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The 23 Best (and Worst) 80s Movies Remakes

best-and-worst-80s-Remakes

After hearing the announcement that Hollywood is remaking Ghostbusters, this time with an all female cast, it made me wonder about all the 80s movies remakes that I am thankful for and the ones that I wish the producers had decided just to burn their money, because that is basically what they did.

So here is the list of the best and worst 80s movies remakes and the best part is YOU get to vote which one is better: the original or the remake. To help make that case watch the preview of each and cast your vote.

1. Annie

The original came out in 1982 with the tagline: A young orphan girl’s adventures in finding a family that will take her.

Then came in the remake was released in 2014 starring Quvenzhané Wallis and Jamie Foxx.

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2. Footloose

One of the most popular movies of the 80s and one of the first movies to take popular songs and create a story around them. Kevin Bacon stars in the 1984 Footloose.

The remake came out in 2011 starring Kenny Wormald and Julianne Hough.

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3. Poltergeist

This would be a child’s movie today but in 1982 it was scary.

Somehow this slipped under the radar but the remake was released in May.

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4. WarGames

2 years before Ferris Bueller’s Day Off Matthew Broderick stars in WarGames where a young man finds a back door into a military central computer in which reality is confused with game-playing, possibly starting World War III.

Now although it isn’t a true remake (what remake is) it plays on the same idea.

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5. The A-Team

Does anything really need to be said about this TV Show?

In 2010 Liam Neeson and Bradley Cooper star in the movie remake of The A-Team. A group of Iraq War veterans looks to clear their name with the U.S. military, who suspect the four men of committing a crime for which they were framed.

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6. 21 Jump Street

Best part of this 80s TV show is the theme song. Show your kids that this is who Captain Jack Sparrow used to be and they’ll never look at him the same.

https://youtu.be/E-HpwQPpPxI

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7. Fame

A chronicle of the lives of several teenagers who attend a New York high school for students gifted in the performing arts.

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8. Karate Kid

A handyman/martial arts master agrees to teach a bullied boy karate and shows him that there is more to the martial art than fighting.

In the remake you couldn’t have picked a better Mr. Han than Jackie Chan.

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9. Conan the Barbarian

Before he was the governator he was Conan the Barbarian.

Then in 2011, Jason Momoa makes his first break in the remake.

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10.  Clash of the Titans

Laurence Olivier stars in the original Clash of the Titans about the myth of Perseus and his quest to battle both Medusa and the Kraken monster to save the Princess Andromeda.

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11. Miami Vice

The adventures of the vice squad detectives of the Miami Police Department.

Colin Ferrell and Jaime Foxx team up for this movie remake of the 80s TV show.

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12. Friday the 13th

A group of camp counselors is stalked and murdered by an unknown assailant while trying to reopen a summer camp which, years before, was the site of a child’s drowning.

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13. Nightmare on Elm Street

Several people are hunted by a cruel serial killer who kills his victims in their dreams. When the survivors are trying to find the reason for being chosen, the murderer won’t lose any chance to kill them as soon as they fall asleep.

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14. Piranha

This awful movie wasn’t just made once…it was made into a remake. I can’t believe were asking you to even vote on this one.

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15. Dukes of Hazard

The adventures of the fast-drivin’, rubber-burnin’ Duke boys of Hazzard County.

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16. Predators

A team of commandos on a mission in a Central American jungle find themselves hunted by an extra-terrestrial warrior.

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17. Wall Street

A young and impatient stockbroker is willing to do anything to get to the top, including trading on illegal inside information taken through a ruthless and greedy corporate raider who takes the youth under his wing.

Although not a true remake, the sequel comes over 20 years later with the same type of story line, so we added to the list.

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 18. TRON

Another movie where the main character (Jeff Bridges) is in both original and remake. A computer hacker is abducted into the digital world and forced to participate in gladiatorial games where his only chance of escape is with the help of a heroic security program.

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19. The Thing

Scientists in the Antarctic are confronted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of the people that it kills.

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20. The Smurfs

The Smurfs are little blue creatures that live in mushroom houses in a forest inhabited mainly by their own kind. The smurfs average daily routine is attempting to avoid Gargomel, an evil man who wants to kill our little blue friends.

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21. Fright Night

When a teenager learns that his next door neighbour is a vampire, no one will believe him.

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Honorable Mentions

22. Terminator

A human-looking indestructible cyborg is sent from 2029 to 1984 to assassinate a waitress, whose unborn son will lead humanity in a war against the machines, while a soldier from that war is sent to protect her at all costs.

https://youtu.be/lHz95RYUbik

I only say this qualifies because Terminator: Genisys Connor send Kyle Reese back to 1984.

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23. Ghostbusters

Now this last one is an honorable mention as the remake isn’t official out yet and there isn’t even a trailer (yet), but we did find a instagram video of filming that you can watch.

https://youtu.be/teGxHLo9Qcc

This remake changes up the roles a bit different the the previous 21 remakes as the three main characters are now female and star Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wig, and Kate McKinnon, and Chris Hemsworth.

A video posted by Scoot (@sluken18) on

Without seeing the movie it impossible to know which will be better but let us know which one you THINK will be better.

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It’s safe to say there are going to be plenty more good and bad remakes in the future. Leave us a comment with what 80s movie they should NEVER remake and what movie you’d like to see remade.

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