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Best Action Movies With Friends On A Friday From The 80S And 90S That Changed Cinema Forever

Every action film here was chosen with a Friday night with friends in mind. These aren't algorithmically ranked, they were chosen because they actually work for this.

The best action movies with friends on a friday from the 80s and 90s that changed cinema forever. Includes Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, A Better Tomorrow...

Friday night with friends is about energy. You want something that earns its place in the conversation - a film that people are still talking about on the way home.

The 80s and 90s remain a goldmine. Films that were commercially dismissed on release and now considered essential.

Action at its finest is pure cinema — image, sound, and momentum doing what words cannot. These films understand that.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan movie poster
1
1982 · ★★★½☆ 7.4/10

The starship Enterprise and its crew is pulled back into action when old nemesis, Khan, steals a top secret device called Project Genesis.

A Better Tomorrow movie poster
2
1986 · ★★★½☆ 7.4/10

A reforming ex-gangster tries to reconcile with his estranged policeman brother, but the ties to his former gang are difficult to break.

The Mission movie poster
3
1986 · ★★★½☆ 7.4/10

When a Spanish Jesuit goes into the South American wilderness to build a mission in the hope of converting the Indians of the region, a slave hunter is converted and joins his mission. When Spain sells the colony to Portugal, they are forced to defend all they have built against the Portuguese aggressors.

The Last of the Mohicans movie poster
4
1992 · ★★★½☆ 7.4/10

In war-torn colonial America, in the midst of a bloody battle between British, the French and Native American allies, the aristocratic daughter of a British Colonel and her party are captured by a group of Huron warriors. Fortunately, a group of three Mohican trappers comes to their rescue.

Mad Max 2 movie poster
5
1981 · ★★★½☆ 7.4/10

Max Rockatansky returns as the heroic loner who drives the dusty roads of a postapocalyptic Australian Outback in an unending search for gasoline. Arrayed against him and the other scraggly defendants of a fuel-depot encampment are the bizarre warriors commanded by the charismatic Lord Humungus, a violent leader whose scruples are as barren as the surrounding landscape.

What separates great action from great noise is consequence. Every punch, every chase, every choice has to matter. These films make it matter.

The Hunt for Red October movie poster
6
1990 · ★★★½☆ 7.4/10

A new technologically-superior Soviet nuclear sub, the Red October, is heading for the U.S. coast under the command of Captain Marko Ramius. The American government thinks Ramius is planning to attack. Lone CIA analyst Jack Ryan has a different idea: he thinks Ramius is planning to defect, but he has only a few hours to find him and prove it - because the entire Russian naval and air commands are trying to find Ramius, too. The hunt is on!

RoboCop movie poster
7
1987 · ★★★½☆ 7.4/10

In a violent, near-apocalyptic Detroit, evil corporation Omni Consumer Products wins a contract from the city government to privatize the police force. To test their crime-eradicating cyborgs, the company leads street cop Alex Murphy into an armed confrontation with crime lord Boddicker so they can use his body to support their untested RoboCop prototype. But when RoboCop learns of the company's nefarious plans, he turns on his masters.

Operation Condor movie poster
8
1991 · ★★★½☆ 7.3/10

Hired by a Spanish baron, Hong Kong treasure hunter Jackie, a.k.a. "Asian Hawk" and his entourage seek WWII Nazi gold buried in the Sahara Desert.

Total Recall movie poster
9
1990 · ★★★½☆ 7.3/10

Construction worker Douglas Quaid's obsession with the planet Mars leads him to visit Rekall, a virtual vacation company that manufactures memories. When something goes wrong during Quaid's memory implant procedure, his life turns upside down, leading him to question what is reality and what isn't.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom movie poster
10
1984 · ★★★½☆ 7.3/10

After arriving in India, Indiana Jones is asked by a desperate village to find a mystical stone. He agrees - and stumbles upon a secret cult plotting a terrible plan in the catacombs of an ancient palace.

Some films don't just tell stories - they change what stories can be. These are the ones that shifted what came after them.

The best action films leave you with more than adrenaline. They leave you with a character you won't forget and a story worth retelling.

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