1994 Movies Ranked

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The 90’s Era of movies was short (1992-1998), but significant, and 1994 was the first forceful defining year of it, even though my favorite movie of ’94 is a fantasy.

19. Timecop

D: Peter Hyams

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Another dreadful 90's sci-fi movie.  Great job making the villain a conservative straw man, you children.  It also has some really bad CGI.

18. A Troll in Central Park

D: Don Bluth, Gary Goldman

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Next to Rock-a-Doodle, it’s Bluth’s most unwatchable film.  I did like the villain song, but aside from that it was simply dreadful.  I thought the title character would be likable because he was voiced by Dom DeLuise, but he was extremely annoying.  Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

17. Thumbelina

D: Don Bluth, Gary Goldman

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This is the year The Lion King came out, and Don Bluth made two of his worst movies.  At least that Bumblebee was cute.

16. Star Trek Generations

D: David Carson

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First in a string of mediocre TNG movies.  I love how they blatantly recycled the footage of the Bird of Prey’s destruction from Star Trek VI.

15. The Shadow

D: Russell Mulcahy

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A bland adaptation starring an absurdly miscast Alec Baldwin as the title character.  I would have liked to see what Sam Raimi would have done with this material.

14. The Swan Princess

D: Richard Rich

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A forgettable animated film, but I liked Steven Wright as Speed.

13. Street Fighter
D: Steven E. de Souza
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Cheesy, but Raul Julia makes a great villain.


12. Double Dragon
D: James Yukich
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Back in the olden days, video game movies weren't good, but they were at least amusingly campy and had a sense of humor about themselves.  Also, a movie with a rocket-powered station wagon can't be all bad.

11. Wolf

D: Mike Nichols

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A good movie, but feels more like a 90’s celebrity vehicle than a real werewolf movie.   Though I don’t like the implication that eternal isolation from humanity is good.

10. Ed Wood

D: Tim Burton

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A funny retelling of the B-Movie director who inspired Burton in the first place.

9. Clear and Present Danger

D: Philip Noyce

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A competent sequel to Patriot Games, though not as thrilling.

8. Speed

D: Jan de Bont

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Very memorable for its clever gimmicks, and Dennis Hopper is great as the villain.

7. Forrest Gump

D: Robert Zemeckis

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The movie that every hipster hates, but it’s still a very good movie.

6. Dumb and Dumber

D: The Farrelly Bros.

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Probably the second funniest Jim Carrey movie.

5. Leon: The Professional
D: Luc Besson
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It's really Norman Stansfield (Gary Oldman) that makes this movie.  One of my favorite villains.

4. Pulp Fiction

D: Quentin Tarantino

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Tarantino’s masterpiece.  When you consider how Jules turned to God and gave up a life of crime (an act which might have saved his life) while Vincent died by the sword after choosing to live by it, the movie is like a morality play masquerading as a nihilistic romp.

3. The Shawshank Redemption

D: Frank Darabont

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Great movie that people always decry as overrated.  In other words, it’s like the 90’s Citizen Kane.

2. The Crow

D: Alex Proyas

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Beautiful gothic visuals, great action and a charismatic hero.

1. The Lion King
D: Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff

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It’s one of the most suspenseful Disney movies.  Also has the best song.

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