Thursday 9th February 2012 by Holly Frith | Photos by WENN.com

In the 1980s, nothing defined Hollywood more than action movies. John Hughes's teen films could be beaten to a pulp by the Rambo's of this world. Nightmare on Elm Street? Chuck Norris stalks Freddie Kreuger's nightmares. Star Wars? Surely that was just an Arnie movie set in a galaxy far, far away...

If the 1970s were all about gritty, realistic movies led by cinematic auteurs, the screen heroes of the following decade were undoubtedly the holy trinity of Schwarzenegger, Stallone and Willis. Whereas in years gone by, the villain would have been some kind of cowboy with a massive chip on his shoulder, now it was South African terrorists, Russian secret agents and aliens hunting us for sport.

This was a decade where a movie studio would buy the rights to a Phillip K Dick novel and turn it into an excuse for Schwarzenegger to blow things up. An era where environmentalists were bad, and fuel-sapping morons were the heroes (although why I've wandered into the subplot of Ghostbusters I'm not sure).

Again I'm rambling. Anyway, here is our selection of the ten finest action movies the 1980s had to offer. They're in chronological order, rather than being rated by quality, but we think Commando was the greatest action movie ever made. As ever, disagreements, comments, and wild ramblings - as exhibited here - are always welcome...