Underrated 1990s Movies Overshadowed By Their More Successful 'Twin Film'

Year of Release: 1998 Released Before or After Armageddon: Before In the late 1990s, Hollywood feared the end of the world with the pending millennium around the corner. This seeped into the types of films produced, with disaster movies being particularly in vogue. In 1998, two films arrived - one about an asteroid (Armageddon) and the other about a comet (Deep Impact) - both set to turn Earth into pancake batter, which made many viewers roll up in the fetal position under the covers. While Armageddon focused on the slow-mo shots and over-the-top dramatics that director Michael Bay is familiar for, Mimi Leder's Deep Impact chooses to embrace the science behind it and inject common sense into the story. It never gets too ridiculous, as the narrative remains plausible while the performances from Morgan Freeman, Robert Duvall, Elijah Wood, and Téa Leoni make it extra believable.

Year of Release: 1995 Released Before or After Braveheart: Before The year 1995 was all about historical Scottish warriors. Braveheart follows William Wallace (Mel Gibson) in his fight for Scottish freedom in the 13th century. The revered action drama cleaned up at the Academy Awards and the box office, becoming one of the most celebrated epics of all time. Rob Roy is no pretender, though. The biographical drama sees Liam Neeson as 18th-century Scottish clan chief Rob Roy MacGregor, while Tim Roth puts in a seismic performance as the aristocratic and antagonistic Archibald Cunningham. In fact, Roth's portrayal was so good that he won a BAFTA Award and received an Academy Award nomination for it.

Year of Release: 1999 Released Before or After The Haunting: After When two movies tackle haunted houses and people being locked inside, it's easy to see where the confusion comes in. After all, Jan de Bont's The Haunting is an adaptation of Shirley Jackson's famous novel The Haunting of Hill House, while William Malone's House on Haunted Hill is a remake of a 1959 Vincent Price film. What is it with all these films using "haunt," "house" and "hill" in their titles? Some originality, please! House on Haunted Hill plays like a horror-themed rollercoaster as strangers are put together in a spooky house and offered $1 million if they survive the overnight experience. It's not exactly the most original of ideas, but it's a fun time held up by strong performances from Geoffrey Rush, Famke Janssen, and Taye Diggs.

Year of Release: 1994 Released Before or After Heavyweights: Before To this day, Heavyweights remains a laugh-a-minute affair as the kids of a weight-loss summer camp fight back against a fitness entrepreneur (Ben Stiller) who tries to spoil their fun. However, a few months earlier, another hilarious summer camp-themed movie dropped, called Camp Nowhere. In Camp Nowhere, a bunch of teens decide to organize a camp they will actually enjoy by bribing their former drama teacher (Christopher Lloyd) to help them pull off the best summer ever and trick their parents about its legitimacy. It's a typical Gen-X comedy and a product of its time, but it delivers the belly-bouncing laughs. Plus, it also boasts the film debut of one Jessica Alba.

Year of Release: 1993 Released Before or After Natural Born Killers: Before Stories about serial killers always seem to do the business in TV and film, which says something about society - but that's a discussion for another day. As twin films, Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers and Dominic Sena's Kalifornia hold three similarities: a journalist is involved; a murder-happy couple goes on a road trip; and Juliette Lewis portrays a stone-cold killer. Kalifornia explores the inner psyche of serial killers, peeling back the layers to show why these people do the twisted things they do. If that doesn't sell the movie enough, then consider the fact Brad Pitt, David Duchovny, and Michelle Forbes are all part of the main cast, along with Lewis.

Year of Release: 1998 Released Before or After The Matrix: Before Before the Wachowskis' The Matrix changed the face of pop culture, another thought-provoking sci-fi action film arrived a year earlier. Alex Proyas's Dark City plays a lot like The Matrix: John Murdoch (Rufus Sewell) awakens - in more ways than one - to see the world around him isn't quite what it seems. Along this journey - both physical and metaphorical - Murdoch uncovers a life-changing secret: aliens known as Strangers are altering what he presumes to be reality for their own purposes. Dark City chooses more of a straight-edge sci-fi sheen in comparison with The Matrix's cyberpunk aesthetic, but both tackle the topic of existentialism. Proyas's film also features a strong ensemble cast including Kiefer Sutherland, Jennifer Connelly, William Hurt, and Richard O'Brien.

Year of Release: 1998 Released Before or After A Bug's Life: Before What? You're saying A Bug's Life and Antz aren't the same movie? It's easy to make this mistake, as insects are at the heart of both stories, and ants are the leading players. Equally interesting, Antz and A Bug's Life were released only a few months apart, and even resulted in a few strong accusations between the respective studios and filmmakers about someone copying another's homework. Regardless of the striking similarities, Antz remains a supremely animated and heartfelt tale. Plus, how can anyone not be impressed by a cast that features the voices of Sharon Stone, Woody Allen, Sylvester Stallone, Dan Aykroyd, and Gene Hackman?

Year of Release: 1994 Released Before or After To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar: Before In 1994 and 1995, two road trip comedies about drag queens were released. However, the latter, To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar, received most of the attention because it featured mainstream stars Patrick Swayze, Wesley Snipes, and John Leguizamo in drag. But there's no disputing The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is a pioneering film, helping to portray LGBTQ+ issues in a more positive light rather than as a punchline of a hurtful joke like many movies of the era. In addition, it features head-turning performances by Terence Stamp, Hugo Weaving, and Guy Pearce.

Year of Release: 1998 Released Before or After Saving Private Ryan: After Unquestionably, Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan, featuring Tom Hanks and Matt Damon, stands out as war movie royalty. The WWII film didn't simply clean up at the awards ceremonies, but also at the box office. As a result, it eclipsed Terrence Malick's The Thin Red Line, which is a notable movie in its own right and marked the filmmaker's return after a two-decade hiatus. The Thin Red Line did garner its own accolades and praise from critics and the public, however. This second film adaptation of the 1962 James Jones novel about the Battle of Mount Austen is a tense and emotional affair. It also features a star-studded cast that includes Nick Nolte, George Clooney, Adrien Brody, Sean Penn, and Woody Harrelson.

Year of Release: 1999 Released Before or After The Truman Show: After Being fascinated by the daily lives of ordinary individuals sounds a lot like scrolling through Instagram. However, the 1990s was a blissful era before social media turned online relations into a dumpster fire. Both The Truman Show, starring Jim Carrey as Truman Burbank, and EDtv, starring Matthew McConaughey as Ed Perkuny, highlight the problems of living life in the limelight and having people watch every move you make. The Truman Show is slightly more serious than EDtv, though, as the latter leans more toward comedy and feels a tad less depressing by the time the credits roll.

Year of Release: 1994 Released Before or After Tombstone: After Many cinephiles feel that the Western has never gone out of fashion - though its impact has fluctuated in different decades. In the 1990s, the genre made a huge comeback thanks to Tombstone, which follows Wyatt Earp (Kurt Russell) as he moves to Tombstone, AZ, to settle down, but is forced to pop off against pesky outlaws once again. Released a few months after Tombstone, Wyatt Earp provides an intimate look at the infamous gunslinger's life, as portrayed by Kevin Costner. Clocking in at 3 hours, 11 minutes, it's a meaty and substantial biopic about the American West's most recognizable lawman, covering all the important beats of his storied life.

Year of Release: 1994 Released Before or After Rookie of the Year: After There's something about baseball movies that just hits differently. Both Little Big League and Rookie of the Year are built to delight fans who adore the game. However, Rookie of the Year had the added advantage of arriving before its competitor. That being said, Little Big League is also about wish fulfillment, albeit in a different manner. In this film, 12-year-old Billy Heywood (Luke Edwards) become the manager of the Minnesota Twins as he tries to lead his team to victory - something every armchair coach has dreamed of doing.

Year of Release: 1994 Released Before or After Terminal Velocity: After By the 1990s, action films tried to come up with innovative twists to differentiate themselves. Step forth Drop Zone and Terminal Velocity: two flicks where skydiving is a central part of the plot. Obviously, this would up their excitement levels. But here's the thing: Terminal Velocity is led by Charlie Sheen, who isn't exactly renowned as an action star. Drop Zone, though, boasts the talents of Wesley Snipes, who puts in a typical charged performance to turn this feature into a thrill-packed ride.

Year of Release: 1994 Released Before or After Mortal Kombat: Before In the video game world, problems are solved through fists and fighting tournaments. In 1994, Street Fighter arrived in theaters, packed with a cast featuring Jean-Claude Van Damme as Colonel William Guile, Raul Julia as General M. Bison, and Ming-Na Wen as Chun-Li Zang. While the film doesn't feature Oscar-worthy acting (except for Julia, who deserves accolades for an inspired and hammed-up performance) or a story that's likely to rivet anyone above the age of 10, it delivers on the promise of people smacking each other for the sake of it. A year later, Mortal Kombat debuted in theaters. Again, much like Street Fighter, it isn't a sensational movie to write home about, but there's no denying the awesome action and thumping techno soundtrack elevate it to a high status in the pantheon of video game movies.

Year of Release: 1991 Released Before or After Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves: Before The legend of Robin Hood - the outlaw who steals from the rich to give back to the poor - is a story the film industry loves to revisit every so often. In 1991, two pictures about the fabled hero came out, but it's likely most people only remember one: Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, starring Kevin Costner as the titular character. On the flip side is Robin Hood starring Patrick Bergin, which follows the source material better but also introduces its own spin on things and gives Robin a mighty mustache. Maybe if Robin Hood had a soundtrack that included a Bryan Adams hit, it might have been more famous?

Year of Release: 1994 Released Before or After Babe: Before The trend of a cute pig as the star of a movie is due a comeback. In the mid-1990s, audiences received the perfect double whammy in the form of Gordy and Babe. Gordy sees the titular character head out on the road and make new friends for an oinktastic adventure, while Babe sees Porky Pig's brethren stick around at the farm and make pals there. Gordy is a sweet family film that hits all the right spots. The only difference between it and Babe is that the latter's cast is more recognizable, and therefore drew more eyes to the production.