The 1970s had Star Wars: A New Hope, Logan’s Run, and The Omega Man while the 1980s had Predator, The Running Man, and Blade Runner, but there’s an argument to be made that it was actually the 1990s that proved to be the best decade of them all for science fiction movies with a strong focus on delivering action-packed set pieces. The decade’s best of those genre-blenders have really held up. This is partially due to the fact that advances in technology allowed large stories to be told convincingly, yet cinema had not yet become some overly reliant on CGI. It was the decade of the happy merger between computer tech and practical effects.
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The following examples make the case for the ’90s being the best for those who like their action movies to have a sci-fi slant. Or vice versa.
10) Darkman
An underrated superhero movie that set the ground for its director, Sam Raimi, to move on to Spider-Man (And later Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness), Darkman is the most inventive “one man against a group of gangsters” movies out there. And its all anchored by Liam Neeson and Frances McDormand, relatively early in their careers.
There are two key aspects that make Darkman such a winner. One is the novel concept of having a man left for dead by the mob actually take the appearance of the mob members to turn them in on themselves. Second there’s Larry Drake’s note-perfect performance as the villain. He’s terrifying, but it’s also clear he’s having a great time.
Stream Darkman on Peacock.
9) Total Recall
Paul Verhoeven’s Total Recall is considered by some to be Arnold Schwarzenegger’s best sci-fi movie, which is high praise considering he was also in The Terminator and Predator. It’s one of the better adaptations of a Philip K. Dick work.
Total Recall works because it has so much fun building an augmented reality world that nonetheless feels as though it has very real world stakes. This is partially accomplished via Verhoeven’s trademark over-the-top violence, which is jarring enough to stick in your memory yet never feels like it’s something you could see in the world in which you live. Not to mention, this was the phase of Schwarzenegger’s career where he was really having fun, and that’s palpable.
Stream Total Recall on fuboTV.
8) Terminator 2: Judgment Day
One of the best action movies ever made, regardless of decade of release, Terminator 2: Judgment Day is perhaps the best example of how to take a successful original film and flip it on its head while also nailing what it was that made that original so successful. It’s also the best movie Schwarzenegger starred in during his prolific ’90s, perhaps even throughout the entirety of his career thus far.
It shouldn’t have worked to take the first film’s heartless villain and make him a father figure, but that’s the genius of James Cameron. He knows how to hit emotional beats just as he knows how to craft an elaborate and engrossing set piece.
Stream Terminator 2: Judgment Day on Paramount+.
7) Universal Soldier
While it is one of Jean-Claude Van Damme’s more celebrated films, Universal Soldier is really a Hollywood announcement of Roland Emmerich’s talents. Some may view him as the other Michael Bay, and that’s fair, but few could argue that Emmerich’s ’90s output was at least moderately deeper.
Plenty would put his Stargate in this entry instead of Universal Soldier, and that would be fair. But both make the same point, which is that he could take a high concept and put it to good use while also emphasizing both his actors’ particular talents and own proclivity for bombastic action sequences.
Stream Universal Soldier on fuboTV.
6) Independence Day
The definitive movie to watch on the Fourth of July, Roland Emmerich’s Independence Day is an epically scoped alien invasion flick that requires you to check your brain at the door. The key to its appeal is the number of people it focuses on.
We essentially get three protagonists: Will Smith’s Captain Hiller, Bill Pullman’s President Whitmore, and Jeff Goldblum’s David Levinson. All three of them have stories that both further the narrative and tie into one another in fun ways. We enjoy watching them, and hope that they survive the onslaught of spaceships and laser beams.
Stream Independence Day on YouTube TV.
5) Face/Off
A thrilling action extravaganza that moves at a breakneck pace, Face/Off is the apex of John Woo’s Hollywood career. It’s stylish and the perfect blend of intimate storytelling and action sequences where glass, bullets, and doves are flying everywhere.
But Woo’s style isn’t the only thing about the movie that allows it to work. Swapping faces is a very silly premise that could have fallen flat, but John Travolta has fun playing against type as the villain (for most of the film) just as Nicolas Cage grounds the film as a man trapped under the face of the very adversary who took his son from him.
Stream Face/Off for free with ads on The Roku Channel.
4) The Fifth Element
One of those movies you either love or hate, Luc Besson’s The Fifth Element is the ultimate display of his very particular style. Its idea of what the future entails is riddled with elaborate clothing and nice touches like a device that can apply makeup in an instant.
It’s also a movie that allows Gary Oldman to really ham it up as the villain. Given how he knocked the same type of role out of the park in The Professional, it seems that no one could make better use of the actor’s silly side than Besson.
Stream The Fifth Element on TNT.
3) Men in Black
Were it not for Titanic, there would have been two years in a row where a sci-fi action film with Will Smith would have been the highest grosser. Men in Black is one of those movies that feels like both a product of its late ’90s time and something that will still entertain people of all future generations.
The film’s ace in the hole is putting us, the outsiders, in the shoes of someone who finds everything around him ridiculous (at least at first). Smith was never more charming than he was the first time he played Agent J. However, he’s not the only thing that makes the film click. Smith’s chemistry with the similarly perfectly cast Tommy Lee Jones is aces, Vincent D’Onofrio is legitimately frightening as the bug-man villain, and the pacing couldn’t be any tighter.
Stream Men in Black on fuboTV.
2) Starship Troopers
Outside RoboCop, Starship Troopers is the best example of Paul Verhoeven doing what he’s always done best: mixing hard-hitting, brutal violence with a deeply satirical look at hefty topics. In the case of RoboCop it was money-grubbing cynicism whereas with Starship Troopers the lens is aimed at fascism (making it essentially the diametric opposite of the book upon which it was based).
Starship Troopers is not a movie concerned with particularly great or even grounded acting, and oddly enough that’s just one more asset in its corner. We feel like we’re watching real soldiers but in a sort of heightened (and of course futuristic) reality. Toss in the fact that the combat sequences feel absolutely massive and this is a late ’90s epic that grabs you, provided you can get on its wavelength.
Stream Starship Troopers on fuboTV.
1) The Matrix
A sci-fi film that did a good job of predicting the rapid advancement of computer technology, the Wachowski’s The Matrix was and remains both thought-provoking and wholly exciting. It’s just a shame none of its three sequels could successfully build upon on all the ground it laid.
The Matrix‘s bullet time-infused action sequences are still enthralling to this day, perpetually toying with the audience’s perception of reality. It also makes great use of Keanu Reeves’ stoic line delivery and gave Laurence Fishburne his best role to date (and arguably since). It’s a thematically rich film, one that analyzes what it means to be human and makes the viewer appreciate their flesh and blood status.
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