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The 80s were an incredible time for movies, and that decade is responsible for some of the most beloved titles ever to grace the silver screen. For example, movies like The Thing and Aliens are still revered as horror classics, and the latter is part of a franchise still active today. Many fans would agree that The Princess Bride is a timeless masterpiece, and Raiders of the Lost Ark remains one of the most influential adventure movies of all time.
Of course, we cannot talk about 80s movies without a special mention of Back to the Future. It’s a family-friendly adventure with a time-traveling story, but it’s so much more than that. Michael J. Fox is incredible as Marty McFly, and Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) became a household name. The movie has sci-fi elements, but also comedy and 80s teen drama, and there’s a reason the DeLorean remains so sought after.
Many movie fans would declare their favorite movies as ‘perfect,’ but that bold claim is arguably quite defensible with Back to the Future. It offers a blend of genres you rarely find elsewhere, with lovable characters and a great story. The 1985 movie is a tough act to follow, and besides the sequels, it’s surprisingly difficult to find other similar titles.
Nevertheless, some films do fit the bill. We’re covering a wide range of movies in this list. Many contain time travel, as it’s so important to Back to the Future, but others share similar 80s vibes, which are just as essential.
10
Timecop (1994)
Timecop is very different from Back to the Future in setting and tone. However, it depicts a future where time travel is normalized, and explores how it could be exploited. Jean-Claude Van Damme stars as Walker, a time enforcement agent.
Time travel is restricted, and travelers are forbidden from turning back time and enriching their lives in the past to benefit their future selves. It’s up to Walker to stop a corrupt Senator from doing precisely that while dealing with his own demons.
Van Damme is an athletic action hero in Timecop, though the movie showcases less of his iconic martial arts skills. It also explores some unique time travel ideas, such as whether you should save people from a tragedy if you knew it was coming.
9
The Adam Project (2022)
The Adam Project is the most modern movie on this list, starring Ryan Reynolds as Adam. He’s a time-traveling fighter pilot from the future who goes back in time to the present day and meets his former, 12-year-old self.
Without delving too deep into spoilers, Adam reveals to his younger self, played by Walker Scobell, that there are issues with time travel in the future. He embarks on a journey to try to stop the technology ever being invented in the first place, though there are forces who would rather that did not happen.
The Adam Project is a stylish sci-fi action movie, but it also has a much more personal story about growing up at its core. There are some genuine laugh-out-loud moments, and the movie has some impressive action set-pieces.
8
Flight of the Navigator (1986)
Flight of the Navigator is an 80s live-action Disney movie with a wondrous sci-fi story. David (Joey Cramer) is a young boy who tumbles and knocks himself out on the way home. He later discovers that he’s uniquely linked to an alien technology and can pilot a UFO.
That UFO can talk and is called Max. The spacecraft slowly warms to David as the story unfolds, and their bond is one of the draws of the movie. Max starts like a cold computer AI, but gradually becomes more witty and sarcastic.
Flight of the Navigator also explores some oddly mature themes about lost childhood that may hit some audiences particularly hard. It’s a fun sci-fi story on the surface with some surprisingly emotional moments.
7
The Last Starfighter (1984)
The Last Starfighter doesn’t feature time-travel like many titles on this list. However, it’s a charming, family-friendly 80s adventure movie with a wish-fulfillment story any gamers will enjoy.
Lance Guest stars as Alex. He frequents the local arcade and becomes particularly good at the Starfighter video game. Alex gets the high score, completely unaware that the game has a unique purpose. The arcade cabinet is actually part of a training program to become a Star League pilot, and he just passed the test. He’s suddenly introduced to a world he had no idea existed, but is he ready to leave his regular life behind?
The Last Starfighter is a fun, lighthearted 80s movie with relatable characters. The sci-fi space aspect is quite different from Back to the Future, though both offer similar vibes and are suitable for a multigenerational audience.
6
Time Bandits (1981)
Time Bandits is a lesser-known 80s fantasy movie featuring a wild time-traveling adventure. Kevin (Craig Warnock) is a young boy with a passion for history. A group of time traveling dwarfs enter his room through a portal and take him along for the ride.
Kevin learns that the dwarfs are traveling across time, stealing treasure through the ages. They’ve also stolen a magical map and are being pursued by the Supreme Being (Ralph Richardson), who will stop at nothing to get it back.
The concept of Time Bandits is as bizarre as it sounds, and the movie fully leans into its absurdity as viewers never know what will happen next. Time Bandits is also surprisingly dark at times, with several unexpected shocking scenes.
5
The Goonies (1985)
The Goonies may seem like an odd inclusion, because it doesn’t feature sci-fi elements or time travel in any way. However, it captures the wholesome adventure feeling of Back to the Future in a way few productions have.
The movie follows a group of kids from the Goon Docks. Mikey (Sean Astley) stumbles upon a pirate’s treasure map hidden away in his attic and follows it with his friends into the nearby caves. The kids find more than they bargained for, including ancient booby traps, and even a dangerous family who give chase.
The Goonies tells a fast-paced story full of wonder, and it’s suitable for all ages. Mikey and his friends are relatable as they are just regular kids, and the movie captures the magic of a fantasy adventure even without time travel.
4
Peggy Sue Got Married (1986)
Peggy Sue Got Married features a form of time travel, though quite different from Back to the Future. Peggy Sue (Kathleen Turner) is on the brink of divorce and faints during her 25th high-school reunion. It’s a bleak setup, though she has the chance of a do-over when she awakens.
Peggy Sue wakes up, but more than 20 years in the past. She’s 18 again, but with all the knowledge she gained before, and she uses that insight to attempt to change her future. Peggy Sue also meets a younger version of her husband, Charlie (Nicolas Cage), but will circumstances change or will history repeat itself?
Peggy Sue Got Married offers a fun take on time travel. Some audiences may also appreciate it as a wish-fulfillment story as Peggy Sue attempts to rewrite history.
3
Blast from the Past (1999)
Blast from the Past is like a reverse Back to the Future in many ways, with a charismatic lead in Brendan Fraser as Adam. He’s a man from a paranoid family who thought a nuclear bomb was about to drop. It never happened, but they stayed in a bunker believing it did for 35 years.
Adam ventures onto the surface, seeing so many new things for the first time, including the sky. Naturally, most people distance themselves from Adam and his outlandish behavior, but he meets someone, Eve (Alicia Silverstone), who changes his life forever.
Blast from the Past is a romantic comedy, but it focuses on someone who is seeing the modern world for the first time and how he struggles to integrate. It’s not traditional time travel, though a lot happened while Adam was underground, and it’s futuristic to him.
2
Pleasantville (1998)
Pleasantville isn’t about traditional time travel, though it explores a fresh take on many ideas that make Back to the Future so memorable. David (Tobey Maguire) and Jennifer (Reese Witherspoon) are siblings in the 90s transported into a black-and-white sitcom called Pleasantville set in the 50s.
The town of Pleasantville is idyllic, where everything seems perfect on the surface. However, Jennifer’s actions start changing things, adding color to the world. The siblings’ arrival makes the residents of Pleasantville question their sheltered existences, introducing conflicts that weren’t there before.
Pleasantville is remarkable for its use of color and poses some unexpectedly deep questions where there is no right answer. David and Jennifer aren’t altering their pasts, but their actions still have wide-reaching consequences.
1
Bill And Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1990)
Many readers likely saw this coming, but Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure is an action comedy showcasing the wonder of time travel. The movie stars Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves as Bill S Preston and Ted Theodore Logan. The duo are struggling musicians with an upcoming history test that threatens to split them up forever.
Authorities from the future need them to pass the test, so they send Rufus (George Carlin) to give them a time travel phone booth so they can experience the past firsthand. The duo goes on an epic journey through history, collecting influential figures from across time along the way.
Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure is a timeless classic with very similar vibes to Back to the Future. It’s suitable for all ages with two charismatic leads, and chaos ensues when the historical figures arrive in the present day.
- Release Date
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July 3, 1985
- Runtime
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116 minutes
- Director
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Robert Zemeckis
- Writers
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Robert Zemeckis, Bob Gale
- Producers
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Bob Gale, Frank Marshall, Kathleen Kennedy, Neil Canton
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