'90s Movies That Deserve A Reboot

Reboots have long been a touchy subject amongst audiences. They can range in quality anywhere from strange TV reboots no one really wanted to reboots that were even better than the original, but many entertainment journalists, critics, and fans have posited that the number of these that Hollywood has pushed in the past few decades shows a lack of originality on the part of studios. In theater, though, plays and musicals are frequently revived with new casts, directors, designers, etc. It's can be pretty fascinating to see a new interpretation of "Hamlet" or to enjoy a singer like Sutton Foster's talent in a revival of "Anything Goes," all of which contributes to a rich tradition of stagecraft. Why does it feel so different when we talk about reboots and remakes in film and television?

For one thing, reboots are usually based more on what a production studio thinks will be easiest to sell to audiences with as little investment as possible. For another, studios often choose to reboot projects that just do not need to be brought back. Either they were already good enough the first time around, they have no thematic connections to contemporary issues, or they have simple, rote premises that weren't particularly inspired in the first place. If studios focused on rebooting projects that soared in creativity but failed in execution or that were ahead of their time philosophically or technologically, they might be able to garner more affection for their revived intellectual property.

Thanks to the compelling content of Hulu's 2022 limited series "Pam & Tommy" and the success of her 2024 independent film "The Last Showgirl," Pamela Anderson is experiencing a well-deserved renaissance as an actor and performer. While Anderson didn't star in "Pam & Tommy" (a younger version of her was portrayed by actress Lily James in the limited series), the series did initiate a conversation about the exploitation and misogyny that led to the downfall of Anderson's initial attempt at a respectable acting career. The series even showed re-shot scenes from Anderson's 1996 vehicle, "Barb Wire," based on a Dark Horse Comics character. If you've ever wondered what happened to Pamela Anderson, "Barb Wire" played a big part in her career's downward trajectory.

"Barb Wire" is a superhero movie set in the future that follows a buxom bar owner known as, well, Barb Wire. Over the course of the movie, she avoids groping attempts as she fights enemies and helps a scientist who needs to get out of dodge escape to Canada. "Barb Wire" did not do well in theaters, nor did it receive favorable reviews from critics. The film only made back $4 million of its $9 million budget, with critics like Roger Ebert noting that the plot is essentially that of a little film called "Casablanca." It was bad, but with the right team behind a reboot, it could have an impact on audiences — especially given its Second American Civil War setting.

Artificial Intelligence might seem like the butt of many jokes these days thanks to countless extra fingers and the ever-evolving ingenuity of kids who don't want to do their homework, but eventually, movies and TV will be forever changed thanks to the contributions of AI. Beyond that, there will come a time when society as a whole has been irrevocably impacted by the controversial tech, which is something that's been explored time and again in different sci-fi stories throughout popular culture. While there are a lot of stories about AI, and no doubt more to come, one half-forgotten action flick from the 1990s has great potential if it were to be rebooted into a world where its AI-centric premise is more relevant than ever.

In "Virtuosity," Denzel Washington stars as police officer Parker Barnes, who is arrested and remanded to prison after he accidentally killed several bystanders in his pursuit of the political terrorist who murdered his wife and daughter. While in prison, Barnes is recruited to help develop an AI called SID. Originally intended to train police officers in virtual reality, SID is an amalgam of various violent criminals throughout history — including the man who killed Barnes' family. Obviously, SID is an evil mastermind that can't be contained by normal people, and Barnes must give chase. The story needs some editing, but the misuse and mismanagement of AI doesn't seem like such an unrealistic scenario to explore these days.

There isn't much cause for teen joy these days. Between anxiety over the potentially catastrophic effects of climate change and depression from the isolating use of social media, people under 30 are less likely than ever to be particularly hopeful about their future. Indeed, it seems like Gen-Z's collective imagination has yet to be captured by the type of milestone teen movies that have offered a sense of generational camaraderie to others — boomers have "Animal House," millennials have "Ten Things I Hate About You," "Mean Girls," etc. This is likely because the once-pervasive sense of hope and giddiness that young people often get from facing a wide-open future, one full of possibilities, isn't something that many young people seem to be experiencing these days.

"Can't Hardly Wait" was a milestone teen flick for late Gen-X-ers and early millennials. It's a great movie, one that has become more appreciated the older it gets, and it would be the perfect template for a new teen movie. It wouldn't be a scene-for-scene reboot, or even have a set of characters that are anything like those of the original; after all, the original "Can't Hardly Wait" probably wouldn't resonate as well with teens today as it did then. But if rebooted as an ode to the last night of childhood, aka the night of high school graduation, it could be an opportunity to capture a real snapshot of what it means to be a teenager in 2025.

It's not surprising that 1990's "Darkman" was written and directed by noted director Sam Raimi; after all, he's known for his bona fides in horror and superhero films. An underrated, compelling fusion of the two genres that centers on an original character created by Raimi himself, "Darkman" follows a scientist named Dr. Peyton Westlake (Liam Neeson), who is researching a material that could serve as synthetic skin for burn victims. Through a confluence of events, Westlake finds himself the torture and attempted murder victim of a crime boss named Robert Durant, who blows up Westlake's lab with the scientist inside. Badly burned and disfigured, Westlake undergoes an experimental nerve treatment that grants him relief from his pain while enhancing his physical strength and the intensity of his emotions.

Horror and superhero movies are certainly popular in contemporary culture, and thanks to multiple 2025 Oscar nominations for films like "The Substance" and "A Different Man," so is body horror, a particular sub-genre "Darkman" explores. The film received relatively favorable reviews from critics and earned back its $14 million budget several times over, but it hasn't had the cultural longevity of some of Raimi's other projects, which means that a remake wouldn't be out of line. A good reboot of "Darkman" would pay fond homage to the original while refining and perfecting its thematic elements, and maybe Neeson would even return for a cameo. As fate would have it, Universal might have a reboot in the works.

Eddie Murphy has been revisiting his cinematic oeuvre of late with a new installment in his "Beverly Hills Cop" series and the sequel to "Coming to America," the originals of which are acknowledged as two of his most notable hits. It might be worth exploring his lesser-recognized films in pursuit of a reboot or new installment, like "The Distinguished Gentleman," even though it isn't exactly one of Eddie Murphy's biggest movies of all time. While it did bring in a solid $86 million at the box office, it was still a letdown compared to many of Murphy's other films. The movie follows a con man named Thomas Jefferson Johnson (Murphy) who scams his way into Congress thanks to an untimely death and a confusing ballot. Once he gets there, he realizes that Congress is full of liars like him.

The movie was panned by critics, with Entertainment Weekly's review stating, "There isn't a gram of satirical thrust to [the film's] portrait of congressional hucksters. As portrayed here, they're just jowly cardboard stooges in expensive suits." So yes, a reboot would have a lot of work to do, but America's political climate is such that a sharp satire about a disreputable man who cons his way into Congress (and still ends up a more dependable congressman than most career politicians) could make a real, visceral impact on modern audiences. Not only that, but a reboot has the potential to truly capture the current mood (overwhelmed, skeptical, despondent, etc.) of the American public.

In her essay "Strange Days: A Case History of Production and Distribution Practices in Hollywood," Romi Stepovich cites several reasons why "Strange Days" was a commercial failure, including the instability of its funding source during pre-production and poor marketing. It wasn't a bad movie so much as it was a product of everything that can go wrong when attempting to make a big-budget action film in Hollywood. Roger Ebert gave it four stars and praised its sophisticated depiction of its technology, while Entertainment Weekly liked the film's visuals even as they noted that the actual plot was rote. Ultimately, "Strange Days" failed to make back its $42 million budget and nearly sank Bigelow's career.

"Strange Days" is set in 1999 Los Angeles, where crime is especially rampant and people are embracing a new technology known as SQUID (Superconducting QUantum Interference Device). This tech allows people to record their lived experiences, including physical sensations, onto tiny discs that others can then use to re-experience them. It's very similar to the technology featured in the "Cyberpunk: 2077" video game and is something that continues to come closer to realization as tech companies research virtual and augmented reality. A "Strange Days" reboot doesn't have to keep the original story — the narrative could be moved in so many different directions — but the cinematic and visual aspects of the film would only be enhanced with present-day special effects technology. Plus, audiences have a much wider frame of reference for understanding technology than they did in 1995.

Some movies are appreciated in their time; others are not. "Event Horizon," falling squarely in the latter category, failed to make back its budget at the global box office and received abysmal reviews from critics, most of whom praised the film's opening act but noted a devolution of sophistication and quality as the action mounts. Despite this, the movie has come to be synonymous with the fusion of sci-fi and horror in film, and its initial failure has left many current-day fans puzzled. It boasts a strong ensemble cast (including noted genre icons Laurence Fishburne and Sam Neill), premise, and unique horror elements, but mainstream audiences were just not ready for "Event Horizon."

The story, which takes place in 2047, follows the crew of a rescue ship called Lewis and Clark as they respond to a distress call from the Event Horizon, a ship humanity had thought disappeared forever seven years earlier. If the idea of conducting an unexpected rescue mission in deep space doesn't sound spooky enough, the distress signal consists almost entirely of screams and howls. When the Lewis and Clark arrives, they discover that everyone onboard the Event Horizon has been massacred — and things escalate from there. Let's just say that a reboot could easily fit in with the innovative body horror and gore dominating screens in 2025, and while we may never get another "Event Horizon" in theaters, a TV show is in the works at Amazon.

Celebrated director David Fincher is known for his dark, twisty thrillers and thought-provoking dramas. 1997's "The Game," starring Michael Douglas and Sean Penn, follows the machinations of a billionaire named Nicholas Van Orton (Douglas), a lonely man who obsesses over his father's death as he approaches the same birthday, 48, on which his father committed suicide. On said birthday, Nicholas is visited by his estranged brother, Conrad (Penn), who gives him a voucher to participate in a mysterious game run by a company called Consumer Recreation Services (CRS). At first, Nicholas believes he's rejected from the game, only to later question the validity of his reality.

"The Game" is a great example of a story that is best told through the medium of film. It's a 128-minute-long puzzle box that combines a sturdy premise with Fincher's signature ability to capture the atmosphere surrounding a man on the edge of a nervous breakdown. Not only is it a decent film that performed well with audiences and critics, but it is also one of Fincher's deeper cuts, which means that a reboot wouldn't infringe too much on his cultural legacy. Universal currently has a television adaptation of the film in development, but "The Game" still feels like something that should be experienced in theaters. (If you do watch the original and find yourself a bit puzzled by the story, here's a handy article explaining the ending of "The Game.")

In a world where AI deepfakes and disreputable "news" networks have challenged the meaning of truth more than ever before, audiences might genuinely benefit from a reboot of "Liar Liar." The Jim Carrey-led film follows divorce attorney Fletcher Reede (Carrey), who loves his son, Max (Justin Cooper), but consistently fails to be honest with him. After Fletcher misses Max's birthday party, the boy wishes that his father would have to go an entire day without telling a single lie. Thanks to film logic, Max's wish comes true; what's more, not only is Fletcher unable to lie, he's also unable to withhold the truth or mislead others in any way. Fletcher then faces many consequences that result from the many long-term lies he has been maintaining in his life.

"Liar Liar" did quite well at the box office thanks to Carrey's star power and solid reviews from critics (the film has an 83% aggregate score with critics on Rotten Tomatoes), so there's no obvious impetus for a reboot; there's nothing to prove, so to speak — but a comedy about someone who can't lie would be fascinating to watch in 2025. Maybe instead of a lawyer, it's a public relations executive, and maybe their truths are actually received with skepticism. How frustrating would it be to know that you are literally incapable of lying and yet can't convince everyone that you're telling the truth? That's a question that could be answered with a "Liar Liar" reboot.

An unfortunately timed predecessor to "The Matrix," ("Dark City" came out only a year earlier and shares many themes and aesthetic motifs), "Dark City" is a high-concept sci-fi film that bombed at the box office but has since amassed a cult following. Directed by Alex Proyas and starring Rufus Sewell, the film follows a man named John Murdoch (Sewell) who awakens in a hotel bathtub with amnesia. The story follows Murdoch as he attempts to evade the mysterious Strangers who seek to capture him and find out who he is. To its credit, "Dark City" has a more gothic, noir-esque aesthetic than "The Matrix;" an apt backdrop for a cast of actors who tend more toward subtle nuance than big swings.

"Dark City" is not only visually similar to "The Matrix," but it also shares many similar plot points; it's actually better suited to a reboot thanks to an ending that feels more finite and optimistic than that of its spiritual successor. It did well enough when it first came out in 1998, grossing respectably high at the box office, earning several awards nods, and garnering positive reviews from critics. If "The Matrix" hadn't released a year later with a more engaging cast and a less-wordy script, "Dark City" may have established itself as a sci-fi mainstay. Alas, this was not to be. Now, a "Dark City" television show is in the early stages of production, according to the original film's director, Alex Proyas.

So "Office Space" is certainly not a movie that lacks in quality or memorability. Not only does the film have a strong fan following, but it also earned positive reviews from many critics, with USA Today summarizing the film's appeal by concluding, "If you've ever had a job, you'll be amused by this paean to peons." "Office Space" captured the perpetual ennui of working an office job while recognizing the many overworked and under-appreciated service workers in America through Jennifer Aniston's memorable turn as burnt-out restaurant server Joanna. It's a great film and one that inspired plenty of meme-centric internet satire even more than two decades later. 

While there are fans who would love to see "Office Space 2" hit theaters, Mike Judge — the film's creator, director, and writer — has said that he's not particularly interested in producing a sequel to his original. But that doesn't rule out a possible reboot for the post-pandemic world. Gen-X American office culture was permanently altered by the invention of mobile tech like the cellphone and laptop, both of which were becoming prevalent at the time "Office Space" hit theaters. 20 years later, office culture was abruptly spun on its head thanks to the upsurge of a gig economy and, more significantly, pandemic-related quarantine months. A new "Office Space" could capture the tone for a different generation of working Americans.