Sci-fi was at the top of its game in the 1990s with movies like Jurassic Park and The Matrix, but for every classic, there was a whole slew of releases critics absolutely torched. Yet, if you were a kid growing up in the era of VHS and Blockbuster rentals, you probably had at least one of those so-called “terrible” films on your favorites list. Maybe you still do.
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Looking back, it’s easy to laugh at the abysmal reviews and early experiments in digital VFX. But us ’90s kids didn’t care: all we wanted was to be transported into a future of floating cities, man-eating snakes, and Shaquille O’Neal in a metal suit. And while we may never have gotten our floating towns in real life, it’s pretty hilarious to take a trip down memory lane and remember all of the forgotten science fiction romps of the decade.
10) Super Mario Bros.
The first Hollywood video game adaptation should have been a hit, but Super Mario Bros. barely resembled the beloved Nintendo franchise. Between Dennis Hopper’s bizarre King Koopa, Goombas with tiny heads and giant bodies, and a cyberpunk dystopian city akin to Blade Runner, the film left critics baffled. Reviews labeled it loud, lugubrious, and wildly off-brand, while Roger Ebert called it “a complete waste of time and money.”
Still, ’90s kids who rented it over and over weren’t bothered. To them, the movie felt like a weird alternate-universe Mario adventure, or perhaps some new world altogether where Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo were our heroes. The bomb-shaped Bob-ombs, elevator-dancing Goombas, and neon slime had the youth of the time fully hooked.
9) The Island of Dr. Moreau
John Frankenheimer’s The Island of Dr. Moreau is remembered less for its sci-fi premise and more for the behind-the-scenes chaos. The film, starring Marlon Brando in heavy white makeup alongside an eccentric Val Kilmer, was plagued by rewrites and, supposedly, egos. Critics at the time called it an incomprehensible mess. For general audiences in 1996, this movie was a full-blown disasterpiece.
However, for kids who stumbled across it on cable, the grotesque animal-human hybrids were mesmerizing. The creatures looked straight out of a dark comic, and Brando’s tiny companion was seared into our retinas. Even if we didn’t fully grasp the plot, or notice the flawed writing, the imagery captured our imaginations
8) Waterworld
Dubbed “Kevin’s Gate” by the press for its out-of-control budget, Waterworld was the most expensive movie ever made at the time. Unfortunately, it bombed hard, and critics were merciless. The New York Times called its writing “remarkably crude for such an elaborate production,” and others mocked it as a shallow vanity project.
But ‘90s kids with all their excellent taste only saw Mad Max on jet skis starring Kevin Costner with gills. It played like an aquatic video game on a floating city; the Smokers, led by Dennis Hopper (apparently king of bad ‘90s movie villains), were cartoonish fun, and the action sequences were too good not to be reenacted in backyards everywhere. It may have belly flopped at the box office, but for many millennials, it’s an all-timer.
7) Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie
Sure, it was essentially a poorly pumped-up episode of the TV show with more room in the budget for spandex. But for every ’90s kid, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers was the movie event of the summer in 1995 – with the possible exception of one other movie on this list (see below). Ivan Ooze’s “Smells like…teenagers!” can never truly be forgotten, and the toy Zords got a whole new lease on life thanks to the movie callbacks.
Critics lampooned the cheesy dialogue and thin plot, calling it basically a feature-length toy commercial. But let’s be honest, film critics were never the target audience. MMPR: The Movie gave kids of the era exactly what they wanted: Rangers on the big screen, a boombox-worthy soundtrack, and epic robot battles. What more could we have asked for?
6) Lost in Space
When New Line rebooted Lost in Space, they hoped to launch a new sci-fi franchise. Instead, critics claimed it was a noisy, bloated, disjointed mess with highly questionable special effects. Even the usually on-point Gary Oldman was singled out for being completely misused and out of place.
Still, many kids and teens claim to have watched it endlessly on VHS, and Matt LeBlanc as a space pilot was just enough of a draw for Friends-watching households to give it a shot. The giant CGI spider, time-travel, and talking robot gave the movie enough oomph to stick. Sadly, though, neither this film nor the Lost in Space Netflix reboot has been able to save the franchise.
5) Mortal Kombat
Video game movies understandably had a bad reputation after Super Mario Bros., and Mortal Kombat didn’t exactly do much for the cause. Reviewers derided its stiff acting, thin story, and dumb jokes while a New York Post critic pointed a finger at “screenwriter Kevin Droney’s lame sense of humor.”
But for ‘90s kids, it was a long time coming, and the coolest thing ever when it finally arrived. The theme song became a hype anthem. Scorpion and Sub-Zero’s fights evoked the arcade experience. And even if the fatalities were toned down, it was just edgy enough to feel dangerous, earning a PG-13. If you grew up in the ‘90s, this was likely a movie you bragged to your friends about seeing.
4) Suburban Commando
By the time Suburban Commando came out, Hulk Hogan was already trying to make the leap from wrestling icon to movie star. But critics weren’t impressed, calling the movie a witless sci-fi comedy that offered nothing more than a clunky mix of slapstick and special effects. Christopher Lloyd’s constant mugging didn’t win points either.
Yet of course we embraced the absurdity in our youth, and Charlie’s “I was frozen today!” is a top-tier quotable. Even the ‘trying to blend in at the dinner table’ gag was relatable. Cable replays turned it into a classic that many fans now consider to be so bad it’s good.
3) Anaconda
Anaconda is a quintessential ’90s B-movie creature-feature starring a giant snake and a crew of explorers. Most critics trashed it at the time, calling it preposterous and over-the-top, especially pointing to Jon Voight’s hammy performance and the creature effects. Yet, Roger Ebert bucked the trend, giving it a glowing review and calling it “superior mass-audience entertainment.” And ‘90s kids agreed with him.
The animatronic snake terrified and fascinated the younger generation, and not much can beat seeing Jennifer Lopez and Ice Cube navigate the jungle (except, perhaps, watching Ice Cube save the world over Zoom in the recent War of the Worlds movie). Even if critics panned it, ’90s kids, and man-of-taste Roger Ebert couldn’t get enough of Anaconda.
2) Steel
Shaq was everywhere in the ’90s, dunking on the court, dropping music albums, and starring in movies. But when he put on the armor in Steel, critics showed no mercy. As a critic from E! Put it: “You’re entitled to make your own mistakes. Lord knows Shaq is.” And while it’s true that the athlete’s wooden delivery, combined with the dollar-store effects, cemented the movie’s reputation as one of the decade’s worst comic book adaptations, its camp isn’t without entertainment value.
Shaq’s attempts to toss his grenade free-throw style, and his line, “I was never good at making these,” is lowkey comic genius. The cheap foam-latex “steel” helmet that flexed whenever he talked only added to the laughs. The soufflé gag was one of many that ’90s kids still remember fondly. Even knowing now that the movie is objectively terrible, fans will endlessly defend “It’s Steelin’ Time!” As far as superhero movies go, it was ridiculous and way more fun than a lot of the serious, boring dreck that was to come from DC.
1) Starship Troopers
Critics were not kind to Starship Troopers when it dropped in 1997. Roger Ebert gave it two stars, calling it “the most violent kiddie movie ever made.” Christopher Lloyd described it as “a dumb movie with pretty, wooden actors.” For a long time, it was just written off as another ‘90s action bomb, but over the years, its biting satire has gained a lot more respect than anyone gave it at release. Perhaps partially due to ‘90s kids entering the movie critic workforce.
For many of us, who saw the rated-R film way too young, the political commentary went right over our heads. We were just there for good-looking space marines blasting alien bugs into chunks. It was gross, loud, and endlessly rewatchable whether in theaters, on VHS, or on cable. The cheesy soap-opera cast only made it better, because what kid cares about acting when you have flamethrowers and brain-sucking monsters? Thanks to the ’90s kids who loved it so much, Starship Troopers is now considered a sci-fi action classic.
Which of these movies did you love as a kid? Let us know your thoughts in a comment below, and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
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