5 Most Rewatchable ’90s Sci-Fi Movies, Ranked

The 1980s was a golden age of science fiction cinema. There were family-friendly movies about good-natured aliens, terrifying horror movies about spiraling paranoia, and psychologically complex examinations of the nature of humanity … and that was just when “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,” “Blade Runner,” and “The Thing” were all in theaters at the same time!

As we moved into the 1990s, society found itself facing the dawn of a new millennium, and sci-fi cinema responded appropriately. We were treated to several sci-fi movies that grappled with complicated questions about what it means to be a person living in a quickly-changing, technologically-fraught world that seemed to be messing with reality itself, and some of these are now regarded as classics of the genre.

If you’re in the mood for a great science fiction flick from the ’90s, you should check out one of the five movies on this list. Some weren’t received very well in their time but seem to get better and better the more they age. Others are comfort movies that offer glimpses at other universes where humanity might be able to work together. What they all have in common is that they’re infinitely rewatchable.

When Paul Verhoeven directed “Starship Troopers” in 1997, he was only a few years out from the colossal critical failure of “Showgirls,” a movie with a terrible Rotten Tomatoes score that is actually awesome. Because of this, critics were never likely to treat Verhoeven’s next effort fairly, and “Starship Troopers” — a tonally-offbeat vision of a near-future humanity battling insect-like aliens in space — mostly befuddled people when it hit theaters. The film stars actors like Casper Van Dien and Denise Richards (both great in their own right, but not exactly known as true thespians), and viewers had no idea what to do with its overtly fascistic imagery.

Each rewatch makes it even more clear that “Starship Troopers” is very much in on the joke. In fact, it’s a bitterly satirical excavation of ultranationalism, skewering conformist militarism by applying those tropes to a space war. The 1990s were a relatively peaceful time in American history, though, so people weren’t particularly open to having their patriotism questioned. After 9/11, and especially in the modern era, “Starship Troopers” plays very differently, making it well worth a rewatch.

Verhoeven had done this kind of thing before. 1987’s “RoboCop” is a brutal, dark examination of capitalism-influenced policing, and, upon release, people similarly confused its depiction of violence for endorsement. “Starship Troopers” is more obviously funny than “RoboCop,” and on each rewatch, you’ll pick up more clues that Verhoeven knew very well what he was making. It’s a film that was hugely misunderstood in its time and has only become more relevant with each passing decade.

Will Smith began the 1990s as the star of “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air,” and he ended the decade as one of the biggest movie stars on the planet. The science fiction genre was a major source of Smith’s stardom that first decade, with 1996’s “Independence Day” cementing him as an A-list star in Tinseltown. His 1997 film “Men in Black,” however, is more rewatchable.

Barry Sonnenfeld’s action comedy features Smith as Agent J, an NYPD cop who is recruited to a division of the government that monitors and intervenes in the lives of the many, many extraterrestrials who evidently live among us. J is paired with Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones), a grizzled vet, as they track down a killer alien wearing a human’s skin (Vincent D’Onofrio in a brilliantly grotesque performance).

Here’s how you can watch every movie in the “Men in Black” series, but the first one is still the best. “Men in Black” is a movie that thrives on its worldbuilding, which means there are a ton of jokes and small details happening in the background, delightful things to uncover each time you revisit the movie’s world. From Frank the talking pug, to a pawn shop owner played by Tony Shalhoub, to every creature that walks past in the distance at M.I.B. headquarters, there are eccentric character design choices to be savored in just about every scene. Plus, Smith has never been more charismatic.

Almost two decades after Steven Spielberg’s “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” imagined what might happen if a boy were to befriend an alien who just wanted to get home, Brad Bird’s animated film “The Iron Giant” told the story of a boy who befriends a giant robot. Hogarth (Eli Marienthal) is a nerdy kid who’s kind of lonely, but when a metallic giant from space crash-lands in the woods behind his house, he learns that he’s the kind of kid very much willing to go on an adventure.

1999’s “The Iron Giant” is a comfort-movie rewatch, but it’s also a smart reflection of the sci-fi genre’s evolution. The movie is set in the 1950s at the height of Cold War paranoia, which was also a golden age of science fiction. Mankind was grappling with the after-effects of the atomic bomb, coming to grips with what a terrible responsibility it was to have invented something so destructive, and as much as it’s about the friendship between a boy and his robot, “The Iron Giant” is also a story about governmental control of science.

Just like “E.T.,” a movie to which it is very much indebted, “The Iron Giant” is a surprisingly grown-up story of a boy who realizes that the government’s militarized bureaucracy might not be equipped to handle the mysteries of the universe. The Iron Giant could be a super-weapon for whichever country gets control, sure, but thanks in part to a nuanced vocal performance from “Fast and Furious” franchise star Vin Diesel, he also seems capable of emotion, even love. What if that’s actually more important than being able to destroy the world?

After “Jaws” revolutionized blockbuster filmmaking, Steven Spielberg’s next film was 1977’s “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” Five years later, “E.T.” followed, proving that not only has Spielberg always been interested in science fiction, but he deserves credit as one of its modern masters. That impressive filmography also includes 1993’s “Jurassic Park,” a movie that hit theaters that summer and enthralled viewers young and old.

With memorable performances from stars like Laura Dern, Sam Neill, and Jeff Goldblum, adults had plenty to enjoy, and the inclusion of Lex (Ariana Richards) and Tim (Joseph Mazzello) meant kids had characters to identify with. The film’s frightening T-Rex sequences and its vicious velociraptors made “Jurassic Park” too scary for very young children, but many kids love dinosaurs, and there’s no better dinosaur-related wish fulfillment than an amusement park where you can meet the real thing.

In other words, its scarier scenes aren’t the only aspect of the movie that will play better now that you’re older. There are plenty of things only adults notice in “Jurassic Park,” from the incompetence of certain characters to its inclusion of some seatbelt-related foreshadowing. Each time you revisit “Jurassic Park” – each time you hear that iconic score swell as the sweeping vistas of Isla Nublar reveal themselves — you’ll find more to appreciate about just what a master filmmaker Spielberg is.

In 1999, humanity was looking ahead toward an uncertain, tech-based future. It was during this year that the Wachowski siblings delivered one of the best movies of all time, in any genre. By blending philosophical concepts, anime references, and ultra-cool aesthetics with mind-blowing action and fight scenes, “The Matrix” became a cultural phenomenon, and it only gets more interesting and entertaining with every rewatch.

Keanu Reeves stars as Neo, a man who works a corporate job as a computer programmer while moonlighting as a hacker. After Neo stumbles down a rabbit hole and gets visited by some mysterious agents, he learns that the reality he thought he knew is actually a computer program, a simulation designed to keep mankind compliant and complacent while machines harvest the energy produced by their bodies.

It’s a frightening thought, but like many of the best science fiction films, “The Matrix” is a movie that believes in the power of humanity’s, well, humanity. It backs our ability to empathize with one another and form connections that can’t be explained by technology and can’t be experienced by machines. As we slip further into an AI dystopia of our own creation, “The Matrix” feels more relevant than ever, but it also shines even stronger as a beacon of hope.