I was born in the late eighties, which means I spent an important part of my childhood in the nineties. I really do see myself as a nineties kid, and I often think back to that time with a lot of nostalgia.
Everything felt better then. The music, the games and, of course, the films.
Over the past few weeks we have regularly rewatched older films at home, and suddenly I realised just how many great blockbuster films were released in the nineties. Films that, sometimes more than 25 years later, still hold up incredibly well.
And secretly, I think many of them are better than what has been released in recent years.
Pace And Runtime
Since the rise and huge success of franchise films in the 2000s, film runtimes have also increased a lot. These days you can barely find a film that is not at least two hours long, but in the nineties you could simply sit back for an hour and a half and be entertained by a massive action film.
The pace of those films was therefore much higher too. There was not much room for all kinds of weird subplots. The film started and BAM, immediate action.
Lovely.
The Nineties Had Great Films
This week we watched Twister, Dante’s Peak and Armageddon, among others. All great blockbuster films that you can still watch perfectly well today.
But what about Independence Day with Will Smith?! That film was and still is amazing. I am a fan of spectacular action films anyway, but this remains a highlight of the genre.
Then think of Jurassic Park from 1993, The Shawshank Redemption from 1994 and Saving Private Ryan from 1998. And of course films like Titanic from 1997, Terminator 2 from 1991 and The Matrix from 1999.
All fantastic films that made the nineties an unprecedented high point for cinema.
Throw in all the brilliant action films like Bad Boys and Lethal Weapon, and for me it is very clear:
The nineties were peak cinema.