John Travolta has been a household name for years now. The actor has gone on to star in many films since joining the scene in the 1970s. After his popular roles in Grease and Saturday Night Fever, Travolta’s career took a slower beat until his comeback performance in Pulp Fiction.
Another popular role for Travolta in the 90s comes from his performance alongside Nicolas Cage in Face/Off. The film seemed like a B-list movie, but its rating says otherwise. In fact, Face/Off helped round out a successful 90s for the actor. The thrilling cat-and-mouse film has resurfaced 25 years later with talks about a sequel, as reported by Cinema Blend. While it’s still up in the air whether Travolta will reprise his role, viewers still hope to see him again. Travolta is set to be reunited with his Pulp Fiction co-star Bruce Willis in the upcoming film Paradise City. The film was first announced in 2021, per Deadline, and is currently in post-production. Until then, let’s take a look at the 90s era and John Travolta’s best movies from that decade.
7 Phenomenon
In Phenomenon, George Malley, played by Travolta, is headed home after celebrating his birthday when he pauses to watch a strange light in the sky. He then collapses in the middle of the street. In the time that follows, he finds he now has super-intelligence and telekinesis. He tries to explain what happened, but the townspeople treat this new George as an outsider. When he correctly depicts an earthquake, he finds that he has attracted the attention of the US government and scientists. We all know that when the government wants someone special, it tends to be for bad reasons.
6 The General’s Daughter
In The General's Daughter, the daughter of a well-known general is found dead, staked out on the urban warfare range of Fort MacCallum. An undercover detective, Paul Brenner, and his ex-lover who is also working the case with him are called out to investigate. Brenner, played by Travolta, and Sunhill, played by Madeleine Stowe, find themselves wrapped up in what seems to be a bunch of cover-ups at West Point.
5 A Civil Action
Travolta plays a tenacious lawyer named Jan Schlichtmann in the 1998 drama A Civil Action. Jan takes on a case that involves a company that allegedly caused several people to be diagnosed with leukemia that's due to a polluted water supply. The seemingly non-profit cause turns into a huge environmental issue, and Jan and his team find themselves on the brink of bankrupting his firm and career.
4 Primary Colors
Governor Jack Stanton, played by Travolta, is running for President in Primary Colors. Unsurprisingly, his venture to secure the next presidency brings out a scandal. For Stanton, it's a sex scandal. The story of the fight for the presidency is told through the eyes of Henry Burton, a campaign manager and grandson of a civil rights leader. It's Burton who notices one of Stanton's many affairs after witnessing Stanton and a young woman leaving a room together. The film is loosely based on the Clintons.
3 Get Shorty
Chili Palmer (Travolta) is a mobster in Get Shorty, who was sent to Hollywood to collect a debt from a Hollywood producer named Harry. After meeting with Harry and a slew of his movie buddies, Chili realizes his job isn't so different from that of Hollywood. Backed by a stellar cast of Gene Hackman, Rene Russo, and Danny DeVito, this 1995 comedy is fun to watch and combines a bit of thrill together.
2 Face/Off
In Face/Off, Travolta plays Sean Archer, an FBI agent who is grieving over his dead son. He believes his son's killer in Castor Troy, played by Nicolas Cage. Archer catches up to Troy and is about to enact his revenge when he learns that Troy has planted a bomb that will destroy the entire city of Los Angeles. Troy's brother, Pollux, is the only other person who knows the location of the bomb, but he refuses to talk. Archer undergoes a face swap surgery to have his face be that of Troy's. The real Troy escapes and seeks revenge on Archer for taking his face. Both characters now have each other's faces, with Troy, as Archer, defusing the bomb, becoming a hero, and ruining the real Archer's life.
1 Pulp Fiction
Jules Winnfield, played by Samuel L. Jackson, and Vincent Vega, played by John Travolta, are hitmen sent to retrieve a stolen suitcase from their mob boss employer in Pulp Fiction. Vincent was also asked to take out the boss' wife while he was out of town. Meanwhile, Butch Coolidge, played by Bruce Willis, is an aging boxer who was paid by the same mob boss to lose a fight. These sets of people, all connected by the same mob boss, are woven together in a series of bizarre incidents. From the mind of Quentin Tarantino, this 1994 crime drama is often considered one of the best films ever made.