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The best AI movies: How Hollywood predicted the rise of robots

Blade Runner, The Terminator, and more

By
Blade Runner Harrison Ford
Sunset Boulevard / Corbis / Getty Images

Artificial intelligence used to be something authors and creatives mused about throughout their novels and films. Many people didn’t expect to actually live to see AI take such a prominent position in our daily lives. From Google using AI to answer simple questions to large companies making robots run by it (such as Tesla), it seems that the future has finally arrived.

Movies about AI have always been some of the most fascinating, scary, and ambitious in Hollywood. Incredible directors from Stanley Kubrick to actors like Will Smith have participated in these famous films about the future of humanity and robotics and how the two entities can co-exist or cease to exist. We have the ultimate list of movies about AI that were scarily accurate.

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I, Robot (2004)

I, Robot
115m
Genre
Action, Science Fiction
Stars
Will Smith, Bridget Moynahan, Alan Tudyk
Directed by
Alex Proyas
Watch on Tubi
Filmed during the height of Will Smith’s career, I, Robot follows a pretty generic but ominous storyline about a future in which robots have started to take over for humans in everyday life and a rebellion might be on the horizon. The aesthetics of the machines in the film look a lot like some of the robots being tested in real life right now, such as the Tesla Bot. Smith’s character is tasked with tracking down the leader of the robot rebellion and saving humanity in the process.

Blade Runner (1982)

Blade Runner
118m
Genre
Science Fiction, Drama, Thriller
Stars
Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young
Directed by
Ridley Scott
Watch on Amazon
Ridley Scott’s most famous science-fiction effort outside of Alien is probably Blade Runner. Harrison Ford has never been better than as the daring ex-cop who must fight back against the artificial intelligence that has returned to Earth to wreak havoc on its creators. Another film that warns us about the risks of creating robots that can blend in and eventually take over humanity, Blade Runner makes us hope there is a hero as strong as Rick Deckard. A sequel titled Blade Runner 2049 with Ford and Ryan Gosling was also a success.

Her (2013)

Her
126m
Genre
Romance, Science Fiction, Drama
Stars
Joaquin Phoenix, Scarlett Johansson, Lynn Adrianna
Directed by
Spike Jonze
Watch on Amazon

Her is a genre mashup that understands how romance and artificial intelligence could one day mix in unexpected ways to create a comforting, yet confusing dating world. Joaquin Phoenix portrays a lonely man who falls in love with an AI similar to Amazon’s Alexa or Apple’s Siri. Humans are constantly looking for affection from any corner of the universe, and Her tries to debate the ethics and authenticity of falling for something that seems real but isn’t.

Robot & Frank (2012)

Robot & Frank
85m
Genre
Science Fiction, Comedy, Drama, Crime
Stars
Frank Langella, Liv Tyler, James Marsden
Directed by
Jake Schreier
Watch on Amazon
Robot & Frank is a meditative and often light-hearted look at the ways AI might be able to assist older people as they become unable to take care of themselves. Left without any immediate family in his vicinity, Frank is given a robot by his children that will look after him. When the pair become like long-lost friends, Frank is able to manipulate the machine into doing things for him that are sometimes illegal. A good sense of humor and sentimentality at its core allows this tiny yet mighty film to shine bright.

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

2001: A Space Odyssey
149m
Genre
Science Fiction, Mystery, Adventure
Stars
Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester
Directed by
Stanley Kubrick
Watch on max
2001: A Space Odyssey is still one of the science-fiction films that all others look up to over 50 years after its release. Following astronauts and an AI on a quest through the solar system to find aliens, the movie is much more than just this basic premise of space exploration. Stanley Kubrick’s contemplative script takes the time to resonate with viewers on a deeper level as they glean what they want from the futuristic themes and the potential of sentience outside of human existence.

The Terminator (1984)

The Terminator
108m
Genre
Action, Thriller, Science Fiction
Stars
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn, Linda Hamilton
Directed by
James Cameron
Watch on Amazon
It’s hard to say The Terminator is foreboding yet, but it must always be included in any list about artificial intelligence and machines. Arnold Schwarzenegger plays the title character as he’s sent back in time to prevent the birth of humanity’s savior by killing his mother. James Cameron’s thrilling and horrifying sci-fi classic harkens back to a time before too much CGI took over the genre.

Ex Machina (2015)

Ex Machina
108m
Genre
Drama, Science Fiction
Stars
Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander, Oscar Isaac
Directed by
Alex Garland
Watch on Amazon
Domhnall Gleeson stars as a human protagonist who gets in way over his head as he tests the intelligence of a robot that’s capable of so much more than your typical AI. Much like many of the other movies on this list, Ex Machina warns people about the limits of human strength in the face of artificial intelligence becoming sentient. Oscar Isaac is one of the other standout actors here at the height of his career (he would go on to appear in the Star Wars sequel trilogy later in the decade.)

Transcendence (2014)

Transcendence
119m
Genre
Thriller, Science Fiction, Drama, Mystery
Stars
Johnny Depp, Rebecca Hall, Paul Bettany
Directed by
Wally Pfister
Watch on Amazon
Trascendence thrusts Johnny Depp into the spotlight as a scientist who becomes one with AI after his consciousness is uploaded into a supercomputer. It becomes hard to tell the difference between the robot’s personality and Depp’s character’s in an eerie story about the similarities and contradictions of computer intellect and human emotion.

The Creator (2023)

The Creator
134m
Genre
Action, Adventure, Science Fiction
Stars
John David Washington, Madeleine Yuna Voyles, Gemma Chan
Directed by
Gareth Edwards
Watch on Hulu
The Creator doesn’t waste any time getting to the point. It’s set in the midst of a massive conflict between humans and AI, as one man has the chance to end the war by destroying the source of the intelligence. That source is inside a vessel in the form of a child, making the quest all the more controversial.
Movie images and data from:
Shawn Laib
Shawn Laib
Contributor
Shawn Laib is a freelance writer with publications such as Den of Geek, Quote.com, Edge Media Network, diaTribe, SUPERJUMP…
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