10 Best ’90s Summer Blockbusters, Ranked

With the release of Steven Spielberg‘s Jaws in 1975, what is now known as the “summer blockbuster” entered the public lexicon. These kinds of films can be either big or small, Oscar-deserving or purely escapist, but they are always a box office sensation. During the ’90s in particular, many pop culture gems that filled theater seats with eager ticket-buyers came out during the summer months of each year, proving that the term was as alive as ever.

From films that went on to be highly awarded, like Forrest Gump, to ones that became classics of their genre, like Speed, the 1990s have an impressive lineup of summer blockbusters that show why this was one of the best decades ever for Hollywood entertainment. The 2000s continued the trend of outstanding summer releases to a decent extent, but there’s just no beating the decade of multiculturalism and the World Wide Web.

11 ‘The Fugitive’ (1993)

Directed by Andrew Davis

Perhaps the best conspiracy thriller of the ’90s, Andrew Davis‘ The Fugitive is about Dr. Richard Kimble, a man unjustly accused of murdering his wife. He must find the real killer while being targeted by a nationwide manhunt led by seasoned U.S. Marshal Samuel Gerard. With Harrison Ford playing Kimble and an Oscar-winning Tommy Lee Jones playing Gerard, both actors at the very top of their games, The Fugitive is an intense cat-and-mouse game that’s impossible to take one’s eyes off of.

Counting with the approval of critics as legendary as Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, the film is as exhilarating and tightly written as thrillers come. Sharp and precise like very few action movies are, it’s a fast-paced experience that knows exactly what it’s going for and heads straight toward it with the speed of a bullet train.

10 ‘Apollo 13’ (1995)

Directed by Ron Howard

Ron Howard is kind of a dirty name among cinephiles. Though his filmography is full of bland fluff, credit must be given where it’s due: He has also made several exceptional movies, one of the most notable ones being Apollo 13. The rare science fiction film that’s based on actual science and a real story, it’s a chronicle of the Apollo 13 mission, which NASA had to struggle to save after the spacecraft underwent massive internal damage, putting the lives of the three astronauts on board in jeopardy.

Intense to the point of being nail-biting, Apollo 13 is bolstered by Howard’s no-punches-pulled direction and the extraordinary performances by the star-studded cast, featuring the likes of Tom Hanks and Kevin Bacon. It’s a deeply atmospheric movie that doesn’t take more than a few minutes to pull audiences into its heart-racing story, which is made all the more gripping by the fact that it actually happened.

9 ‘Speed’ (1994)

Directed by Jan de Bont

By the time Speed came out, Keanu Reeves was already well-established as an action star, but the film shot his fame even further up. On top of that, it was Sandra Bullock‘s breakout role, and it’s indeed its two stars’ tremendous chemistry that makes this such a special action thriller. In it, a young police officer must prevent a bomb from exploding aboard a city bus by keeping its speed above 50 miles per hour.

One of Jan de Bont’s best movies, Speed is one of those ’90s action flicks that have aged like fine wine. With its star-making performances and the kinds of high-octane thrills that one would expect from the synopsis alone, it’s an urban romp that’s delightfully ’90s-y in all the best ways. It doesn’t require much thought or attention, but that’s precisely the kind of undemanding yet high-quality action filmmaking that’s sorely missed these days.

8 ‘The Mummy’ (1999)

Directed by Stephen Sommers

It’s a well-known fact that no Hollywood studio excels at monster movies more than Universal Pictures. Indeed, they updated their classic Mummy story in 1999’s The Mummy, where an irresistibly magnetic Brendan Fraser plays dashing legionnaire Rick O’Connell. He, along with an English librarian called Evelyn, comes in the path of an ancient High Priest who’s been brought back to life, along with a curse that guarantees eternal doom upon the world.

With great visuals, a delightful pulpy tone like old serials from the times that the movie is set in, and a Mummy cast that’s dangerously hot, it’s a remarkably fun time that’s endured the passage of time like only the best adventure movies do. Its script isn’t particularly remarkable and it doesn’t really try to do anything groundbreaking, but it doesn’t need to. Cheerful and entirely content with just being entertaining, it certainly succeeds at that and more.

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7 ‘Forrest Gump’ (1994)

Directed by Robert Zemeckis

Winner of six Academy Awards, including Tom Hanks‘ historic Best Actor win (making him the first actor since Spencer Tracy in 1938 to win the award in two consecutive years), Forrest Gump is a romantic epic that sees the history of the U.S. from the ’50s to the ’70s unfold through the eyes of the titular character. He’s an Alabama man with an IQ of 75, who yearns to be reunited with his childhood sweetheart, Jenny.

Full of iconic moments often related to fun snapshots of American history, memorable characters, and some excellent quotes from Forrest, it’s one of the most beloved movies of the decade for a good number of solid reasons. Hanks’ performances is phenomenal, the music and visuals are great, and the story is profoundly moving. Some of its sociopolitical critiques, which celebrate loyalty to the status quo and criticize progressiveness, have admittedly aged like milk. However, the movie overall is crafted with such love and passion that it’s easy to overlook its mistakes.

6 ‘GoldenEye’ (1995)

Directed by Martin Campbell

Though three of his outings as the legendary British spy James Bond are typically considered among the worst installments in the franchise, Pierce Brosnan’s tenure as 007 is still beloved by many, and that’s largely thanks to his incredible debut:GoldenEye. In it, after a powerful secret defense system is stolen, Bond is assigned to stop a Russian crime syndicate from using it.

One of the most badass PG-13 action flicks of the 1990s, GoldenEye is one of Bond’s coolest and most entertaining adventures, updating the general tone and post-Cold War narrative of the franchise while still keeping the idiosyncrasies that made it iconic in the first place. Great characters, great music, and amazing non-stop action all make this one of the most purely fun spy movies of the ’90s.

5 ‘Jurassic Park’ (1993)

Directed by Steven Spielberg

It was, of course, Steven Spielberg who originated the concept of the summer blockbuster. As such, it’s no surprise that throughout every decade since the ’70s, he’s made one or more of that decade’s biggest summer releases. In the ’90s, he released Jurassic Park, where an industrialist invites some experts to his still-unopened theme park of cloned dinosaurs. There, after a power failure, the creatures run loose, and everyone’s lives are put at risk.

There are plenty of good reasons why Jurassic Park is one of the highest-grossing sci-fi movies of all time. Its special effects were revolutionary at the time, and still look remarkably convincing today. Its story is terribly suspenseful and highly effective in its thrills. Its cast is outstanding, and Spielberg’s direction is vibrant and taut. What makes the whole thing even more impressive is the fact that on that same year, Spielberg also released what might be his masterpiece: Schindler’s List.

4 ‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day’ (1991)

Directed by James Cameron

Visionary Canadian filmmaker James Cameron is known for being an adventurous creative and a steadfast technical innovator. This becomes clearly visible in movies as incredible as the ’90s classic Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Its story follows a cyborg identical to the one who failed to kill Sarah Connor years prior, now programmed to protect her ten-year-old son, John, from an even deadlier cyborg.

With some of the most badass characters of the decade, including one of its coolest villains, Terminator 2 is a masterclass in well-written, phenomenally-directed, consistently enthralling action sci-fi filmmaking. Its grand set pieces are blood-pumping adrenaline rushes that rather unsurprisingly charmed audiences back in 1991. Not many action sequels manage to surpass their predecessors. This one does.

3 ‘The Lion King’ (1994)

Directed by Rob Minkoff and Roger Allers

Praised by many as the best thing to come out of the Disney Renaissance era — if not Disney Animation’s single greatest outing — 1994’s The Lion King brought Shakespeare to the Pride Lands of Tanzania. It’s a loose adaptation of Hamlet where Simba, a young lion prince, is banished by his deceitful uncle, who has killed the king and taken the throne for himself. Years later, Simba must come to terms with his roots and go back to claim what is rightfully his.

With its gorgeous animation and some of the most perfect voice performances animation has ever heard, The Lion King is a family classic that manages to be deeply philosophical, funny for viewers of all ages, and beautifully touching, usually all at once. It’s emotionally-stirring beauty the likes of which Disney has rarely produced since.

2 ‘Saving Private Ryan’ (1998)

Directed by Steven Spielberg

To many, Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan is the quintessential ’90s action movie. It certainly is one of the war genre’s most essential masterworks. It’s an epic where, after the Normandy Landings, a group of American soldiers go behind enemy lines to retrieve a paratrooper whose brothers have been killed in action. Bloody, intense, and deeply moving, it’s by far one of Spielberg’s best and most serious works.

Though people usually connect the director’s name with charming, fun, escapist summer blockbusters, movies like Saving Private Ryan prove that he’s capable of some profoundly affecting and gut-wrenching films as well. Indeed, the movie’s nearly three hours of runtime fly right by because of how invested the viewer is in the characters and their struggle, and how horrifyingly convincing the way Spielberg shoots WWII combat feels.

1 ‘The Truman Show’ (1998)

Directed by Peter Weir

One of the most flawless satires of all time, Peter Weir‘s The Truman Show proved that Jim Carrey was capable of much more serious, admirably layered work than audiences gave him credit for at the time. The film follows Truman Burbank, an insurance salesman whose picture-perfect life seems just a bit too good to be true. One day, after a spotlight falls from the sky, he starts to discover that his whole life is actually a reality TV show, and he’s the star.

Carrey’s performance is the main attraction here, sure, but it’s absolutely not the only thing that The Truman Show has to offer. As amusing as it is deeply thoughtful, it serves as both a moving character study touching on themes of existential dread, and a brilliant critique of contemporary media and how they manipulate the public’s attention and perception. With one of the most incisive scripts of the ’90s and some criminally underrated direction by Weir, it’s a masterful high-concept comedy that very deservedly made over four times its budget at the international box office back in the summer of 1998.

NEXT:The Best ’90s Movies, Ranked