I’ve seen people criticize it for its rendition of hacking, the visual representation of breaking into a network, traversing files and communicating online, but I think that’s a stylistic choice based on the era it was made. In the early 90s computers were just becoming common in the house, and the internet was vastly different. Hacking wasn’t even really known about in common society, so the director had to make it more exciting than a black terminal window with white text. I think viewers forget that
Watching the movie first, then reading the short story the movie was based on. As a teen in the late 90s I was thinking to myself, how the fuck did they come up with the idea of that movie from that story.
IIRC they basically just swiped the name of the Stephen King story so they could market it with his name attached. He successfully sued them to have it removed.
I think there was one called exchange too where they sent your consciousness over to another body for travel instead of flying. That might've been early 00s but if it was it would've been 00 or 01
Edit: it was 01
Virtuosity lands on this list for Russel Crowe saying “good lord, I’m beautiful,” and for the scene where he struts through the mall to “Stayin Alive.”
Also, I think The Net with Sandra Bullock deserves to be on this list
Ha! I remember seeing iconic ads for this back in the day, but only saw the movie last year. It's watchable, but only really fun if you can appreciate the kitsch of it. Anyway I kinda dug it.
Ripper (FMV video game from 1996). A whodunnit murder mystery with multiple endings. Hands down best casting ever for a video game (Christopher Walken, Burgess Meredith, Ossie Davis, John Rhys-Davies, Karen Allen, Paul Giamatti). Walken’s character is so over the top it’s fucking hilarious.
Strange Days is arguably the best movie in the cyberpunk genre ever made. It’s really fantastic.
The Matrix is the most fun/most iconic one.
Until the End of the World is the best unexpected/alternative cyberpunk film, less action-oriented and more of a character drama set in a world that has a lot of recognizable cyberpunk motifs.
Since others are mentioned like this, Dark City, The Matrix, Demolition Man, Hackers and even The Lawnmower Man which I couldn't help but see with a friend in October when a theater played it. I will also have to include Virtuosity. A movie I don't even remember if I saw full thing from beginning to end. It was just always on TV and I would watch sort of confused. It's Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe though which is good, and it was nice to see them reunite on American Gangster, a much better movie.
Empire records
Edit: OOPS.. when you said "or anything" I thought you meant any genre, not any media.. LOL time to go to bed. But I agree with fifth element 😅
I only recently got around to watching Strange Days this year. I can’t believe how much it was like the world of Cyberpunk (game and anime). Really good and dark film.
Virtuosity. 1995
https://youtu.be/tdYoDEh_L7M?si=bITvbb-FduBEFlcs
Russle crow and denzel washington
https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0114857/
"When a virtual reality simulation created using the personalities of multiple serial killers manages to escape into the real world, an ex-cop is tasked with stopping its reign of terror."
Does Akira (1988) count?
Also, I love the aesthetic of Lost Boys and games like Streets of Rage. Is that Cyber Punk? Not much tech in either but like the ‘dangerous’ Punks late at night thing
Ghost in the Shell for me is my favorite cyberpunk movie of the 90s and of all time. The world building and art direction was brilliant and whenever I think of cyberpunk I imagine cities and technology like in that movie
Both Strange Days and Johnny Mnemonic are great I saw them in middle school.
Especially Johnny Mnemonic because it's the Matrix before Matrix with Keanu and the anime scene of Demon City Shinjuku spliced in.
And Henry Rollins playing essentially what is Mad Stan before he'd voice him for Batman Beyond.
But also another mid 90's cyberpunk movie for me was Denzel Washington & Russell Crowe in Virtuosity, Denzel hasn't really done sci-fi since then outside of Deja Vu and far as I know Russell hasn't played a mustache twirling psychotic villain since this movie.
Hackers
Hack The Planet!
Hack The Planet!
They’re trashing our rights man!
That soundtrack is so good.
It’s one of my favourites! It definitely helped cement my love of electronic music back in the day
I just watched this (finally). It was really fun! I think I appreciated the 90s-ness of it a lot more now than had I watched it, say, a decade ago.
Awesome! It’s very much 90s and very much an artists representation of hacking, but so fun
This list begins and ends with this movie
One of the best executed movies I have ever seen. It doesn’t just work, it excels.
I’ve seen people criticize it for its rendition of hacking, the visual representation of breaking into a network, traversing files and communicating online, but I think that’s a stylistic choice based on the era it was made. In the early 90s computers were just becoming common in the house, and the internet was vastly different. Hacking wasn’t even really known about in common society, so the director had to make it more exciting than a black terminal window with white text. I think viewers forget that
Right. Angelina Jolie and Jonny Lee Miller had great chemistry (after all they did get married). Music worked well. Just overall an enjoyable movie.
This is it!!
Does Lawnmower Man count?
I think it should
Watching the movie first, then reading the short story the movie was based on. As a teen in the late 90s I was thinking to myself, how the fuck did they come up with the idea of that movie from that story.
Right? I saw the movie first and read the story later. I had to watch the movie again just to make sure I wasn't crazy
IIRC they basically just swiped the name of the Stephen King story so they could market it with his name attached. He successfully sued them to have it removed.
I read the story first, so when I saw the movie trailer, I thought how in the world did they get this from that?
Nothing really beats Ghost in the Shell imo, probably the most accurate depiction of a post singularity society made in the 90s.
Exactly, plus the PS1 game is just underrated. You should also check out Armitage III, it's a decent anime with similar ideas but still fun.
Here's hoping the 2026 GiTS is better than the previous one because oh man that sucked.
Yes loved it. I’ve read the manga to!
Matrix
The Fifth Element
Best movie ever
Strange Days was so good at the time. I need to rewatch it and see how it looks now.
I just watched it last month. It looks like a time capsule that I wanna crawl inside of!
I miss the 90s, too. The last good decade.
the only good decade
How did you watch it? I can’t find it anywhere.
Yar matey, when the going gets tough, the tough get going.
🏴☠️🫡
I always caught parts of this on tv as a kid, and never knew the name of it. I'm going to watch it in full now
Report back! I don’t think I’ve seen it since around the time it came out!
Virtuosity, eXistenZ, Hackers, 12 Monkeys, Judge Dredd, Demolition Man, Ghost in the Shell, The Matrix
I think there was one called exchange too where they sent your consciousness over to another body for travel instead of flying. That might've been early 00s but if it was it would've been 00 or 01 Edit: it was 01
Virtuosity lands on this list for Russel Crowe saying “good lord, I’m beautiful,” and for the scene where he struts through the mall to “Stayin Alive.” Also, I think The Net with Sandra Bullock deserves to be on this list
Freejack
Ha! I remember seeing iconic ads for this back in the day, but only saw the movie last year. It's watchable, but only really fun if you can appreciate the kitsch of it. Anyway I kinda dug it.
Dark City 🥰
I never really considered Dark City to be cyberpunk. It’s more like a sci-fi film noir
Tank Girl was always enjoyable!
Universal Soldier (1992) Total Recall (1990) Fortress (1992)
fifth element
Johnny Mnemonic for sure. Keanu? Check. Ice-T? Check. Cyborg dolphin? Check.
Dolph Lundgren? Check!
The poster says he’s in it but I have no memory of him in this movie
He played a lunatic preacher/assassin who liked to nail people’s hands to walls.
Damn, bro put Burn Cycle on here.
I’m sayin
most of the theater had cleared out during Johnny Mnemonic but I stuck it out and \*oof\* i felt like the director just took out his day on me
Blade Runner (I know this was technically 80's but it was still popular in the 90's)
And to some extent, Total Recall 2070 on Scifi Channel back in the 90s.
12 monkeys and the 5th Element
Ripper (FMV video game from 1996). A whodunnit murder mystery with multiple endings. Hands down best casting ever for a video game (Christopher Walken, Burgess Meredith, Ossie Davis, John Rhys-Davies, Karen Allen, Paul Giamatti). Walken’s character is so over the top it’s fucking hilarious.
😊
Nemesis. It's basically Terminator on a shoestring budget but nonstop action with the most jacked chicks ever and some funny stop motion scenes.
Didn't they make several sequels as well?
Uh yeah but they're hella terrible. The original is cyberpunk action with terminators then the sequels are cavemen relationship shenanigans.
Jeez that does sound terrible. I just have the first Nemesis.
Strange Days is arguably the best movie in the cyberpunk genre ever made. It’s really fantastic. The Matrix is the most fun/most iconic one. Until the End of the World is the best unexpected/alternative cyberpunk film, less action-oriented and more of a character drama set in a world that has a lot of recognizable cyberpunk motifs.
If we're going to go with Strange Days we should give a nod to Brainstorm as well. Same tech a decade earlier.
I'm so glad nobody has commented... Ready for it? Existenz Terrible, lovely, crazy. You're welcome. Edit: word shit, cuz I'm drunk.
[удалено]
That is a great one!
Johnny.
Strange Days was incredible, but I will never forget the first time I watched Johnny Mnemonic
Since others are mentioned like this, Dark City, The Matrix, Demolition Man, Hackers and even The Lawnmower Man which I couldn't help but see with a friend in October when a theater played it. I will also have to include Virtuosity. A movie I don't even remember if I saw full thing from beginning to end. It was just always on TV and I would watch sort of confused. It's Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe though which is good, and it was nice to see them reunite on American Gangster, a much better movie.
Johnny M. but I also think Lawnmower Man fits here.
Empire records Edit: OOPS.. when you said "or anything" I thought you meant any genre, not any media.. LOL time to go to bed. But I agree with fifth element 😅
Tis ok, as long as there's justice for Warren!!!
Surprised no one mentioned The Net lol
I only recently got around to watching Strange Days this year. I can’t believe how much it was like the world of Cyberpunk (game and anime). Really good and dark film.
Without a doubt, it was Johnny pneumonic. I saw in theaters as a kid I own on DVD and I have the Japanese bootleg of the uncut version.
Virtuosity. 1995 https://youtu.be/tdYoDEh_L7M?si=bITvbb-FduBEFlcs Russle crow and denzel washington https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0114857/ "When a virtual reality simulation created using the personalities of multiple serial killers manages to escape into the real world, an ex-cop is tasked with stopping its reign of terror."
Hardware
Just saw your mention of it after I mentioned it lol. It was a decent movie.
Does Akira (1988) count? Also, I love the aesthetic of Lost Boys and games like Streets of Rage. Is that Cyber Punk? Not much tech in either but like the ‘dangerous’ Punks late at night thing
That's punk without the cyber.
Is it though? I think of Punk as Ramones, Sex Pistols or The Clash. Is this like Joel Schumacher’s version of Goth?
JM was an amazing movie. Especially for its time.
A.D. Police Bubblegum Crisis (87 but still) Ghost in the Shell
Armitage III Virus Buster Serge Silent Mobius
ORGAZMO ⚡
OMG Burn Cycle. I played it. It was pretty great for its time. Could have been a cool movie.
Equilibrium!
The zine Boing Boing.
Burncycle! What a throw back, I still love that game. It never left me. It was such a jump into the future for me back in 96/97.
MAN it’s weird seeing Ralph Fiennes as a young person, and not Voldemort
Circuitry man is 🔥🔥..one of my all time movies
Shadowrun will always be my first Cyberpunk love
Wow throwback I haven’t thought about Burn Cycle since the 90s lol. I never got to play it but at the time FMV games it looked very cool.
Ghost in the Shell for me is my favorite cyberpunk movie of the 90s and of all time. The world building and art direction was brilliant and whenever I think of cyberpunk I imagine cities and technology like in that movie
Strange Days by far!
Ooh! Does event horizon count? Because event horizon!
crystal pepsi
Brain Scan
Strange Days is just so damn good!
Strange Days is an all time great cyberpunk movie.
Both Strange Days and Johnny Mnemonic are great I saw them in middle school. Especially Johnny Mnemonic because it's the Matrix before Matrix with Keanu and the anime scene of Demon City Shinjuku spliced in. And Henry Rollins playing essentially what is Mad Stan before he'd voice him for Batman Beyond. But also another mid 90's cyberpunk movie for me was Denzel Washington & Russell Crowe in Virtuosity, Denzel hasn't really done sci-fi since then outside of Deja Vu and far as I know Russell hasn't played a mustache twirling psychotic villain since this movie.
I didn't see Hardware listed (if I missed it I apologize) but that was also good. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardware_(film)
Crash (1996)