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Best Science Fiction Movies

of the 1980s

The 20 highest-rated science fiction movies released between 1980 and 1989, ranked by IMDb score.

1

The Empire Strikes Back(1980)

8.7 IMDb93% RT82 Meta

The epic saga continues as Luke Skywalker, in hopes of defeating the evil Galactic Empire, learns the ways of the Jedi from aging master Yoda. But Darth Vader is more determined than ever to capture L

2

Back to the Future(1985)

8.5 IMDb93% RT88 Meta

Eighties teenager Marty McFly is accidentally sent back in time to 1955, inadvertently disrupting his parents' first meeting and attracting his mother's romantic interest. Marty must repair the damage

3

Aliens(1986)

8.4 IMDb94% RT84 Meta

Ripley, the sole survivor of the Nostromo's deadly encounter with the monstrous Alien, returns to Earth after drifting through space in hypersleep for 57 years. Although her story is initially met wit

4

Return of the Jedi(1983)

8.3 IMDb83% RT58 Meta

Luke Skywalker leads a mission to rescue his friend Han Solo from the clutches of Jabba the Hutt, the Emperor prepares to crush the Rebellion with a more powerful Death Star, and the Rebel fleet mount

5

The Thing(1982)

8.2 IMDb85% RT57 Meta

A research team in Antarctica is hunted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of its victims.

6

Blade Runner(1982)

8.1 IMDb89% RT84 Meta

In the smog-choked dystopian Los Angeles of 2019, blade runner Rick Deckard is called out of retirement to terminate a quartet of replicants who have escaped to Earth seeking their creator for a way t

7

Threads(1985)

7.9 IMDb100% RT92 Meta

Documentary style account of a nuclear holocaust and its effect on the working class city of Sheffield, England; and the eventual long run effects of nuclear war on civilization.

8

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial(1982)

7.9 IMDb99% RT92 Meta

An alien is left behind on Earth and saved by the 10-year-old Elliott who decides to keep him hidden in his home. While a task force hunts for the extra-terrestrial, Elliott, his brother, and his litt

9

Back to the Future Part II(1989)

7.8 IMDb63% RT57 Meta

Marty and Doc are at it again as the time-traveling duo head to 2015 to nip some McFly family woes in the bud. But things go awry thanks to bully Biff Tannen and a pesky sports almanac. In a last-ditc

10

Predator(1987)

7.8 IMDb65% RT47 Meta

A team of elite commandos on a secret mission in a Central American jungle come to find themselves hunted by an extraterrestrial warrior.

11

Kin-dza-dza!(1986)

7.8 IMDb

Two Soviet humans previously unknown to each other are transported to the planet Pluke in the Kin-dza-dza galaxy due to a chance encounter with an alien teleportation device. They must come to grips w

12

Brazil(1985)

7.8 IMDb98% RT84 Meta

Low-level bureaucrat Sam Lowry escapes the monotony of his day-to-day life through a recurring daydream of himself as a virtuous hero saving a beautiful damsel. Investigating a case that led to the wr

13

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan(1982)

7.7 IMDb87% RT68 Meta

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

14

RoboCop(1987)

7.6 IMDb92% RT70 Meta

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 com

15

Mad Max 2(1981)

7.6 IMDb93% RT77 Meta

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

16

The Abyss(1989)

7.5 IMDb76% RT62 Meta

A civilian oil rig crew is recruited to conduct a search and rescue effort when a nuclear submarine mysteriously sinks. One diver soon finds himself on a spectacular odyssey 25,000 feet below the ocea

17

Sexmission(1984)

7.5 IMDb

Two scientists are chosen as guinea pigs for a time experiment: they are placed in hibernation and should be brought back to life after three years. In the meantime, however, World War III breaks out

18

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home(1986)

7.3 IMDb81% RT71 Meta

When a huge alien probe enters the galaxy and begins to vaporize Earth's oceans, Kirk and his crew must travel back in time in order to bring back whales and save the planet.

19

The Return of Godzilla(1984)

6.8 IMDb

After a fishing boat is attacked, the sole surviving crew member realizes it is none other than a resurrected Godzilla. However, efforts to bring the story to light are suppressed by the Japanese gove

20

Godzilla vs. Biollante(1989)

6.5 IMDb75% RT

After the previous Godzilla attack, a miniature arms race ensues to collect his cells. Concerned over Godzilla's possible return, the Japanese government uses the cells to create a new bio-weapon, ANE

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