The purpose of thesci-figenre is to offer a glimpse of what’s possible, and there were many particularly prescient science fiction films in the 1990s. The genre itself has roots that go back centuries, but early sci-fi was mostly concerned with solving problems using technology, such as Jules Verne, or warning about the dangers of science, such as in the writings of H.G. Wells. As the art of film began to develop, science fiction found new outlets as a fantastical medium with which to tell fascinating stories that reflected modern life.
Sci-fi remained somewhat obscure for decades as most of Hollywood’s science fiction output involvedinvasions from flying saucersor doomsday stories that reflected nuclear fears in the Cold War era. However, as the technology of film improved, so too did sci-fi as a blockbuster genre. By the 1970s, science fiction became mainstream and went on to produce some of the biggest hits in industry history. The 1990s were a pinnacle for sci-fi, and many movies from the period accurately predicted the future, or were just generally ahead of their time.
Some movies are prescient because they predict future technology, while films likeNemesisare ahead of their time because they capture a pop culture trend before it becomes mainstream. Director Albert Pyun’s signature brand of action schlock is on full display in the cyborg-cop thriller, and the low-budget gem knows exactly how to stretch every precious cent.
While it’s hardly an Oscar-worthy film,Nemesisis a major precursor to films likeThe Matrixand combined the action and sci-fi genres years earlier. The heroes wear long trench coats and engage in exaggerated shootouts against generic baddies in suits, and everyone is inexplicably wearing sunglasses.The Matrixmay not have copiedNemesis, but they both drew from similar inspirations.
Not all sci-fi movies from the ’90s featured a lot of the tropes of its genre, and theunderrated Keanu Reeves vehicleChain Reactionis more of an action-packed thriller. Reeves plays a scientist on the run, who is being framed for murder after inventing a completely stable form of clean energy. Unfortunately forgotten,Chain Reactionwas lost in a sea of exposition and convoluted plot devices.
presents a cautionary tale about what happens when evil interests don’t want science to go right.
Despite all that, the sci-fi thriller was pretty forward-thinking when it came to the science fiction elements of its story. Clean energy is still a huge concern today, and is actually more of a hot-button topic than in the 1990s. It’s alsoa clever twist on the classic science-gone-wrong formula, and instead presents a cautionary tale about what happens when evil interests don’t want science to go right.
The 1990s were filled with dozens of genre crossovers that sought to combine science fiction with something else, and 1995’sVirtuosityslipped through the cracks. Denzel Washington is a cop on a mission to stop a psychopathic computer program from murdering people in the real world, but he’s up against the combined knowledge of dozens of killers.
ThoughVirtuositycan easily be dismissed as a cheesy cop drama with sci-fi elements,it actually warns about the dangers of AI. The biggest problem with the 1995 flop was that it was made a bit too early, and suffers from the growing pains of CGI visuals.
Because there were so many sci-fi movies in the 1990s, even a few big-budget epics didn’t get the love they deserved.Strange Daysis director Kathryn Bigelow’s vision of a near future where technology allows people to experience the memories of others. The movie’s subtle application of sci-fi tech is brilliant, andStrange Daysstill feels like a warning of what’s to come.
The movie accurately predicted the rise of social media, and it’s not hard to see how the connected nature of internet spaces is a lot like the tech in the story.Strange Daysshows how the need for constant entertainment can be dehumanizing, and it’s only getting more prescient as new and bolder VR technology is introduced in the real world.
Johnny Mnemonicwas prescient because it predicted future events, but it also was ahead of its time becauseit castKeanu Reeves in his first sci-fi action role. The titular character (Reeves) possesses key information that’s trapped within his brain, and he must find a way to retrieve it before it kills him. The original William Gibson story wasn’t best served by the film, butJohnny Mnemonicis certainly better than its reputation.
A few years before he would headlineThe Matrix, Reeves proved he was a perfect action and sci-fi hero inJohnny Mnemonic. Outside of that, the story was way ahead of the times whenit predicted just how important sensitive data storage would become in the future.
The 1998 Darren Aronofsky filmPiis typically not mentioned when discussing the 1990s science fiction canon, but it’s one of the shining examples of the decade’s forethought. The surreal black and white film involves a supercomputer that can game the stock market and also understand god.The impenetrable nature of the story makesPiwholly unique alongside its ’90s sci-fi peerswho usually told straightforward narratives.
The science fiction aspects ofPiare mostly a means to an end to exploring the themes of capitalism and spirituality. However,the movie still accurately predicted the rise of stock market manipulation thanks to modern technology, and the dehumanizing effect of the encroachment of computers into daily life.
On its surface,RoboCop 2seems like another big dumb action sci-fi movie, but it’s actually a continuation of the original film’s heady ideas. RoboCop is doing it alone as the rest of the Detroit PD is on strike, but even the cyborg officer is in over his head. Director Irvin Kershner deftly picked up where Paul Verhoeven left off, and the sequel has a bad reputation despite being just as biting and humorous as its predecessor.
Irvin Kershner also directed theStar Warssequel,The Empire Strikes Back.
The film warns about the dangers of privatization, and the use of technology in a vitally human industry like policing. Though it was a big issue in the 1990s,the problems are even more pronounced in the decades since, puttingRoboCop 2ahead of the curve.
Science fiction is often a warning about the dangers of science run amok, but12 Monkeysframes that classic idea as science becoming apathetic.Bruce Willis is a man sent back in timeto the 1990s to prevent a plague from wiping out most of the Earth’s population. Unfortunately, the scientific establishment of the time doesn’t seem to want to help him with his mission.
Terry Gilliam’s tongue-in-cheek style is toned down a bit in favor of more straight-laced science fiction, but12 Monkeysis still a quirky ride. Plagues are nothing new in human history, but12 Monkeysbecame especially prescient in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The movie warned that modern society wasn’t really prepared, and real-life proved the prediction to be correct.
1997’sGattacais not one of the bombastic sci-fi movies of the ’90s, but it is one of the most accurate predictions of the future ever put to film. Ethan Hawke is a man desperate to get to space, and must purchase someone else’s genes in order to be deemed medically fit enough to travel.
The film brilliantly uses its sci-fi elements as a backdrop to tell a very human story, andGattacahas a lot to say about genetic predisposition and how disabilities are treated by society at large. With genetic modification becoming a reality only three decades after the movie’s release, the underrated Ethan Hawke film hit the nail right on the head.
Hackersmight be quite dated by today’s standards, but it was also very ahead of its time. Its plot involves a hacker who must return to the keyboard after years away in order to prevent a disaster caused by a computer virus. Stuffed with mid-1990s cheese,Hackersmight get the details wrong, but it gets the ideas right.
the cybersecurity industry has exploded in the years since the movie’s release
When looking past the over-the-top 1990s dialogue and silly fashions,the film aptly guessed that the reliance on computers would open the door for digital attacks. Hacking might not exist in the way it’s shown in the film, but the cybersecurity industry has exploded in the years since the movie’s release, and real-life hackers have left the realm ofsci-fiand become a reality.
