The ’90s were a great decade for cinema, as blockbusters coexisted with films from all genres while expanding the reach of movie theaters.
It was good while it lasted, but the movies that made the decade worthwhile are still fun to watch over 30 years later.
Watch With Us has selected five near-perfect 1990s movies that you have to stream now.
Each of these films made an impact on the ’90s, and most of them are readily available to watch at major streaming outlets.
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‘The Fugitive’ (1993)
TV-to-film adaptations rarely go as smoothly as The Fugitive. This film successfully turned the ’60s television show into the top action thriller of 1993. Harrison Ford led the cast as Dr. Richard Kimble, a man unjustly convicted of murdering his wife, Helen (Sela Ward). Rather than meekly accepting his death sentence, Richard escapes from a prison transport to look for the One-armed Man (Andreas Katsulas) he fought on the night of his wife’s murder.
Richard’s more immediate problem is Deputy U.S. Marshal Sam Gerard, a role that earned Tommy Lee Jones an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. Gerrard and his team relentlessly pursue Richard, and the former even figures out that the latter is trying to solve his wife’s murder. But the real answer behind this murder mystery is more than just a home robbery gone wrong.
The Fugitive is streaming on Philo.
‘LA Confidential’ (1997)
Kim Basinger won Best Supporting Actress for LA Confidential, but her costars, Russell Crowe and Guy Pearce, also deserved to be nominated for their masterful performances. In the 1950s, Los Angeles is a city of secrets, and a new crime syndicate is muscling in on the mob. Officer Wendell “Bud” White (Crowe), Detective Lieutenant Edmund Exley (Pearce) and Detective Sergeant Jack Vincennes (Kevin Spacey) don’t realize it at the time, but each of them has found clues to a much larger conspiracy.
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Bud is also drawn to Lynn Bracken (Basinger), a prostitute who looks a lot like Hollywood actress Veronica Lake. That relationship is used against Bud to increase his conflict with Ed to the breaking point. But if these two don’t figure out how to work together, then their real enemy will control the criminal underworld in Los Angeles.
LA Confidential is streaming on Flex.
‘The Usual Suspects’ (1995)
The Usual Suspects captured the imagination of viewers with its mythic villain, Keyser Söze, who may or may not be real. An impromptu gang of crooks, Dean Keaton (Gabriel Byrne), Roger “Verbal” Kint (Spacey), Michael McManus (Stephen Baldwin), Fred Fenster (Benicio del Toro) and Todd Hockney (Kevin Pollak) couldn’t care less about some crime urban legend. They only got together to get back at the cops.
In the course of their crimes, the gang is informed that they’ve stolen from Keyzer Söze, who doesn’t waste any time making them pay the price. There’s more happening in this story than meets the eye, but you’ll have to pay very close attention to figure out what’s really going on in this tale.
The Usual Suspects is streaming on Tubi.
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‘Reservoir Dogs’ (1992)
For his directorial debut Reservoir Dogs, Quentin Tarantino couldn’t resist casting himself as Mr. Brown, a member of a heist team put together by mobsters Joe Cabot (Lawrence Tierney) and his son, “Nice Guy” Eddie (Chris Penn). The rest of the crew includes Mr. White (Harvey Keitel), Mr. Orange (Tim Roth), Mr. Blonde (Michael Madsen), Mr. Pink (Steve Buscemi) and Mr. Blue (Edward Bunker).
The heist itself is never seen in the film, but the aftermath leaves members of the team dead, severely injured or on the run from the police. Someone ratted them out, and tensions run high among the survivors as they try to figure out who betrayed them to the cops.
Reservoir Dogs is available to rent or purchase on Prime Video.
‘The Matrix’ (1999)
Just when the ’90s were winding down, The Matrix came along and gave the action and sci-fi genres a big kick in the butt. It’s arguably the definitive example of both genres to emerge from the decade. Keanu Reeves plays a hacker named Neo whose boring and mundane life is haunted by the question he can’t answer: What is the Matrix?
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The freedom fighter known as Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) and his right-hand woman, Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss), have the answers that Neo needs. But if Neo goes down this road, there’s no going back. The truth is a game-changer for both Neo and the film itself.
The Matrix is available for rent or purchase on Prime Video.
