With the invention of computer generated graphics, science fiction movies in the ‘90s were really able to start exploring new territory. And with the explosion of technology during this era, all sorts of new themes started to crop up in SciFi, from genetic engineering, to robots taking over the world, to first contact with alien species. Just as important as the science fiction concepts, though, were the actual stories to accompany them, and the ’90s did a great job at creating SciFi stories that were serious, funny, or some combination thereof. There were a lot of SciFi movies in the ‘90s, so giving ourselves the task of narrowing them down to just the top 10 was definitely not easy!
So without further ado, here is our countdown of the top 10 ‘90s SciFi movies. Read on to see if your favorite made it to the top of our list!
10. Total Recall (1990)
Paul Verhoeven directed Total Recall, a mind-bender which stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as Quaid, a construction worker who signs up to have memories implanted in his brain of a virtual “vacation” to Mars where he was a secret agent. The only problem? He now has memories of being an actual secret agent on Mars, and is soon being pursued by all sorts of nasty people. Is he really a secret agent after all, or is this all part of the virtual vacation? That’s the question of at the center of this SciFi action movie, and although some of the effects today might look a little hokey, back then they were very cutting edge.
9. Independence Day (1996)
Fresh off Fresh Prince, Will Smith starred in Independence Day, a SciFi action movie directed by Roland Emmerich about some nasty aliens coming to Earth to harvest all of its resources. Smith plays a fighter pilot who ends up embroiled in all of the hoopla alongside Jeff Goldblum as a computer whiz who figures out how to take the aliens down with a computer virus, and Bill Pullman as the President struggling to deal with the madness the aliens have caused. This is definitely a fun popcorn movie that is so very mid-90s.
8. Contact (1997)
A more cerebral take on the science fiction genre came in the form of the film Contact, directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Jodie Foster and Matthew McConaughey. The film is based on the book of the same name by Carl Sagan, and features alien contact that is much nicer than in Independence Day. Foster plays Ellie, a scientist who has been looking for intelligent life for years, and finally finds proof in the form of radio transmission signals that include plans for a mysterious machine. The film raises a lot of questions about faith versus science, and is definitely one of the least action-y of the bunch.
7. The Fifth Element (1997)
If you wanted something on the wackier side of SciFi, the ‘90s was there for you too, with the best being The Fifth Element from French filmmaker Luc Besson. Bruce Willis stars as Korben Dallas, a former special forces major turned taxi driver who finds himself suddenly becoming responsible for the fate of the Earth after a young woman, Leeloo (Milla Jovovich), literally falls into his cab. It’s kooky and a little bit crazy, but a lot of fun while still dealing with some serious themes.
6. Men in Black (1997)
In this loose adaptation of the Men in Black comic book series directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones star as two agents of the titular Men in Black, an organization that supervises extraterrestrial lifeforms who live on Earth in secret. This film does a good job at combining action, comedy, and science fiction elements to create an engaging and fast-paced story. It was so popular that it spawned a whole series, and the song Smith performed for the soundtrack only made it all the more popular as well. Popular doesn’t always mean good, but in this case it actually does!
5. Gattaca (1997)
If you like the more thoughtful science fiction films, but aliens aren’t really your style, then Gattaca was probably the film for you. This film from Andrew Niccol explores genetic engineering and what that might mean for the human race, where some people are engineered to be essentially perfect, while those who are born without such intervention are seen as lesser than. Ethan Hawke stars as one such “lesser than” human being who goes to great lengths to be something more, so that he can become an astronaut and explore the solar system. Uma Thurman and Jude Law co-star, and if you haven’t seen Gattaca, we highly recommend it.
4. Galaxy Quest (1999)
In a more comedic vein we have Galaxy Quest, a parody and homage to old science fiction movies and television shows, particularly Star Trek and its fandom. Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, and Alan Rickman star as the washed up former cast members of a defunct hit television series called Galaxy Quest that was much like Star Trek. In the years following the show, the actors mainly spend their time going to fan conventions. But, things get serious when actual aliens turn up and ask for their help, thinking that the show was a truthful documentary. The movie does a great job of poking fun at typical SciFi tropes while also keeping a feel good attitude.
3. The Matrix (1999)
Written and directed by the Wachowskis, The Matrix was super innovative back in the late ‘90s, introducing moviegoers to the concept of “bullet time” — basically having the action slow way down with the camera moving all around the character. Keanu Reeves starred as Neo, a hacker who finds out that the world is not as it seems, and is given the choice to either forget and return to his normal life, or wake up in the real world and fight back against the machines that have overtaken the world. The idea that we might all just be stuck in “the matrix” was something everyone could envision, and that coupled with the action scenes made this movie awesome.
2. Jurassic Park (1993)
Steven Spielberg directed Jurassic Park, which was adapted from the book by Michael Crichton — Crichton even wrote the first version of the screenplay. Sam Neill and Laura Dern star as Alan Grant and Ellie Sattler, scientific experts on dinosaurs, who are brought to the unfinished theme park featuring cloned dinosaurs made by industrialist John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) to take a look at it before it opens to the public. Of course, things start to go wrong, and Grant finds himself stranded in the park with Hammond’s two grandchildren, struggling to survive and make it back to the main compound. The effects in this movie feature both animatronic and CGI dinosaurs, but it wasn’t just the effects that make this movie great — the story is awesome as well. It’s too bad none of the sequels live up to the original, but at least we have this piece of perfection to always come back to!
1. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
It’s pretty rare for a sequel to be as awesome, or even moreso, than the original, but James Cameron’s Terminator 2: Judgment Day managed to do just that. In this sequel to 1984’s The Terminator, Arnold Schwarzenegger is back as a new terminator from the future, this time programmed to protect Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) and her son John Connor (Edward Furlong), who is now ten years old. And they need that protection as a new version of a terminator, the T-1000, who can morph to look like any person, is out to kill them. The liquid metal CGI effects were super innovative for the early ‘90s, and they actually still hold up pretty well today considering the advancements since then. T2 is a great SciFi action movie that had a certain magic the Terminator franchise has been trying to recreate ever since.
What are your favorite ‘90s SciFi movies? Do you agree with our ranking? Let us know in the comments!
- Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan began working on Contact as a film treatment in 1979, but when they couldn’t get it off the ground, Sagan turned it into a book that then was adapted back into a screenplay in the ‘90s.
- Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman began dating while filming Gattaca — they eventually married in 1998 and had two children (their daughter Maya Hawke has followed in their acting footsteps), though they went on to divorce in 2005.
- Harold Ramis was originally supposed to direct Galaxy Quest, but ended up leaving the film when Tim Allen was cast. Ramis had tried to cast Alec Baldwin, Kevin Kline, and Steve Martin in the lead role, but they turned it down. Ultimately, once he saw the film, he stated that he was impressed with Allen in the role.
- Though at the time of filming Jurassic Park, it was thought that T. Rex’s might only be able to see you if you moved, more recent research suggests that they probably actually had excellent vision.
- Linda Hamilton, Sarah Connor in Terminator 2, has an identical twin, Leslie. Leslie stepped in to play Sarah in the scene where the T-1000 is impersonating Sarah and they are both onscreen at the same time.
- Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan began working on Contact as a film treatment in 1979, but when they couldn’t get it off the ground, Sagan turned it into a book that then was adapted back into a screenplay in the ‘90s.
- Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman began dating while filming Gattaca — they eventually married in 1998 and had two children (their daughter Maya Hawke has followed in their acting footsteps), though they went on to divorce in 2005.
- Harold Ramis was originally supposed to direct Galaxy Quest, but ended up leaving the film when Tim Allen was cast. Ramis had tried to cast Alec Baldwin, Kevin Kline, and Steve Martin in the lead role, but they turned it down. Ultimately, once he saw the film, he stated that he was impressed with Allen in the role.
- Though at the time of filming Jurassic Park, it was thought that T. Rex’s might only be able to see you if you moved, more recent research suggests that they probably actually had excellent vision.
- Linda Hamilton, Sarah Connor in Terminator 2, has an identical twin, Leslie. Leslie stepped in to play Sarah in the scene where the T-1000 is impersonating Sarah and they are both onscreen at the same time.
