10 Things About 80s Movies Everyone Misses Today

The 80s was a hell of a time to be alive, especially if you loved training montages!

Honey I Shrunk The Kids Rick Moranis
Disney

The 1980s have undergone a bit of a resurgence in recent years.

'80s fashion has come back around, '80s music has seen a revival, and you only need to watch one episode of Stranger Things to see how influential the decade, as a whole, has been on modern culture.

The '80s was also a cracking time to be a movie fan. Indiana Jones. Top Gun. The Empire Strikes Back. Return of the Jedi. Back to the Future. E.T. Ghostbusters. Dirty Dancing. How many more examples do you want?

No wonder so many people are nostalgic for that time period, and as you're about to find out, there are plenty of tropes and clichés from the '80s that fans are desperate to see return.

So, grab your leg warmers, reach for your favourite LP, and use enough hairspray to permanently ruin the ozone layer - we're going back to a simpler time...

10. The Campiness And Silliness

Honey I Shrunk The Kids Rick Moranis
20th Century Studios

This one won't be to everybody's taste, but there's no denying that one of the most defining traits of big '80s movies was their willingness to get silly.

While the decade had its fair share of "serious" films, the bulk of the movies we remember today have a delightful playfulness to them that makes them so easy to consume.

Nobody's actually worried for Westley's life in The Princess Bride, because the film makes it very clear that there isn't actually that much peril involved. Unless you're Wallace Shawn.

Similarly, how ridiculous are the Back to the Future films? High school dances? Hoverboards? A time-travelling flying train? Those hardly scream "Please, take me seriously."

Even Tim Burton's first Batman film was goofy as all hell, despite it being a supposedly "darker" take on the Caped Crusader. The scene where Jack Nicholson and his goons tear up the art gallery? Pure farce.

Big movies are generally more serious these days, and while some welcome that, there's definitely room on the market for more carefree stories.

There's a reason why people turn to movies like Ghostbusters on a Sunday afternoon, instead of The Social Network.

 
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Contributor
Contributor

Jacob Simmons has a great many passions, including rock music, giving acclaimed films three-and-a-half stars, watching random clips from The Simpsons on YouTube at 3am, and writing about himself in the third person.