1987 Movies Ranked

<< 1986  1988 >>

12. Spaceball

D: Mel Brooks

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Many movies that we think of as classics had lukewarm critical reception upon their release.  This is a rare instance where I actually side with movie critics’ assessment of the movie over its cult status.  The jokes are mostly lame puns, double-entendres and painfully obvious pop-cultural references (Get it?  They’re making fun of how much merchandising Star Wars has!)  The only parts of the movie I found consistently funny were Rick Moranis and John Candy, just because were naturally funny actors.  People act like this movie is genius, but it's literally Friedberg/Seltzer-tier humor.

11. The Living Daylights

Timothy Dalton

D: John Glen

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Not particularly good, but it did have a pretty good chase scene.  The movie features something that makes every Northrop F-5 that has ever been passed off as a MiG in a movie feel better about itself: a Russian C-130.  To make things worse, there’s an RAF C-130 earlier in the movie! 

10. G.I. Joe: The Movie

D: Don Jurwich

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The movie retcons the entire premise of the show.  Say what you will about the live-action movies.  They were still better than this.

9. The Princess Bride

D: Rob Reiner

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I find this movie a tad overpraised, but overall it’s a solid, quirky movie with some memorable moments.

8. Full Metal Jacket

D: Stanley Kubrick

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Like everyone else, I’m underwhelmed by second half, but the boot camp story arc is classic.

7. Raising Arizona

D: The Coen Bros.

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Not the Coens’ best, but still pretty good.

6. The Monster Squad

1987

D: Fred Dekker

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A fun movie that boasts my favorite version of Dracula, who drives a hearse, cusses at small girls, and throws dynamite at people.  I also like its depiction of the classic werewolf archetype, in which the human maintains sympathy by actually trying to take preventative measures against killing people in werewolf form.

5. Predator

D: John McTiernan

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Overall, a very good movie.  I am annoyed, however, by the attempts to satirize the fetishistic portrayal of firearms with…fetishistic portrayal of firearms.  As I pointed out in my Shoot’em Up review, half-assed satire that makes no effort to distinguish itself from what it’s trying to satirize is one of my pet peeves.  At least this movie is still good overall.

4. Evil Dead II: Dead by Dawn

D: Sam Raimi

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Sam Raimi takes the Evil Dead series to the next level by making it a true horror-comedy.

3. The Brave Little Toaster

D: Jerry Rees

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Though the animation is not as great as that of Silver Age cartoons, and a lot of it is very dated, it’s a good story with some classic animated Nightmare Fuel (particularly the clown).  A couple great songs, too.

2. RoboCop

D: Paul Verhoeven

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Despite its satire, it’s mostly an above-average sci-fi action movie with great violence, memorable characters and a great score.

1. Planes, Trains and Automobiles

D: John Hughes

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A perfect road comedy with a poignant twist.  Steve Martin and John Candy are superb.  Definitely Hughes’ best movie.

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