5 Movies That Prove 1995 Was The Best Year For Cyberpunk

Cyberpunk has existed since at least 1982, when Bruce Bethke published his short story "Cyberpunk," which followed a teenaged hacker in an imagined future where the world was connected by an intricate web of computer terminals. From the very beginning the genre has been defined by its exploration of high-tech inventions and the low-life characters who use them. Cyberpunk heroes are streetkids, poor private detectives, and ambitious young hackers out to make their mark on the world.

In the 21st century, the cyberpunk genre is still alive, and fans have the '90s to thank for that. Sci-fi movies in the '90s changed the genre forever, and the decade's sci-fi filmmakers helped define what we think of as cyberpunk today. "The Matrix" stands out as a gargantuan influence on every cyberpunk project that came after it, but surprisingly, 1999 wasn't the best year for cyberpunk in the '90s. 1995 proved to be a pivotal moment for the genre, and fans got to see five different movies that explored just about every aspect of what a cyberpunk story can be.

Sylvester Stallone is an action icon, and while "Judge Dredd" definitely isn't one of his best movies, it's still been seared into the memories of generations of sci-fi fans. Stallone plays the titular character, a law enforcement officer in a grim future where society has been completely overrun by violent crime. Judge Dredd and his fellow officers have the authority to act as judge, jury, and executioner, but when Dredd gets framed for murder, his entire world turns upside down. Ex-cop Judge Rico (Armand Assante) has it out for Dredd, and their battle will tear the streets apart.

"Judge Dredd" is dripping in style, but not much else. Yet while the movie has just a 22% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, its vision of the future made a lasting mark on the cyberpunk subgenre. "Dredd," the 2012 reboot written and produced by Alex Garland, starred Karl Urban in Stallone's role and is fondly remembered by many fans as one of the best sci-fi remakes of all time. "Dredd" goes a long way toward redeeming "Judge Dredd," but Stallone's action movie is just the tip of the 1995 cyberpunk movie iceberg.

The mixture of techno-optimism and extreme fear that surrounded the internet in the '90s is hard to imagine now, but "Hackers" offers a pretty good sense of it. The movie's largely unrealistic depiction of the future imagines a world where young computer geeks can destroy massive corporations and where the World Wide Web is an almost mystical force.

The movie focuses on teenage computer genius Dade Murphy (Johnny Lee Miller). Before he was a teenager, Dade crashed Wall Street's computers under the moniker Zero Cool and earned himself a lengthy ban from the internet. After serving his sentence, Dade is ready to get back behind a keyboard, and plunges himself into the world of underground computer hackers. His new friends like Kate (Angelina Jolie) and Emmanuel (Matthew Lillard) show Dade just how far his computer skills can take him, but their misadventures also run afoul of corporate exec Eugene Belford (Fisher Stevens).

Plenty of sci-fi fans encountered the movie as kids, but "Hackers" is a completely different watch as an adult. The movie doesn't hold up particularly well, but it does feel like a time capsule of early internet enthusiasm that's more than worth cracking open. Its version of the future didn't really come to be, but "Hackers" captures a teenage cyberpunk spirit that doesn't really exist today.

"Johnny Mnemonic" is based on a short story from William Gibson, one of the most iconic cyberpunk authors of all time. Gibson coined the term "cyberspace" and helped create the high-tech, low-life subgenre that we all love today. "Johnny Mnemonic" is one of the best stories from his "Burning Chrome" collection, but it's entirely fair to say that the movie doesn't live up to its source material. The film is a complete mess, filled with off-key and downright bizarre performances, but over the years it's become a cult classic sci-fi film that fans have come to appreciate for its unique vision of the future, signature special effects, and unintentionally hilarious moments.

The titular Johnny (Keanu Reeves) earns his living as a courier for illegal data. Johnny stores the data in a secret drive in his head and transfers it to shady clients for a price. When a job goes sideways, Johnny finds himself stuck with lethal data that will zap his brain if he can't get it removed within 48 hours. With the help of cybernetic bodyguard-ninja Jane (Dina Meyer), Johnny uncovers a vast conspiracy involving megacorporations while fighting to survive on the dangerous city streets.

"Strange Days" is a brilliantly executed neo-noir story with a sci-fi twist. The movie is set in a "future" 1999 where the city of Los Angeles is overwhelmed by violent crime and corrupt police officers have begun taking matters into their own hands. Lenny (Ralph Fiennes) is a street dealer who sells illicit tapes, made with a high-tech headset, that record a person's entire sensory experience in a first-person point of view. 

If you want to experience robbing a bank or traveling the world without leaving your couch, Lenny can help you. But when he stumbles upon a tape made by a sadistic killer, Lenny suddenly finds himself neck-deep in a plot that could blow apart the entire Los Angeles Police Department.

"Strange Days" is directed by Kathryn Bigelow and includes some incredible performances from cast members like Angela Bassett and Tom Sizemore. It's an easy movie to recommend even to people who aren't sci-fi fans, so it makes a fantastic entry point into the world of cyberpunk. Few movies have so perfectly captured the street-level aspects of the genre, and without a flying car in sight. "Strange Days" encapsulates everything that makes a great cyberpunk story.

Some cyberpunk movies focus on the technology of the future, while others take a close look at the lives of people who can't afford the best that high-tech companies have to offer. "Ghost in the Shell" sits in the middle of those two approaches, examining a high-tech future through the lens of an elite police squad and asking what happens when technology changes human life beyond the point of recognition. The movie stands out as one of the best examples of cyberpunk filmmaking, not to mention one of the most impressive animated films of all time.

"Ghost in the Shell" follows Major Motoko Kusanagi (Atsuko Tanaka) of Public Security Section 9, a team of cybernetically enhanced officers. Motoko begins investigating a series of crimes committed by the Puppet Master (Iemasa Kayumi), a hacker who takes control of human beings via the digital implants in their brains. Through her investigation, Major begins to question the structure of the government her team supports and the very nature of her existence as an android law enforcement officer. "Ghost in the Shell" is a cyberpunk movie of big ideas that will stick in your brain long after you've finished watching the film.