The 40 most popular 1990s science fiction movies, ranked. Click any film for ratings, reviews, trailers, and where to watch.


The Matrix
1999 · 2h 16m · US
Set in the 22nd century, The Matrix tells the story of a computer hacker who joins a group of underground insurgents fighting the vast and powerful computers who now rule the earth.


Terminator 2: Judgment Day
1991 · 2h 17m · FR
Ten years after the events of the original, a reprogrammed T-800 is sent back in time to protect young John Connor from the shape-shifting T-1000. Together with his mother Sarah, he fights to stop Skynet from triggering a nuclear apocalypse.


Contact
1997 · 2h 30m · US
A radio astronomer receives the first extraterrestrial radio signal ever picked up on Earth. As the world powers scramble to decipher the message and decide upon a course of action, she must make some difficult decisions between her beliefs, the truth, and reality.


Men in Black
1997 · 1h 38m · US
After a police chase with an otherworldly being, a New York City cop is recruited as an agent in a top-secret organization established to monitor and police alien activity on Earth: the Men in Black. Agent K and new recruit Agent J find themselves in the middle of a deadly plot by an intergalactic terrorist who has arrived on Earth to assassinate two ambassadors from opposing galaxies.


The Fifth Element
1997 · 2h 6m · FR
In 2257, a taxi driver is unintentionally given the task of saving a young girl who is part of the key that will ensure the survival of humanity.


Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
1999 · 2h 16m · US
Anakin Skywalker, a young slave strong with the Force, is discovered on Tatooine. Meanwhile, the evil Sith have returned, enacting their plot for revenge against the Jedi.


Independence Day
1996 · 2h 25m · US
Strange phenomena surface around the globe. The skies ignite. Terror races through the world's major cities. As these extraordinary events unfold, it becomes increasingly clear that a force of incredible magnitude has arrived. Its mission: total annihilation over the Fourth of July weekend. The last hope to stop the destruction is an unlikely group of people united by fate and unimaginable circumstances.


Ghost in the Shell
1995 · 1h 23m · JP
In the year 2029, the barriers of our world have been broken down by the net and by cybernetics, but this brings new vulnerability to humans in the form of brain-hacking. When a highly-wanted hacker known as 'The Puppetmaster' begins involving them in politics, Section 9, a group of cybernetically enhanced cops, are called in to investigate and stop the Puppetmaster.


Godzilla
1998 · 2h 18m · US
French nuclear tests irradiate an iguana into a giant monster that viciously attacks freighter ships in the Pacific Ocean. A team of experts, including Niko Tatopoulos, conclude that the oversized reptile is the culprit. Before long, the giant lizard is loose in Manhattan as the US military races to destroy the monster before it reproduces and it's spawn takes over the world.


Total Recall
1990 · 1h 53m · US
Construction worker Douglas Quaid's obsession with the planet Mars leads him to visit Rekall, a virtual vacation company that manufactures memories. When something goes wrong during Quaid's memory implant procedure, his life turns upside down, leading him to question what is reality and what isn't.


Twelve Monkeys
1995 · 2h 9m · US
In the year 2035, convict James Cole reluctantly volunteers to be sent back in time to discover the origin of a deadly virus that wiped out nearly all of the earth's population and forced the survivors into underground communities. But when Cole is mistakenly sent to 1990 instead of 1996, he's arrested and locked up in a mental hospital. There he meets psychiatrist Dr. Kathryn Railly and the son of a famous virus expert who may hold the key to the Army of the 12 Monkeys; thought to be responsible for unleashing the killer disease.


Starship Troopers
1997 · 2h 9m · US
Set in the future, the story follows a young soldier named Johnny Rico and his exploits in the Mobile Infantry. Rico's military career progresses from recruit to non-commissioned officer and finally to officer against the backdrop of an interstellar war between mankind and an arachnoid species known as "the Bugs."


The Iron Giant
1999 · 1h 26m · US
In the small town of Rockwell, Maine in October 1957, a giant metal machine befriends a nine-year-old boy and ultimately finds its humanity by unselfishly saving people from their own fears and prejudices.


Jurassic Park
1993 · 2h 7m · US
A wealthy entrepreneur secretly creates a theme park featuring living dinosaurs drawn from prehistoric DNA. Before opening day, he invites a team of experts and his two eager grandchildren to experience the park and help calm anxious investors. However, the park is anything but amusing as the security systems go off-line and the dinosaurs escape.


Alien³
1992 · 1h 54m · US
After escaping with Newt and Hicks from the alien planet, Ripley crash lands on Fiorina 161, a prison planet and host to a correctional facility. Unfortunately, although Newt and Hicks do not survive the crash, a more unwelcome visitor does. The prison does not allow weapons of any kind, and with aid being a long time away, the prisoners must simply survive in any way they can.


Street Fighter
1994 · 1h 42m · AU
Colonel William F. Guile leads an international Allied Nations strike force to free relief workers held hostage by the megalomaniacal dictator General M. Bison in the war-torn region of Shadaloo.


Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion
1997 · 1h 27m · JP
SEELE orders an all-out attack on NERV, aiming to destroy the Evas before Gendo can advance his own plans for the Human Instrumentality Project. Shinji is pushed to the limits of his sanity as he is forced to decide the fate of humanity.


Stargate
1994 · 2h 1m · US
An interstellar teleportation device, found in Egypt, leads to a planet with humans resembling ancient Egyptians who worship the god Ra.


Gattaca
1997 · 1h 47m · US
Vincent is an all-too-human man who dares to defy a system obsessed with genetic perfection. He is an "In-Valid" who assumes the identity of a member of the genetic elite to pursue his goal of traveling into space with the Gattaca Aerospace Corporation.


Armageddon
1998 · 2h 31m · US
When an asteroid threatens to collide with Earth, NASA honcho Dan Truman determines the only way to stop it is to drill into its surface and detonate a nuclear bomb. This leads him to renowned driller Harry Stamper, who agrees to helm the dangerous space mission provided he can bring along his own hotshot crew. Among them is the cocksure A.J. who Harry thinks isn't good enough for his daughter, until the mission proves otherwise.


Event Horizon
1997 · 1h 36m · UK
In 2047, a group of astronauts are sent to investigate and salvage the starship Event Horizon which disappeared mysteriously seven years before on its maiden voyage. However, it soon becomes evident that something sinister resides in its corridors.


Back to the Future Part III
1990 · 1h 59m · US
The final installment finds Marty digging the trusty DeLorean out of a mineshaft and looking for Doc in the Wild West of 1885. But when their time machine breaks down, the travelers are stranded in a land of spurs. More problems arise when Doc falls for pretty schoolteacher Clara Clayton, and Marty tangles with Buford Tannen.


Demolition Man
1993 · 1h 55m · US
In 1996, brash L.A. detective John Spartan and maniac killer Simon Phoenix are both sentenced to decades in a cryogenic prison as punishment for a rescue mission gone wrong. When Phoenix escapes 36 years later to wreak havoc on the future, Spartan is awakened to capture his nemesis the old-fashioned way.


RoboCop 2
1990 · 1h 57m · US
After a successful deployment of the RoboCop Law Enforcement unit, OCP sees its goal of urban pacification come closer and closer, but as this develops, a new narcotic known as "Nuke" invades the streets led by God-delirious leader Cane. As this menace grows, it may prove to be too much for Murphy to handle. OCP tries to replicate the success of the first unit, but ends up with failed prototypes with suicidal issues... until Dr. Faxx, a scientist straying away from OCP's path, uses Cane as the new subject for the RoboCop 2 project, a living God.


Face/Off
1997 · 2h 19m · US
In order to foil a terrorist plot, an FBI agent undergoes facial transplant surgery and assumes the identity of a criminal mastermind. The plan turns sour when the criminal wakes up prematurely and seeks revenge.


Dragon Ball Z: Bojack Unbound
1993 · 51m · JP
Mr. Money is holding another World Martial Arts Tournament and Mr. Satan invites everyone in the world to join in. Little does he know that Bojack, an ancient villain who has escaped his prison, is competing. Since Goku is currently dead, it is up to Gohan, Vegeta, and Trunks to defeat Bojack and his henchman.


Tremors
1990 · 1h 36m · US
Val McKee and Earl Bassett are in a fight for their lives when they discover that their desolate town has been infested with gigantic, man-eating creatures that live below the ground.


Predator 2
1990 · 1h 48m · US
A police chief in the war-torn streets of Los Angeles discovers that an extraterrestrial creature is hunting down residents - and that he is the next target.


Batman & Robin
1997 · 2h 5m · US
Batman and his sidekick Robin attempt to the foil the sinister schemes of a deranged set of new villains, most notably the melancholy Mr. Freeze, who wants to make Gotham City into an arctic region, and the sultry Poison Ivy, a botanical femme fatale. As the Dynamic Duo contend with these bad guys, a third hero, Batgirl, joins the ranks of the city's crime-fighters.


Star Trek: First Contact
1996 · 1h 51m · US
The Borg, a relentless race of cyborgs, are on a direct course for Earth. Violating orders to stay away from the battle, Captain Picard and the crew of the newly-commissioned USS Enterprise E pursue the Borg back in time to prevent the invaders from changing Federation history and assimilating the galaxy.


Alien Resurrection
1997 · 1h 49m · US
Two hundred years after Lt. Ripley died, a group of scientists clone her, hoping to breed the ultimate weapon. But the new Ripley is full of surprises … as are the new aliens. Ripley must team with a band of smugglers to keep the creatures from reaching Earth.


Dark City
1998 · 1h 41m · AU
A man struggles with memories of his past, including a wife he cannot remember, in a nightmarish world with no sun and run by beings with telekinetic powers who seek the souls of humans.


Mars Attacks!
1996 · 1h 46m · US
A fleet of Martian spacecraft surrounds the world's major cities and all of humanity waits to see if the extraterrestrial visitors have, as they claim, "come in peace." U.S. President James Dale receives assurance from science professor Donald Kessler that the Martians' mission is a friendly one. But when a peaceful exchange ends in the total annihilation of the U.S. Congress, military men call for a full-scale nuclear retaliation.


Deep Impact
1998 · 2h 2m · US
A seven-mile-wide space rock is hurtling toward Earth, threatening to obliterate the planet. Now, it's up to the president of the United States to save the world. He appoints a tough-as-nails veteran astronaut to lead a joint American-Russian crew into space to destroy the comet before impact. Meanwhile, an enterprising reporter uses her smarts to uncover the scoop of the century.


Dragon Ball Z: The History of Trunks
1993 · 48m · JP
It has been thirteen years since the Androids began their killing rampage and Son Gohan is the only person fighting back. He takes Bulma's son Trunks as a student and even gives his own life to save Trunks's. Now Trunks must figure out a way to change this apocalyptic future


Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
1990 · 1h 33m · HK
A quartet of humanoid turtles, trained by their mentor in Ninjutsu, must learn to work together to face the menace of Shredder and the Foot Clan.


Space Jam
1996 · 1h 27m · US
With their freedom on the line, the Looney Tunes seek the help of NBA superstar Michael Jordan to win a basketball game against a team of moronic aliens.


The Faculty
1998 · 1h 44m · US
When creepy things start happening at Herrington High, the students begin to suspect that their faculty is being controlled by body-snatching aliens.


Judge Dredd
1995 · 1h 36m · US
In a dystopian future where Judges maintain law and order by acting as judge, jury, and executioner, Dredd fights to prove his innocence after being falsely accused of murder.


Dragon Ball Z: Cooler's Revenge
1991 · 48m · JP
After defeating Frieza, Goku returns to Earth and goes on a camping trip with Gohan and Krillin. Everything is normal until Cooler - Frieza's brother - sends three henchmen after Goku. A long fight ensues between our heroes and Cooler, in which he transforms into the fourth stage of his evolution and has the edge in the fight... until Goku transforms into a Super Saiyan.
The 1990s were the independent film decade, when Sundance and Miramax pushed low-budget American filmmaking into the mainstream. It's also when Hong Kong action, Japanese animation, and Iranian art cinema found large Western audiences.
Science fiction uses the future — or a plausible alternative present — to think through the current moment. It's produced some of cinema's most influential images, and the genre's biggest leaps have usually followed leaps in effects technology.