The 1990s was a time of firsts in the sci-fi genre – the beginnings of much-loved franchises, an exploration of new technologies, and a chance for directors to create new worlds like never before. It was a decade of risk-taking and trendsetting that still to this day continues to inspire the movie landscape from reboots to remakes, to sequels and prequels. Whether they’ve been successful or not, there’s no doubt that the 1990s most certainly thrived.
Big A-List stars were invested in the genre, much like the best 80s sci-fi movies, and their interest in sci-fi helped create award-winning titles. It’s so hard in fact to whittle down our best-of list to just ten entries, that we’ve had to include some special mentions at the bottom to give necessary praise to the ones that didn’t quite make it. Each entry on our list does deserve its place though, and we’ll take you through exactly why.
If you want to check out the best out-of-this-world content available today, you should scroll through our roundups of the best sci-fi movies and TV shows to stream on Disney Plus, Netflix, Amazon Prime and Paramount Plus. But, for the best 90s sci-fi movies, read on below.
10. Dark City
- Release date: February 27, 1998
- Cast: Rufus Sewell, Kiefer Sutherland, Jennifer Connelly, and more
- Director: Alex Proyas
- RT score: 76% critics, 85% audience
After his father, Donald, starred in one of the best 50s sci-fi movies, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, it felt only right that Kiefer Sutherland followed suit. In this twisted neo-noir flick, John (Rufus Sewell) finds himself awakened with little memory of his past, but suspected of multiple murders. On the run from a terrifying group called the ‘Strangers’ in a world he doesn’t recognize, he slowly and terrifyingly learns that his world is constructed and controlled by the Strangers he runs from.
The visuals of this imagined city are breathtaking, and the scope of director Alex Proyas impressed viewers with a twisted mystery of a story that leaves viewers in limbo between waking states. Given Proyas went on to make 2004’s chilling AI thriller, I, Robot, you can understand and respect his ambition.
9. The Fifth Element
- Release date: May 7, 1997
- Cast: Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, Ian Holm, Milla Jovovich, and more
- Director: Luc Besson
- RT score: 71% critics, 86% audience
The beauty of how weird his movie is is exactly why it sits so perfectly in the sci-fi genre. With character names like Zorg, Ruby Rhod, Fog, and Right Arm, their zaniness fits in perfectly with the visuals of this movie which are vibrant, Borderlands-esque, and bizarre throughout.
Bruce Willis stars as Korben Dallas, an unsuspecting cab driver who becomes the chosen one to save Earth against a cosmic attack. Milla Jovovich as the iconic fiery-haired Leeloo – difficult to comprehend, but easy to watch. Director Luc Besson reportedly came up with the idea when he was just 16 years old and it came to be around 20 years later.
8. Total Recall
- Release date: June 1, 1990
- Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Ticotin, Sharon Stone, and more
- Director: Paul Verhoeven
- RT score: 82% critics, 79% audience
Forget the 90s for a moment, it’s 2084 and Douglas Quaid (Arnold Schwarzenegger) dreams of traveling to a now-colonized Mars. His dream leads him to ‘Rekall’, a company that implants fake memories into brains and twists reality into a virtual vacation. But, something goes wrong and his reality, and fake reality, are not quite as they seem.
Total Recall is a movie to be watched for its multitude of iconic scenes. We’re talking eyeballs almost popping out of heads, an eerie robotic cab driver, Arnie in disguise (and it’s really quite the get-up), and the mutant twin baby that erupts from a body. It’s weirdly realistic given the sci-fi genre has come on leaps and bounds in technology and the use of CGI. Total Recall is a shining example of why some sci-fi movies should not be remade, with the Colin Farrell-fronted remake in 2012 failing to impress the way Arnie and his Mars adventure did.
7. The Matrix
- Release date: March 31, 1999
- Cast: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, and more
- Director: The Wachowskis
- RT score: 83% critics, 85% audience
Like how the Back to the Future franchise predicted smartwatches and video calls, The Matrix predicted the rise and influence of social media and the potholes of the internet in a way only sci-fi cinema can achieve. The directing duo, The Wachowskis, are responsible for dreaming up The Matrix which sees hacker Neo sent down a rabbit hole by rebel leader, Morpheus, which leaves him questioning his reality forever.
Considering this movie franchise started in 1999 and concluded with Resurrections in 2021, it truly stands the test of time by seamlessly straddling decades of sci-fi movie significance. Its twisted plot asks a lot of questions that even as a viewer, you’ll end up asking.
6. Gattaca
- Release date: October 24, 1997
- Cast: Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, Alan Arkin, Jude Law, and more
- Director: Andrew Niccol
- RT score: 82% critics, 87% audience
In a world where being classed as an inferior human being means you won’t get to travel into space, Vincent decides to take on the DNA identity of the ‘genetic elite’ to earn himself a seat with Gattaca Aerospace Corporation on a flight to one of Jupiter’s moons. Only the persona he adopts, Jerome, is accused of murder.
Fronted by Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, and Jude Law, this sci-fi thriller tackles the controversy of eugenics, a romantic relationship to deepen the emotive storytelling, and like many of the sci-fi movies in this decade, asks questions we’re not sure we can even answer now, some 30 years later.
5. Men in Black
- Release date: July 2, 1997
- Cast: Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Linda Fiorentino, Vincent D’Onofrio, and more
- Director: Barry Sonnenfeld
- RT score: 91% critics, 80% audience
Here comes the Men in Black – galaxy defenders. If you’ve not heard the theme tune and you’re yet to encounter the greatness of the Men in Black then you’re in for a true cult classic adventure. The weird sci-fi comedy partners up Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones), a straightlaced and straight-faced alien-hunting cop, and Agent J (Will Smith) a rookie with a list of jokes as far as the eye can see.
It’s the balance between the duo with a serious and not-so-serious partnership that makes this movie, although the rest of the franchise didn’t fare as well. They hunt down aliens that are a whole range of unsettling from a cockroach man bug horror show to a talking pug.
4.12 Monkeys
- Release date: December 29, 1995
- Cast: Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe, Brad Pitt, Christopher Plummer, and more
- Director: Terry Gilliam
- RT score: 88% critics, 88% audience
Known famously for Monty Python, director Terry Gilliam turned to sci-fi in 1995 when he released a loose adaptation of one of the best 60s sci-fi movies, La Jetée. Prisoner James Cole (Bruce Willis) is offered an opportunity to earn his freedom if he travels back in time to find crucial information about a virus that is about to ruin all of humanity. Traveling back from the 2030s into the 90s is no mean feat though as he gets stuck in a perpetual time loop.
James also learns that the Army of the 12 Monkeys may have released the virus, but they’re led by a volatile Jeffery Goines (Brad Pitt). It’s strange and thought-provoking with some incredible visuals and acting from the lead stars throughout. The last 30 minutes will have you most definitely gripped.
3. Ghost in the Shell
- Release date: November 18, 1995
- Cast: Atsuko Tanaka, Akio Otsuka, Iemasa Kayumi, and more
- Director: Mamoru Oshii
- RT score: 95% critics, 89% audience
This manga sci-fi hit follows Motoko Kusanagi, a cyborg public security agent and her partner, on the hunt for a hacker known as the Puppet Master. In the not-so-distant-now year of 2029, cybernetics now makes it possible for a human to be augmented to be completely replaced with technology, but it is a process used not only for good but for bad too.
As they chase the elusive Puppet Master, everything is not as it seems and in true sci-fi twisty fashion, gathered a cult following for its inventiveness. James Cameron reportedly described it as “the first truly adult animation film to reach a level of literary and visual excellence.” 2017’s live-action remake didn’t impress as much as its 90s counterpart with many criticizing the movie for losing some of the best parts in translation including themes and innovation.
2. Jurassic Park
- Release date: June 11, 1993
- Cast: Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, and more
- Director: Steven Spielberg
- RT score: 92% critics, 91% audience
From the writer/director of Westworld, one of the best 70s sci-fi movies, comes the screenplay for this dinosaur sci-fi iconic franchise, Jurassic Park. It’s the story of a theme park where dinosaurs are created and genetically engineered, only that they escape their enclosures and havoc ensues.
There have been a multitude of Jurassic-themed movies after it and Jurassic World 4 boasts a 2025 release date, some 32 years after the original.
1. Terminator 2: Judgment Day
- Release date: July 3, 1991
- Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Robert Patrick, and more
- Director: James Cameron
- RT score: 91% critics, 95% audience
While Terminator was one of the best 80s sci-fi movies, Terminator 2: Judgment Day is the best 90s sci-fi movie and also, arguably, the best Terminator movie of the entire franchise. It took what the 80s built with Arnie as the T-800 and transformed his character into a reformed Terminator set to protect John Connor. There’s also the introduction of an iconic sci-fi movie villain, the advanced T-1000.
Honorable mentions
In a decade full of excellent sci-fi flicks, there’s an abundance of movies that unfortunately didn’t make the cut for our top ten. We do still want to give an honorable mention to the titles that were too good to miss though that we’d recommend watching:
- Independence Day (1996)
- Back to the Future Part III (1990)
- Galaxy Quest (1999)
- Mars Attacks! (1996)
- Demolition Man (1993)
- Starship Troopers (1997)
- Stargate (1994)
- Cube (1997)
- Contact (1997)
