As the year 2000 approached, pop culture channelled its millennial unease into science fiction. While 1999 did see some standout horror (The Sixth Sense, The Blair Witch Project) and fantasy (Toy Story 2, The Mummy) releases, one genre reigned supreme—and it involved aliens, time-travelers, virtual realities, robots, doomsday unease, and a long-awaited return to Star Wars.
Here’s where to stream 15 standout sci-fi movies released in 1999. And note this is not a list of every sci-fi movie released in 1999, but you can track down what’s missing (Inspector Gadget, My Favorite Martian, or Baby Geniuses, perhaps?) on your own if you want to torture yourself and be a completist.
With a new Matrix movie on the way, refresh your memory of Neo’s nascent awakening by streaming the original on Netflix. While you’re watching, don’t forget to marvel at how the Keanu Reeves of 25 years ago still looks a lot like the Keanu Reeves of today.
Two years after his debut in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, Mike Myers’ perpetually horny secret agent traveled back in time to his decade of origin—the groovy 1960s, of course—to foil a sinister scheme involving moon lasers concocted by Dr. Evil (also Myers). Has this James Bond parody aged awkwardly or awesomely? Find out by renting or buying on Prime Video. And if you’d rather watch the real deal, 1999’s actual Bond release, The World Is Not Enough, is streaming on Max.
By Grabthar’s Hammer! Galaxy Quest is conveniently streaming alongside all the Star Trek you could ever need on Paramount+.
Brad Bird’s directorial debut is set at the height of the Cold War in the late 1950s, and was released in 1999, but its heartwarming story of a kid who befriends an enormous alien robot couldn’t be more timeless. Rent or buy on Prime Video.
Men in Black was a smash hit in 1997, so the re-teaming of director Barry Sonnenfeld and star Will Smith on another wacky genre mash-up—in this case, a steampunk Western adapted from a cult-beloved 1960s TV show—felt like a sure thing. But even with Kevin Kline and Salma Hayek along for the ride, not to mention another irritatingly catchy Smith theme song, Wild Wild West was a notorious flop. Has it achieved “so bad it’s good” status 25 years later? Rent or buy on Prime Video and see for yourself.
You’re already ahead of the game if Jennifer Jason Leigh is starring in your sci-fi movie; writer-director David Cronenberg was also ahead of the times with this trippy tale of a game designer who gets viscerally entangled in her own creation. Streaming free with ads on Pluto TV.
A baby born and raised in a nuclear fallout shelter, circa the 1960s, emerges into the 1990s a fully-grown adult (Brendan Fraser) who’s endearingly clueless about how culture has progressed in the past 30-ish years. Fortunately, he’s greeted by lots of opportunities for fish-out-of-water comedy and romance, rather than a Fallout-style wasteland. Streaming free with ads on Tubi.
This sci-fi horror tale offers a lesson useful in any year: maybe think twice before giving sharks super-powered intelligence. And if you still decide to go through with it, make sure your isolated-in-the-middle-of-the-ocean research lab has an ironclad containment solution and/or escape plan… just in case those genius sharks decide to rebel. Rent or buy on Prime Video.
This murder mystery wraps a simulation inside a simulation inside a—well, let’s just say there are layers to this thing, one of which looks like a 1930s film-noir fantasy, and another of which is set in the shockingly futuristic year of… 2024. Rent or buy on Prime Video.
Donald Sutherland and Jamie Lee Curtis headline this B-movie about a ragtag tugboat crew that happens upon a seemingly abandoned Russian research vessel… only to see their lucrative salvage scheme derailed by aliens intent on turning humankind into cyborgs. Virus didn’t find its audience back in 1999, but as that bonkers description suggests, it’s since struck a chord with cult-movie lovers. Rent or buy on Prime Video.
Gonzo, feeling glum about not knowing where he came from, discovers he’s actually an alien—a realization that promptly draws unwanted attention from some very shadowy national security officials. It’s got some cute moments, but Muppets From Space is not exactly a top-tier effort for Kermit and company. At least Gonzo got an origin story out of it. Rent or buy on Prime Video.
It’s easy to snicker at Y2K fears now, but in 1999 a lot of people were convinced that when the year flipped to 2000, computers would freak out, power grids would explode, or worse. One example of “worse” is contained in this Arnold Schwarzenegger film, which follows a retired NYPD detective determined to stop Satan (Gabriel Byrne) from forcing a woman (Robin Tunney) to carry his Antichrist spawn as New Year’s Eve approaches. Rent or buy on Prime Video.
The astronaut: Johnny Depp. The wife: Charlize Theron. The problem: he returns from space possessed by an alien. The inspiration? Rosemary’s Baby, sorta. Rent or buy on Prime Video.
In 2005, this Isaac Asimov-adapted story supposes, families will have helper robots to make their lives easier—including the Martins, whose android servant “Andrew” is played by Robin Williams. In the decades that follow, Andrew explores what it means to be human, a journey that includes a physical transformation… as well as some very sentimental emotional awakenings. Rent or buy on Prime Video.
