Personally I’d go with Independence Day if I had to pick a movie that felt the most 90s.
It’s a 90s movie about the internet, but it’s all technobabble magic and represented in a very made-for-TV way. Just the right balance of interesting plot and complete cringe which is pretty much how I remember the 90s.
“Hack the planet!”
And you complete the 90s hacker trifecta with Sneakers
God that’s such a good movie. Probably gonna throw that on soon since haven’t watched it in years.
The cast alone makes the movie worth it
My wife rolls her eyes how every time I see a Honda Passport I say “My voice is my passport, verify me”.
Can I add Johnny Mnemonic to this list? Classic Keanu
“I NEED to get on-line. I NEED a computer!”
Gotta double the capacity of the 80 GB drive in my head
Information Overload! Rollins deserves to be an EGOT.
I’d add Speed. Sandra Bullock was the 90s it actress. And Keanu has already been mentioned in a couple of essential 90s titles.
“Mozart’s Ghost! The hottest new site on the internet!”
For not-the-best-90s-movie-but-most-strongly-dated-to-the-90s I’d have to go with You’ve Got Mail
If someone had told me Independence Day was early 2000s (pre 9/11) I wouldn’t have doubted it. Same with the Matrix really.
But You’ve Got Mail seems rooted to that mid to late 90s early internet feel. Two massive stars. Lots of 90s fashion etc
Possibly also Mrs Doubtfire. Reasons there being very 90s exploration of divorce, prosthetics that weren’t available in the 80s and a theme (man sneaking into kids lives in disguise) that I don’t think would have gotten traction 2000s onwards for being too creepy. Makes it a very 90s film.
The Matrix was basically 2000’s. It’s a 90’s movie only a technicality; it was released to theaters in early 1999 and the home release was in May of '99. However, going into the 1999 -> 2000 holiday season the presence of that movie in particular on disc sold a lot of DVD players and Playstation 2’s.
Y2K or thereabouts is precisely when a lot of people experienced the first Matrix.
You’ve Got Mail almost feels like a 1980s movie.
Ninja turtles or surf ninjas
Man we had a whole ninja thing for a while there didn’t we
We sure did. Tmnt, surf ninjas, 3 ninjas, Beverly Hills ninja… I know there are more, but those are the “best” in my opinion.
Second post, but I realized the answer might actually be Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: The Secret of the Ooze.
I know a few other people have already said it, but I’ll agree: Hackers, 100%. Late DOS/early-GUI computers + skate punk aesthetic? Can’t get more '90s than that!
Clueless, anyone?
90s, or timeless?
Ugh, as if.
Adventures of Ford Fairlaine? Though it might be 80’s rather 90’s, despite the movie itself came out in 90’…
The Matrix
Wow, I forgot it came out in 1999, I guess, technically. It’s one of my favorite movies ever of all time, but it was too far ahead of its time for me to think of it as 90s movie.
Hackers
Definitely my first thought
Biodome
Biodome
Sadly this might be the most 90s of 90s movie. Others like Terminator are sequels, or movies like You’ve Got Mail are scripts written 10 years prior. Biodome is a time capsule of mid 1990s.
Few more I can offer up are Freejack Tank Girl Don’t be a menace
Man it has been at least 10 years since I thought of Pauly Shore
What, do you think you’re so smart? Think you’re some rocket scientist?
Yes
…sorry
Mallrats
The first Mission Impossible movie is a fun time capsule in many ways. It has some fun stuff with early 90s depictions of computers, hacking, the internet and email, back before anyone knew what any of that actually looked like.
But it’s also a great example of the 90s naivete that the US had about conflict and global politics. There’s an entire monologue about how intelligence agencies are obsolete because the cold war is over. There was this vague notion in the 90s that world peace had broken out and things were just going to get better and better. And Hollywood sometimes struggled to come up with villains now that they no longer had soviets for that, so you don’t see it reflected as much in films, especially since optimism doesn’t make for good popcorn flicks, but Mission Impossible captures the thinking if not the warm and fuzzy feeling.
My other suggestion would be Contact. My theory has always been that 2001 A Space Odyssey, Contact, and Interstellar are really the same movie made in different times. As the 90s incarnation, Contact has no international conflict, only internal politics. It’s got that I’m spiritual but not religious" vibe that was everywhere in the 90s. It has a vague message about hope, and belief and trying to understand the universe and what’s out there in order to understand ourselves… it’s hard to put it all in words, it’s just the whole tone and vibe of the thing, it’s all just so sincere and idealistic.
(For a great big dose of 90s optimism and hope for the future, I highly recommend watching the Adventures of Brisco Country JR. I’d have nominated that, but it isn’t a movie)
Jesus. Can I subscribe to your blog?
I still think Mission Impossible is the best one in the series. Although the third was pretty good and the scene where Philip Seymour’s character is going to shoot Ethan’s girlfriend is the best acting Tom Cruise ever did, in my opinion. That was a powerful scene.
Definitely The Mummy starring Brenden Fraiser and Rachel Weisz
Yall probably forgot about Hackers because it’s a documentary but it’s pretty 90s
the fashion, music and hyperbolic/complete misunderstood depiction of cyber security cements Hackers as the quintessential 90s movie
HACK THE PLANET!
Can’t Hardly Wait.
JLH was unbelievably hot in that movie. that blue shirt and skirt. Whew.
Hit me right in the late teens.
