sep 14, 2023
• ISBN: 9798350910742

Book preview

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Copyright © 2023 by Dr. Robbie King and RK Enterprises Publishing, a division of RK Enterprises, LLC.

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For permission, requests, write to the publisher, addressed Attention: Permissions Coordinator at the address below: RK Enterprises Publishing, 2900 Parkway Boulevard, Kissimmee, FL, 34747, United States of America.

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Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 1-6416312321

First Edition, First Printing.

Printed in the United States of America

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 28 27 26 25 24 23

Print ISBN 979-8-35091-073-5

eBook ISBN 979-8-35091-074-2

I tend to think of action movies as exuberant morality plays in which good triumphs over evil.

Sylvester Stallone

This book is dedicated to my father Mr. K Jr., who introduced me to action movies back in the 1980s, and to my friend Javier Mr. T Torres, who reintroduced me to them later in life. Thank you both.

Table of Contents

Introduction: The Lethal Weapons that Die Hard

Chapter 1: What is the 80s Action Film?

Chapter 2: Characteristics of the 80s Action Film Genre

and Its Distinctive Subgenres

Chapter 3: The Origins and Complete History of the 80s Action Genre

Chapter 4: The Major Players of the 80s Action Film Genre

Chapter 5: The Major Characters of the 80s Action Film Genre

Chapter 6: The Context of the 80s and the Action Hero

Chapter 7: The Morality of the Action Hero

Chapter 8: 80s Action and Fitness

Chapter 9: The 80s Action Hero and Its Role in Mythology

Chapter 10: The Best Action Movies of the 80s

48 Hours

A Nightmare on Elm Street

Above the Law

Action Jackson

Aliens

American Ninja

Armed and Dangerous

Batman

Batman Returns

Best of the Best

Beverly Hills Cop

Beverly Hills Cop 2

Big Trouble in Little China

Black Rain

Bloodsport

The Blues Brothers

Cliffhanger

Cobra

Commando

Conan the Barbarian

Crocodile Dundee 2

The Deadpool

Death Wish

Death Wish 2

Death Wish 3

The Delta Force

Demolition Man

Die Hard

Die Hard 2

Dirty Harry

Double Impact

The Empire Strikes Back

Escape From New York

Falling Down

First Blood

Rambo: First Blood, Part 2

Fletch

Forced Vengeance

F/X

The Fugitive

Ghostbusters

The Goonies

Hard to Kill

Hard Target

The Hunt for Red October

Indiana Jones and the Raiders

of the Lost Ark

Indiana Jones and the

Last Crusade

Indiana Jones and the Temple

of Doom

Jurassic Park

The Karate Kid

Kickboxer

Kindergarten Cop

Last Action Hero

The Last Boy Scout

Lethal Weapon

Lethal Weapon 2

Lethal Weapon 3

License to Kill

Lionheart

Lone Wolf McQuade

Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior

Memoirs of an Invisible Man

Midnight Run

Missing in Action

The Naked Gun

Out for Justice

Over The Top

Passenger 57

Point Break

Police Academy

Police Story

Predator

Predator 2

The Punisher

Rambo 3

Raw Deal

Red Dawn

Red Heat

Return of the Jedi

Roadhouse

RoboCop

Rocky 3

Rocky 4

The Rookie

The Running Man

Showdown in Little Tokyo

Spies Like Us

Star Wars

Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot

Sudden Impact

Tango & Cash

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

The Terminator

Terminator 2: Judgement Day

They Live

The Thing

Top Gun

Total Recall

Under Siege

Who’s Harry Crumb?

Chapter 11: The Top 10s of the 80s Action Film Genres

Chapter 12: The End of An Era - Never to Return

Bibliography and Works Cited

Introduction

The Lethal Weapons that Die Hard

Explosions. High speed chases. Relentlessly invincible henchmen. A ruthlessly psychopathic villain. A gang of seemingly undefeatable secondary anonymous collaborators. Muscular, larger-than-life, righteously right lonesome heroes who sacrifice themselves for the greater good. Final shootouts in remote locations. Tough bosses. Wise partners. Powerful weapons. A one-man army. Not doing it by the book. Going against authority. A sensitive woman who understands troubled men.

These are just some of the characteristics of what the 80s action film genre is about. A sort of formulaic contraction that created a prepackaged subclass of motion pictures which defined cinema for an entire era.

And while these aforementioned features are a tad fixed, (and I could certainly provide dozens of examples that do not fit in with the formerly described qualities of the category), most, if not all of the pictures within the 80s action subtype have some of these individualities within their plots, structures, stories and essence. Furthermore, many flicks fit in with these descriptions to the limit.

What does this tell us? That yes, 80s action is a methodology that was brought to life in the cinema of that decade, and while this is indeed true, the reality is that this aforementioned subgroup is much more than that, and we will analyze the whys and wherefores in pinpoint detail.

Every decade in movie history, ever since full feature films began a little over 100 years ago, has had flicks that have exemplified it. The 40s had film noir, the 50s and 60s had westerns, the 70s had crime films, the 90s had eclecticism in its most primordial form, the 2000s had drama and comedy, and the 2010s had superheroes.

None of these, however, have been so characteristic and particular of each epoch, and most crucially, formative of their respective periods than film noir to the 40s, westerns to the 50s, superheroes to the 2010s, and action heroes to the 80s. While the reasons as to why film noir, westerns and superheroes described their individual eras is beyond the scope of this book, I will indeed explain, with razor sharp focus, in this tome, as to why action was so important to the 1980s both in cinematic and in quotidian terms.

Cinema in the 1980s was filled with many jewels of wonder and quality, ranging from comedies like National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983), Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987), and Porky’s (1981) to space operas like those in Star Wars and its sequels, Star Trek and its many installments and the likes of Flash Gordon (1980), to super productions like Beetlejuice (1988), Scarface (1983) and The Untouchables (1987), to epics like Once Upon a Time in America (1984), Empire of the Sun (1987), and The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), and pretty much everything in between.

Some true masterpieces of the era are Risky Business (1983), The Breakfast Club (1985), Rain Man (1988), Platoon (1986), Full Metal Jacket (1987), Wall Street (1987) and many others. And while the time was certainly a golden period of filmmaking, and definitively one which forged the modern movie, (which was fast-paced, entertaining, enticing, strong, rapid in development and surprising in climax, with full resolutions - leaving behind trends of over exposition of characters, dull storylines, and an overall slower pace -), the reality is that the 80s was the era of the action flick.

Yes, we’ve had action films and action heroes before the 80s, but they were not as definitive, nor as strong, nor as bombastic as the ones of this wonderful time, as the formula which characterized the cinematic output of this period had not yet been invented prior to its emergence. And although the action film continued well into the 90s, with vestigial remnants film still alive to this day, the reality is that the 80s action flick perished during those subsequent years after 1989. Today we see flashes of it in pictures of the type, but it will never be the same again, and that is why the category was so unique. It lasted a mere decade and a little extra, but no more.

Westerns are still made, film noir features are still released, and comedies remain popular, but the 80s action picture exists no longer except in the productions that were made in that old era, and that is why the type is so unique. It came, dominated, conquered, and left as quickly as it arrived. Today it is nothing more than a memory, subverted to random cable TV airings, sporadic appearances on streaming services, and to the remembrances of casual viewers who still exist and whose life was forged by these productions and this subtype of motion pictures. (More on that later).

As I did with my previous film book on 80s cinema titled The 100 Most 80s Movies of the 80s (2022), I have defined the 1980s not necessarily through their chronological time frame, but through the periods which the 80s fully formed and existed as we truly knew and know them, which is generally understood to be from 1982 to 1993, when the epitome of pop culture of the era, including cinema and action films (1982 was coincidentally the year where the modern action film came into fruition with the original Rambo - First Blood - and 48 Hours) flourished and existed.

The rationale behind this is simple: The 80s as we knew them were not the 80s that began in 1980 and ended in 1990. No. Fashions, trends and culture rarely follow these predetermined time frames. Rather, the 80s emerged in 1982 and were not fully formed until 83 and 84 and lasted up until the end of 1993 and perhaps the beginning of 94, when the 90s fully took over.

The action flicks of that time emerged as an evolution and pinnacle of the western and film noir versions, with both coming together for the first time in Harry Segel’s 1971 Dirty Harry, which is the most direct predecessor of the action film, with characteristics of both film noir and western that pointed in a clear direction of where motion pictures were going in terms of these novel categories. Action as we would understand it in the 80s was not here yet, but it was well on its way. The one-liners, which emerged in cowboy movies, and the big guns, tough characters, ruthless villains, chases, a renegade protagonist, and more, all took form here and lit a clear path to the golden era of action that came to be a few short years later.

While Dirty Harry caused the creation of many copycats, including Chinatown (1974), Serpico (1973), Mean Streets (1973) and more, the action picture itself, as you will later read in detail in Chapter 4 on the history of the 80s action film genre, did not come into fruition until 1982, (like I stated earlier), and did not become fully prevalent and wholly molded up until the mid-80s, with the late 80s and early 90s being the quintessence of the type, gradually falling out of favor by the mid-90s and dying off by the end of the decade.

Yes, its lifeline was short, but despite its brief existence, the 80s action film subclass was able, more so than any other cinematic variety in history, to influence the life of an entire generation of people and spark an entire lifestyle, way of living, set of aspirations, and much more.

These claims may seem farfetched, but I can assure you, (and I can back it up with evidence too), that they are not hyperbole, but real and genuine.

80s action was so potent and intense that it influenced real life, pretty much forging the existence of Generation X and the early Millennials in the process in ways which shall be described in detail later but that, right now, I can specify in the following way: The rise of the fitness industry, bodybuilding lifestyles, a newborn passion for martial arts, machismo attitude, macho professions, plus, most importantly, a way of seeing the world with a sort of reborn chivalry and lonesome hero vibe, were all due to the 80s action film genre.

As to whether that was deliberate or coincidental, I think that it was a combination of both, but we will explore that in greater detail later.

For now, let us just focus on knowing and being aware of the impact that the 80s action film genre had on the world.

As you will read later on, the 80s action type was not the creation of a solo individual, but rather the culmination of the life’s work of a constellation of persons, from the actors, writers, directors as well as people who set trends behind the scenes, such as the politicians and entrepreneurs who built the stage upon which action was to take shape. Of course, that Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone are definitely some of the most important names and the major players both in the creation of 80s action as well as its image, but other hidden heroes like bodybuilding entrepreneur Joe Weider, as well as President Ronald Reagan, also played a vital role.

Everyone had a different level of influence, but they all had some input in the creation of this majestic genre.

This is a Book on the A to Z of the action film genre.

This book is the definitive volume on everything that has to do with the 1980s action film genre.

The book will address each part of this genre, from its origins to its players, history, context, sociological influence, and much, much more.

There are other books out there on action movies, but none that directly address this subject in such a way. As such, this volume is the very first of its kind, and for that, I am extremely proud.

Who Am I?

Before you start reading, you may be thinking about how or why you should be listening to me.

Well, let me dive a little bit into that. I am a clinical psychologist by trade, but I am also a cinephile, having watched at least one film a day for the last almost 40 years and sometimes as many as four or five. In addition, I am a film critic, film historian, video producer and filmmaker, having produced nearly 30 short films, and written 10 full length screenplays. I also own a film production company looking to produce its first full-length feature film very soon. In addition to that I am also 80s historian, 80s expert and 80s memorabilia collector. Lastly, I love action films and I have watched every single 80s action motion picture ever produced, and I know many of them by heart.

I would like to thank you for reading my book and accompanying me on this journey to discover the secret of the beautiful and awesome 80s action flick.

Now, come with me if you want to learn!

Chapter 1

What is the 80s Action Film?

I feel the need…the need for speed!

Maverick, in Top Gun (1986), as played by Tom Cruise.

Defining the 80s action film may seem counterintuitively difficult, as its name pretty much tells us what it is, but the reality is that it is way more than what its nom de guerre implies.

Action flicks have existed ever since the cinematograph was created in 1892 by French inventor Leon Bouly¹. However, these productions, as defined within the type as any motion picture which includes sequences that are intensely paced, as well as fighting sections, shootings, chases, and a bombastic climax, refer more to a type of fiction that has existed forever rather than to the focal point of this book.

In fact, the action class (not the lawsuit), be it in literature, comics, or any storytelling medium has been around since the dawn of human civilization and will surely continue to exist forever.

Said category, characterized by the aforementioned qualities as well as violence, physicality, suspense, heroes, villains, adversaries, adventure, life-threatening scenarios and much more, is one of the staples of all types of storytelling. In a way, the adventure tales of the 19th century in serialized publications, as well as recounts of the golden age of exploration, as well as wild west fables, in addition to westerns, film noir and suspense movies have all been narratives that tell anecdotes of action. However, despite their obvious similarity, this is not the action picture of the 80s. No, the action films of said era may contain many, or even all of these aforementioned characteristics of other epochs, but it is much more than that.

The action flick of the 80s refers to a very specific subgenre of the action-adventure style of motion picture that occurred solely during the 80s era and through a portion of the 90s. Some copycats or movies that are similar, or pay homage to those old pictures, such as the John Wick (2014-2023) saga with Keanu Reeves, or The Nice Guys (2016) with Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling, or Parker (2013) with Jason Statham, have some undertones of the style, but are not 80s action productions.

Furthermore films that are made with the same vintage actors that defined the category during the abovementioned era, particularly videos with Sylvester Stallone, like The Expendables saga (2010-2023), or Bullet to the Head (2012), or Arnold Schwarzenegger’s The Last Stand (2013), or Escape Plan (2013) with both, or Dolph Lundgren’s Kindergarten Cop (2016) sequel, are almost identical to the original ones, but despite their proximity, homages, direct references and good intentions to be like those, are 100 percent not action films of the 80s. Believe it or not, the reasons are far more than chronological.

There are subtle explanations, visual looks, villains, sequences and self-aware references that simply don’t make it an 80s action film. Of course, creating a motion picture in this style is not astrophysics. We could theoretically shoot (pun intended) an 80s action picture today and produce it in such a way that it looks as good or even better than those of that time, but no one has as of yet made one. And even if they did, they still would not be genuine, as they would lack the context and the realism that someone from that time at that distant moment would provide. We could come close, but they would never be the same.

So, yes, even though attempts at tributing 80s action films have been made, even with the same actors, directors, producers and plotlines as before, the reality is that they are still not 80s action and that there never will be 80s action again.

The sad truth is that 80s action flicks are gone, never to return. The traditional action group will always be alive in cinema and storytelling, but 80s action has disappeared, never to return, existing only in the remnants of the movies that we still have and glorify.

The 80s Action Film Defined

So, after all of this analysis, let us ask the question as to what the 80s action film truly is. Well, truth be told, it is both a simple and complex definition. In simple terms and convenient definitions (to quote The Breakfast Club -1985), it a subgenre of the action and adventure picture that came to prominence and popularity in the 1980s and died off in the 1990s (with remnants well into the 2000s), that essentially portrays an outsider of a hero, with a troubled past, who has a moralistic mentality, a lone-wolf lifestyle, who faces a terrible foe that is evil and amoral, as well as his multiple henchmen, and has to go through a variety of chases, fights, struggles and an ineffectively ridiculous bureaucratic system to defeat said villain in a bombastic climax and then continue living as normal.

This is the simple definition. Of course, this is just a stereotype, as there are many films that are 80s action that don’t match this criterion, but all of them fit in in at least some designations, if not the majority of these traits. Furthermore, there are a variety of subgroupings, such as science fiction 80s action, Die Hard 80s action, buddy cop 80s action, drama 80s action, martial arts 80s action, comedy 80s action, and much more that also have their own particularities. We will explain them in more detail in chapter 2.

Intriguingly, not all action films of the 80s qualify as 80s action. They may have been filmed in the era and may include certain common characteristics with the stereotypical 80s action film (as this is a trait they share with all videos in the type), but they don’t qualify as 80s action. The reason behind this is that many of them are not set in the 80s and don’t have the common attributes of the generic protagonist nor overall vibe of the style of flick. Some of these are Blade Runner (1982), Scarface (1983), Once Upon a Time in America (1984), The Godfather Part III (1990) and many more. No one can disagree that these are action films and that they were indeed filmed in the 80s, but the truth of the matter is that they are not 80s action films.

80s action flicks have a definitive feel and emerged from a certain context of the Cold War and the socioeconomic realities of the late 70s and early 80s as well as its origins in 70s crime film genre in addition to Westerns, Film Noir and James Bond movies. We will address the historical origins and influences from other styles in Chapter 3 in detail, but for now, let’s talk about and focus on the vibe a little bit.

In terms of this aforesaid atmosphere, there is always the me against the world, morality in an immoral world, doing the right thing even if it’s not easy mentalities as well as a general sense of being undereducated but hard working, being not poor but lower middle working class, using normal and not expensive or flashy clothes, being unhealthy (drinking or smoking), having paid dearly in the past for a righteous mistake, finding motivation in doing the right thing, living in a small apartment, being lonely, having trouble with romantic relationships and a living a general sense of even though I’m not in the right place emotionally, I will do the right thing.

This virtuous feeling and way of life did not emerge from nothingness, but rather from a setting that was a protagonist of that time. Let me elaborate a bit on that.

The United States and the world had a rough time during the 1970s. Economic hardship in the west had caused financial crises and stagflation, which is a combination of inflation, low economic growth and high unemployment², that resulted in higher crime rates, more poverty, and resentment³. Furthermore, the Cold War had created a sense of generalized tension, with an almost anonymous, behind-the-scenes supervillain lurking around in the form of the Soviet Union and their nuclear arsenal that could destroy the world in a matter of minutes⁴. Its shadow, which was the specter of communism, (an ideology that had been justly demonized due to the atrocities it had caused around the world and particularly in the USSR due to Stalin’s pogroms, collectivization and systematic murder of tens of millions of his countrymen)⁵, was gradually expanding, having conquered Vietnam and defeated the Americans in the first war they ever lost in 1975⁶, concluding a full-fledged occupation of Southeast Asia. This, with the adding of China, Mongolia, and North Korea to the catalogues of communist nations, plus an India that operated in a collectivist Gandhi-ist communist-style government, and Afghanistan under Soviet occupation, had basically established socialism as controlling almost all of Asia and had subsequently put the United States and its ideology far away from that reality⁷. Latin America, too, was becoming leftist, and the world also had the added threat of economic collapse and a rise in crime, poverty and a departure from the wonderland years of the 1950s and 1960s pre-hippie era⁸.

The Vietnam war, in addition to being a conflict in which the US failed, also left a permanent scar in the American psyche, with many fallen heroes of the conflict that returned home being demonized, vilified and pushed aside due to an unrighteous government and a self-righteous public.

To add insult to injury, all the American presidents since Lyndon B. Johnson had been a storm of catastrophes one after the other, with Gerald Ford being little more than a grey stamp of nothingness, Richard Nixon being little more than a criminal and crook who resigned the presidency for the first time ever, and everything breaking down in the administration of Jimmy Carter, (with a generalized sense of dread and fear as well as the idea that the US would fall from its glory)⁹. This all culminated in the Iran-Iraq war that resulted in sky high oil prices, record inflation of the Dollar, massive unemployment, an incredible rise in crime, and an overall sense of despair in America and the world¹⁰.

The US and the world needed heroes more perhaps than they ever did. They wanted someone who could rescue them from crime, poverty, big government, unemployment, inflation and everything that was occurring. And beyond that, they also called for a hero to shield and protect them from the anxiety and anguish of the epoch. Someone who could show them that he could overpower anything and tell them that it was all going to be okay... who couldn’t be bullied or bribed to be part of the other team.

Heroes like this, such as Superman, Ironman, Spiderman, Batman etc., had existed for decades, but they were so comic book-like that they did not seem real enough for the times nor for what Americans truly needed. Simply put, they were not enough.

And while life did indeed provide a hero in the shape of Ronald Reagan, (who had been a western star himself, and entered the political scene in 1947 as head of the actors screen guild of America and eventually worked his way up to governor of California and then the presidency, and brought with him a rhetoric of fighting everything with one-liners and punch lines included, turning reality to what it once was in the golden ages of the past, and even said he would act like Rambo at one point)¹¹, ¹² he was not quite the action hero people needed. He was a real hero (and inspired many), of course, and brought the country to its highest height up until that moment, but he still was not the rescuer people needed to get back to their inner peace.

In came John Rambo, John McClaine, Casey Ryback, The Terminator, Colonel John Matrix, Riggs and Murtaugh, and many more who could indeed save the world and provide that lost morality, righteousness and, above all, security to all Americans and citizens of the world. They were as righteous as Dirty Harry, but were bigger than life, suave, intense, strong, and so unafraid that they made fun of villains, often with quirky jokes.

Art imitates life, and here, the action heroes of the 80s and the 80s action genre were a product of the period where they lived in and came into save and they can only be properly understood as part of the context of the time upon which they emerged.

This definition is what the 80s action film is all about, and in this book, we will explore the alpha to the omega of these muscular characters with the hope that we can open the gates and truly understand everything there is to know about them.

Chapter 2

Characteristics of the 80s Action Film Genre and Its Distinctive Subgenres

I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick a**, and I’m all out of bubblegum.

Nada in They Live (1988), played by Roddy Piper.

Just as we established in the introductory chapter of this book, the 80s action subtype is a gigantic mega umbrella term for a variety of movies that fit into one of the very many completely distinct kinds of fluctuating popularity and well-defined characteristics that constitute that style of filmmaking. In this chapter we will define them all.

When we think action most of us might think of a stereotypical film involving Sylvester Stallone or Arnold Schwarzenegger in a one-man army type of deal, kind of like the Rambo or the Terminator movies. But while these flicks most definitely fit in that territory, the action group of the 80s also has a variety of other attributes that are equally important. However, because it is so broad in its contents, I have opted to divide it into many separate sets to be as precise as possible.

Note: Nearly all of these features and genres overlap into one another considerably, and you may find productions that fit in more than one category and should, hence, be included in both (and they are).

War Action

Definitive Films: First Blood, First Blood: Part 2, Rambo 3, Red Dawn.

Main characteristic: An action film in which armed conflict, or battle-related situations are at the center of the narrative.

Description: This type of picture, just like the name suggests, refers to a style of high-paced high-octane flick in which warfare plays a central role in the storyline, mostly by having the majority of the sequences oscillate around it. All or most action productions have firearm activity attached to it, sometimes even to the point where a scene might seem like a war zone, or some of the fighting might take place in battle, such as the future war scenes in The Terminator (1984), but that does not make them war films.

War movies in the assortment we are describing are action-packed features with combat in them. They are not pure armed conflict films like The Thin Red Line (1998) or Saving Private Ryan (1998) or Platoon (1987), as those are mostly dramas set in war. No. Here the plot is high-octane with a clear tough hero, obvious villains, henchmen, victims, and a final face-off where the tale ends, and the picture concludes.

They are quite formulaic, and they may include tropes of other generic action movies such as one-liners, car chases, an intense final fight and more. The main difference is that they are set in a world of war. These are not just struggles with firefights, as in all flicks of this style, but full out war. Some prominent examples in this type of film include one of the very first action pictures of the 80s, which is the original First Blood.

This flick, while not exactly set in a war, was created, from its conception as a novel by David Morrell, as a critique of the Vietnam War and a way to get said conflict (in a physical level) into America, with all his brutality¹³. John Rambo chooses to create a war, and there are moments where it is indeed a full out conflict against the armed forces. Yet it is not a pure warfare film, it is an action picture surrounded by war.

The two 80s Rambo sequels followed the trend, and the third one is perhaps the finest example of a movie of this genre, as it really brings the combat aspect more into the foreground. Other examples are the Missing in Action series, showcasing the struggle of a prisoner of war in Vietnam, as well as Red Dawn (1984) and Invasion USA (1985), (both of which depict an assault of the United States and the action heroes that avert it), Top Gun (1986) (an action drama that fluctuates around war), Iron Eagle (1986) and its sequels, Stripes (1981) which is an action comedy war movie, as well as the lesser known Vietnam War set action videos Operation War Zone (1986), Behind Enemy Lines (1986) (with David Carradine in the lead) Uncommon Valor (1983) (starring Hollywood legend Gene Hackman and directed by First Blood director Ted Kotcheff) and Strike Commando (1987).

Other films exist, but they are far and few in between, as war mostly focuses on the dramatic aspects and less on the action. This subgroup is not as complex nor as popular as others on this list, but it is still an important one, being that one of the most vital pictures of the 80s action trend (First Blood) was, in effect, a war film.

Die Hard

Definitive Films: Die Hard, Die Hard 2, Under Siege

Main characteristic: A hero fights several terrorists or villains in a single location like a building or similar locale.

Description: Although this type has certainly existed for a long time, the category did not fully become part of the 80s action lore until 1988 with the debut of the eponymous Die Hard, starring Bruce Willis. In this movie, our main character, the sarcastically witty and relentless John McClaine has to face off against 12 terrorists that have taken over the skyscraper Nakatomi Tower in Century City, Los Angeles. In the movie, slowly, John McClaine overpowers said assassins, kills them and eventually saves the hostages, using the setting as his main advantage due to the fact that he can escape in its shafts, use its elevators, kill bad guys by throwing them down, and much more.

Unbeknownst to both Willis, to director John McTiernan, and to screenwriter Shane Black, all of these perks and quirks were slowly becoming the defining characteristics of a new type of movie. In fact, when the flick was released, it became so successful that it immediately sparked many copycats, including one by its own franchise in 1990 with Die Hard 2, set in an airport (which was an ante upper to the original one and is at least of the same quality). Many others followed suit, including Under Siege (1992) and its sequel (Die Hard on a war ship and a passenger train, respectively), Speed (1994) and Speed 2 (1997) (Die Hard on a bus and on a cruise ship), Air Force One (1997) (Die Hard on the president’s plane), Sudden Death (1995) (Die Hard in a hockey rink), Cliffhanger (1993) (on a mountain) and many more.

Yes, many of these pictures were developed in the 90s, a few years after the 80s era ended as a consequence of the reality that Die Hard was not released until 1988 and movies take time to be written, greenlit, produced, filmed, marketed and released, but the influence on the group cannot be overstated.

Die Hard came in with such a boom that it singlehandedly sparked a new style of excitement that had many advantages. Single location, less characters, almost all shots taking place indoors, and an undoubted air of tension, all of which were perfect in making a more controllable, lower budget film that would be amazingly entertaining. Perfect formula, and the box office receipts spoke for themselves.

Vengeance Action

Definitive Films: Death Wish, Deathwish 2, Sudden Impact

Main characteristic: An action story in which revenge is at the epicenter of the narrative.

Description: Unlike the other genres, which have very unique characteristics that are very well defined, the vengeance action subtype is not classified according to the variety of acts nor to specific manner of sequences, but rather to the subject of the plot. Here, the focus, just as its name indicates, is that the storyline must swing around the theme of revenge. To that there may be other ingredients like drama, or car chases, or science fiction, or buddy cop motifs or anything alike or in between. That does not matter. What matters is that the main theme must be retaliation.

Yes, there are not a lot 80s action flicks that fit in this characteristic, but they still exist. The Death Wish franchise is or course the definitive work of the subgenre, but there are others as well, such as Sudden Impact (1983) with Clint Eastwood, as well as Kickboxer (1989), and Double Impact (1991) with Jean-Claude Van Damme and Missing in Action (1985) with Chuck Norris.

Interestingly enough, despite them not being as popular, the average picture in this type was almost always very successful, which brings me to inquire about why not so many were produced. The answer lies perhaps in the reality that writing and acting in a convincing retribution-themed film is not as easy as it is with flicks from other genres. Furthermore, conceivably, the subgroup also doesn’t seem as bombastic on paper, which prompts the question as to how to justify budgeting a film like that (when making movies is expensive) when it doesn’t seem like it might potentially have the profits of a super-duper action-packed feature with explosions.

However, there is definitely a primitive appeal in the mind to a vengeance story, almost as if the very basic human existence garnered an attraction to it. It is as if it were the most instinctive response against aggression, regardless of whether it is the right reaction morally speaking. In a way, when injustice moments take place in any story, often times the audience feels the wrong and needs to retribute deep within their essence, and this may be one of the reasons as to why these movies were so successful.

Buddy Cop

Definitive Films: 48 Hours, Lethal Weapon, Lethal Weapon 2, Tango & Cash.

Main characteristic: Two (or sometimes three) unlikely acquaintances pair up (and eventually become friends) in order to solve a crime, with plenty of comedy in between and mostly, police-themed tones.

Description: One of the most popular and certainly funniest and formulaic of all the subtypes of the action film of the 80s, the buddy cop flick might be, at times, the very essence of what 80s action is about. All of the key characteristics of the style as a whole exist here, from the idealistic and burnt-out heroes fighting a horrid high-profile villains as well as the establishment, to the funny one-liners, to the jaw-dropping chase scenes, brilliant kills, stunts, satisfying conclusions, the triumph of good, a tough almost undefeatable final henchmen, a vastly entertaining story, an us vs. them dynamic and a movie that is all for entertainment and relaxation.

The presence of this subgenre in action during this era was absolute. In fact, one of the first 80s action films ever (48 Hours) (1982) was a buddy cop feature. Furthermore, both the last chronological action picture of the 80s, and the last true action film of the era were both buddy cops, with 1989’s Tango and Cash, and 1993’s Demolition Man (respectively), although the later also had the added touch of science fiction to it.

Hence, as you can see, the buddy cop action genre was always there during the 80s epoch, from the very beginning to the very end, producing perhaps the most films, as well as some of the most profitable (think Beverly Hills Cop and Beverly Hills Cop 2 – the highest grossing movies of 1984 and 1987)¹⁴ the funniest (Also Beverly Hills Cop as well as Lethal Weapon 2-1989- and 3 -1992- and The Last Boy Scout -1991-), the most action packed (Lethal Weapon – 1987, Lethal Weapon 2, Red Heat – 1988), the ones for all audiences (Dragnet -1987-, K-9-1989-, Midnight Run - 1988), the most real and dramatic ones (Lethal Weapon and The Last Boy Scout), and pretty much everything in between.

The buddy cop type is so omnipresent that, in many ways, it is a repeat theme in almost every action movie ever made in the 80s era, from Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991), to the Die Hards, some of the Rambos, Bloodsport, the Rockys, and pretty much everything in between.

If there was one type of flick that could be the very essence of the action film genre this would be it.

As a side effect of its popularity, this is a style that evolved very little throughout the course of its history, perhaps due to the fact that similar themed pictures had existed before the 80s action came to be, and the formula had already been set. That is why there is very little evolution from 48 Hours in 1982 to a Tango & Cash in 1989 and even a Demolition Man in 1993. The essence is still the same.

Yet despite its proximity between productions, there was enough leeway surrounding it to create substantial variation, from a straightforward picture of two burned out cops (kind of like Lethal Weapon) to adding a third cop (Beverly Hills Cop), to ingredients of mystery and comedy (Who’s Harry Crumb - 1989), to action comedy (Tango & Cash - 1989), to comedy action (Spies Like Us - 1985) to science fiction (Demolition Man - 1993), and much more.

Buddy cop action begins in 1982 with 48 Hours and ends with Demolition Man in 1993, giving us a formulaic tale of two cops or a cops’ helper who are very distinct in personality but must forget their differences to fight together to solve some sort of horrid crime and in the process get involved against a vicious syndicate that wants them dead.

In the development of the story, they become closer, save each other’s lives, encounter a bureaucratic and incompetent police or government system, get cast out, are nearly killed, and eventually face off against the top brutal henchmen and then defeat the mastermind, clearing their name, solving the crime and rescuing everyone.

As I was writing this description, I became aware of just how brutally clichéd the genre is and surprised at just how many movies fit this category. But, hey, it worked, and thanks to it we got true classics like the aforementioned films as well as many more. Gold standard entertainment at its best.

Horror Action

Definitive Films: The Terminator, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Ghostbusters, Predator, Predator 2, Aliens.

Main characteristic: An action movie with intense tints of horror that drive the narrative forward.

Description: Horror action is a much more obscure type of movie than pretty much any other on this list. On most occasions, flicks that fit into this category are mostly of the science fiction kind, integrating some futurist aspect in there that makes the terror qualities a bit more believable, not to mention the many stunts, shots and perhaps chases and explosions that we normally get.

These aren’t pure horror films (with the exception of A Nightmare on Elm Street -1984-, which with its final showdown and hunt down of the killer via a worthy hero, is definitely an action feature), but rather have frightening ingredients in them, and they are very, very scarce.

Some of the best known ones are The Terminator (1984), (which others might classify more in the sci fi category but I would put here because in many ways, it is like a robo-slasher and plenty of scenes are genuinely terrifying), as well as Predator (1987), (which is a straightforward slasher but not of early 80s teens-in-a-camp-in-the-woods style, but of an elite military platoon in the jungles of South America), as well as Aliens (1986), which is a monster movie with action in it along with a terrific adversary for the creature.

Others of the subgroup are Conan the Barbarian (1982), Conan the Destroyer (1984), They Live (1988), The Thing (1982) and the lesser known Hellbound (released in 1994 but filmed in 1993), Silent Rage (1982) (both starring Chuck Norris) and Dead Heat (1988).

Granted, they are not pure horror flicks, but many of the distinctions of the classic terror category, (such as a scary creature and entity, as well as plenty of victims, a final showdown, and a destruction of said monster) are definitely there. This, plus the many action elements, make them staples of the action horror subgenre.

In terms of history, the style begins right at the moment when the scary movie trend, in particular the slasher, begins to take off at the beginning of the 80s. It was so popular that integrating action into it seemed like a terrific and possibly profitable idea. Hence, in 1982 we had some of the first of the style with The Thing and Conan the Barbarian, which despite being an epic adventure movie, is quite dark and includes many characteristics which we may certainly consider horror, such as the transformation of Thulsa Doom into a snake, the whole serpent motif, the monsters throughout, the people-eating Tree of Woe character, and much more.

It wasn’t the first movie to add these traits to action, as countless films, such as 1974’s Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter had done it, but it was the first one of our era to do it, and hence the inaugurator.

After that came other pictures that followed the trend, incorporating horror aspects into action, such as Conan the Destroyer (1984) with all its fantasy, or classics like Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), or The Terminator (1984), which made the genre break commercial ground and become quite popular.

From there, other flicks and franchises followed, such as The Aliens (1986) sequel, Predator (1987) and Predator 2 (1990), as well as lesser-known movies like Marked for Death (1990) starring Stephen Seagal (with its voodoo and scary twins moment) in addition to more comedic action horror movies like Evil Dead (1981) and Evil Dead 2 (1987), and, of course, Ghostbusters (1984), which is action comedy horror fantasy.

Yes, action combined with scary pictures is not the most popular variety of film in the world, as features within it are rare and far and few in between, but they are certainly entertaining and likeable. In general, unlike the buddy cop variety, which has some very precise and definite characteristics, this subcategory does not.

All it does is have some typical horror movie material in it, such as scares, creatures, monsters, kills and perhaps a supernatural or fantasy atmosphere to it, but they are very much still action.

Science Fiction Action

Definitive Films: RoboCop, Jurassic Park, Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, The Return of the Jedi, Terminator 2: Judgement Day, Total Recall.

Main characteristic: An 80s action motion picture that takes place in a world of science fiction, most likely the future, or an imagined future, where technology or a fight against it is at the forefront of the narrative.

Description: This quite popular action film genre is fairly simple in its definition and structure, and that is perhaps the reason as to why so many movies in this style have been produced.

The essence of this subcategory goes back to what the action movie is about. In principle it is virtually identical to the standard generic flick of this style, with a hero facing off against an arch enemy, saving some sort of high-stakes reality (often protecting the world), and in the process rescuing a damsel in distress while having a final confrontation with the villain.

To this we add plenty of high-intensity moments, shootings, chases, explosions and plenty of fights. In many ways, this type of flick is extremely epic due to the nature of what science fiction entails in the sense that it is supposed to be otherworldly.

Sci Fi action flicks have been made ever since the very beginning of moving pictures, but in the 1980s context they emerged at the very start of when the action trend of the decade began. The Empire Strikes Back (1980), with its raw essence marked the start of the subclass, mostly as a continuation of what had been established in the original Star Wars (1977) film and was continued in 1983 with The Return of the Jedi. And while these were the most famous movies of the beginning of this era, many, many more were produced both in those years and in the many years that came after such as She (1984) Flash Gordon (1980), Life Force (1985), Alien Nation (1988), The Toxic Avenger (1984), Masters of the Universe (1987), Galaxy of Terror (1981) Dune (1984), The Last Starfighter (1984), Enemy Mine (1986), Repo Man (1984), Runaway (1984), My Science Project (1985), Cyborg (1989), Megaforce (1982), and many others.

However, it was the popular ones that carried the subgroup forward all the way, and in many ways, carried the