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  2. ›Best Movies Ever

9 Unforgettable '90s Disaster Movies, Ranked By Ridiculousness

Moviefone
August 17, 2019 - 1 min read

There have been some fun disaster films recently, but nothing quite satisfies our taste for the extreme like the greats from the '90s golden era. Tornadoes, asteroids, volcanoes, aliens -- You name it, they did it. Here are the most memorable disaster movies from the '90s, ranked from ridiculous to absolutely bonkers.

9. 'Twister' (1996)

We're pretty sure a meteorologist could point out all the glaring inaccuracies in this film, but we don't really care because the power of movie magic is real, people. There are actual storm chasers who do this kind of stuff, so we're not going to start a big argument on why it could be totally unrealistic. Flying cows might seem extreme, but compared to other disaster movies of the time, that's nothing.

8. 'Outbreak' (1996)

We guess this seems like one of the more plausible plots of the bunch, plus, Dustin Hoffman's serious face brings some gravity to the situation. Yes, the spread of the virus all kicks off when Patrick Dempsey sells a stolen capuchin monkey on the black market, but we'll allow it.

7. 'Deep Impact'

We actually kind of believe that this is how people might react if a comet was about to collide with earth. "Deep Impact" takes its extreme premise very seriously, so its hard to really call this movie that out-of-this-world.

6. 'Hard Rain' (1998)

The brilliant tagline for this film explains it all: "A simple plan. An instant fortune. Just add water." This is technically a heist movie, except that there's a lot of rain falling the entire time. Like, a lot. It's almost as if they have to keep reminding us.

5. 'Daylight' (1996)

We don't mean to be cynical here, but we feel like nobody would have survived in this situation. But you can never underestimate the power of Sly Stallone, trapped in a collapsed tunnel with TV-movie-of-the-week players.

4. 'Dante's Peak' (1997)

Is it just us, or do you feel like movies don't respect the power of lava? Yet, people still drive on it like it's no biggie. "Dante's Peak" has a lot of unbelievable moments, but we will still never understand why grandma felt the need to voluntarily plunge into a LAKE FULL OF ACID.

3. 'Volcano' (1997)

At least the volcanologist of Dante's Peak was aware of the presence of a volcano, unlike the Angelenos in this film who were woefully unprepared for the one that was bubbling underneath them following an earthquake. Once gain, lava is treated like a coffee spill that can be narrowly avoided if you shield yourself hard enough.

2. 'Armaggeddon' (1998)

Oh, you guys are deep core drillers? How 'bout we put the fate of the world in your hands, even though you've never been to space? And no, it's not easier to teach astronauts how to drill. Because reasons.

1. 'Independence Day' (1996)

Exhibit A: Will Smith punches an alien in the face. Exhibit B: Moments after getting wasted, a random environmentalist declares that a computer virus is the only way to save the world and everyone listens to him. Nobody even knows if the software is compatible. Exhibit C: The President of the United States boards an alien-attacking fighter jet. The list goes on, but who cares? This movie is '90s gold.

Independence Day

Independence Day

"The question of whether or not we are alone in the universe has been answered."
69
PG-132 hr 25 min Jun 25th, 1996
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