The 1990s were a pivotal decade for sci-fi movies. The combination of seismic geopolitical shifts and the advent of new technology made it a transformative time in all areas of human life, with the period’s best science fiction movies reflecting this incredible upheaval. As a result, the 1990s’ best sci-fi movies both exhibit groundbreaking technological techniques and also capture the essence of a particularly turbulent period in human history.
One of the most interesting things about 90s science fiction is the huge range of topics it tackles. While many movies take place in stereotypical sci-fi settings, featuring space travel and aliens, others offer a more dystopian sociological perspective, painting a bizarro portrait of the audience’s own experience. This means that science fiction films from this period tend to be incredibly varied when compared to other eras. Considering the sheer number of 90s sci-fi movies, the 10 best examples of the genre also demonstrate this diversity.
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From nightmarish hellscapes to time-hopping thrillers to a hero that regresses to a pre-human form, these are sci-fi’s strangest cinematic trips.
10 Total Recall (1990)
Director: Paul Verhoeven
One of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s most underrated movie roles, Total Recall is a mind-bending sci-fi actioner that asks existential questions of its characters and has its audience interrogating reality itself. Schwarzenegger stars as Douglas Quaid, a construction worker who undergoes a procedure to implant false memories into his subconscious. This sparks a paranoid hunt for the truth, as Quaid’s identity and understanding of the world rapidly unravel. Satisfyingly complex, violent, and funny, Total Recall has been reevaluated following its release and is now considered a genre classic.
9 Men In Black (1997)
Director: Barry Sonnenfeld
An expertly executed buddy-cop comedy – with added aliens – Men in Black succeeds thanks to its charismatic central pairing of Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones. The duo are a perfect compliment, with Smith’s streetwise Agent J the ideal foil for Jones’ curmudgeonly K. The movie’s premise of an Earth secretly inhabited by alien races from across the universe is simple and effective, while Vincent D’Onofrio’s Bug is a terrifying villain. These ingredients all add up to make a near-perfect sci-fi action comedy movie that set the benchmark for years to come.
8 Starship Troopers (1997)
Director: Paul Verhoeven
An outrageous satire of fascism and the military-industrial complex, Starship Troopers is more nuanced than its bug-squashing premise might suggest. Based on a 1959 novel, Verhoeven’s movie expertly negotiates a tightrope between celebrating authoritarianism and showcasing its inherent pomposity and ridiculousness. Casper Van Dien is perfectly cast as the chiseled Johnny Rico, while the movie’s oblique references to capital punishment and nationalism are sinister and darkly funny. To top it all off, Starship Trooper‘s violent action remains spectacular, making the Mobile Infantry’s mission to vanquish the arachnids feel genuinely perilous.
7 Independence Day (1996)
Director: Roland Emmerich
It may have lost some of its impact thanks to many of its most iconic moments being ripped off by inferior movies (including its own lackluster sequel), but Independence Day remains one of the all-time great alien invasion movies. Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum, and Bill Pullman represent three of the fronts against the alien aggressors, delivering tub-thumping monologues and catchphrases to go with explosive action. While shots like the White House’s destruction have gone down in cinematic history, it’s Independence Day‘s characters and story that guarantee its status as evergreen blockbuster entertainment.
6 The Iron Giant (1999)
Director: Brad Bird
Criminally under-seen on release, The Iron Giant was a major box-office disappointment for Warner Bros. Nevertheless, the film remains an animated sci-fi classic and one of the finest works of Brad Bird’s career. The story revolves around the titular robot who befriends a nine-year-old boy before becoming the subject of a military intervention. Simultaneously heart-breaking and life-affirming, The Iron Giant boasts a near-perfect 96% approval rating on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. Its message of tolerance and acceptance remains resonant 25 years after its release, while its reputation has rightly grown with time.
5 Galaxy Quest (1999)
Director: Dean Parisot
Often accurately described as “the best Star Trek movie never made,” Galaxy Quest is an affectionate love letter to passionate fans of every stripe. The meta-narrative revolves around the cast of a fictional sci-fi TV show who find themselves embroiled in a real alien story when extraterrestrials mistakenly believe that episodes of the show are real “historical documents“. Part parody and part effective comedy in its own right, Galaxy Quest avoids sneering at diehard fans and instead presents a positive – albeit hilarious – view of hardcore fandom.
4 The Fifth Element (1997)
Director: Luc Besson
An uproarious sci-fi adventure, The Fifth Element encapsulates what many viewers most love about the science fiction genre. Bruce Willis plays Korben Dallas, a former soldier-turned-taxi-driver who becomes entangled in a mission to save the universe from the living personification of evil. To do so, he must overcome the extravagantly malevolent Jean-Baptiste Emmanuel Zorg and his gang of alien mercenaries, all while chaperoning the mysterious and powerful Leeloo. Boasting spectacular design, an incredible cast, and break-neck storytelling, The Fifth Element is, if nothing else, one of the most entertaining sci-fi movies ever made.
3 Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
Director: James Cameron
Regularly cited as the greatest sequel of all time, Terminator 2 is a prime example of how technological advances transformed sci-fi movies in the 1990s. Schwarzenegger stars once again as a deadly cyborg sent from the future – this time with the ingenious twist that he is on the side of humanity. This role reversal allows for some incredible robot-on-robot fight sequences, with Robert Patrick’s “liquid metal” T-1000 a landmark character in the world of VFX. Terminator 2 was both a huge critical and commercial hit, taking the franchise to heights that it has never been able to scale again.
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Robots in sci-fi movies can vary wildly in their purpose and disposition, but looking back at some of the most iconic robots in film, many are linked.
2 The Matrix (1999)
Directors: The Wachowskis
A genuine game-changer for both the science fiction and action genres, The Matrix is technically astounding, philosophically intelligent, and gripping from start to finish. The movie’s inspired premise that the world is just an illusion gives the story a conspiratorial edge that separates it from the crowd. Tapping into societal fears around technology and AI, The Matrix introduced viewers to a completely different kind of storytelling – with the movie’s spectacular action and martial arts providing the cherry on top of the cake. Although the sequels underwhelmed, The Matrix perfectly book-ended a decade of great sci-fi movies.
1 Jurassic Park (1993)
Director: Steven Spielberg
One of the biggest and most beloved blockbusters of all time, Jurassic Park did what many filmmakers long believed to be impossible and actually brought dinosaurs back to life. Although it is rightly hailed as a watershed moment in CGI, it is Jurassic Park‘s use of incredible prosthetics, great characters, and effective story that make it such a classic. While Michael Crichton’s book was widely praised for its philosophical content, Spielberg improved on the source material by streamlining the narrative without dumbing it down. This approach not only made Jurassic Park the best 1990s sci-fi movie, but one of the most iconic films in any genre.
