Hollywood's Top Robot Films
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“Surrogates” (2009): This heavily promoted sci-fi film stars Bruce Willis and depicts a world where robots perform all public tasks for people, allowing humans to live out their fantasies without experiencing any danger. But it turns chaotic when an unknown assassin begins killing the surrogates and thus, ruining the brains of those at home. Only time will tell if the movie will stand up with other robot films, but so far, the reviews have not been promising.
“Transformers: (2007): One of the most commercially successful robot films of all time, the “Transformers” movies star Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox as teenagers who get pulled into a war between robots. After the home planet of a group of heroic robots known as Autobots is destroyed by the evil Decepticons, the Autobots must locate an All Spark, the only thing capable of rebuilding their home. But the All Spark, which is now located on the planet Earth, isn’t as easy to obtain as they think and it will require the assistance of a few special humans in the process.
"Terminator" (1984): Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as a cyborg assassin who has returned to 1984 from 2029 with the intention to exterminate the human race. The 2029 depiction of Los Angeles is a devastated one, where nuclear war has ravaged the quality of life and machines control the world.
“The Stepford Wives” (2004): The 2004 film starring Nicole Kidman was a remake of the 1975 version based on the 1972 book by Ira Levin. The plot centers around a Manhattan couple that moves to a Connecticut suburb where the housewives seem a tad too concerned with housework and domestic chores. The reason? They’re robot versions of themselves! But now the female protagonist must desperately attempt to escape before she is converted into one herself. The 1975 film was highly acclaimed and left a deep cultural impact, but the 2004 version was panned by critics and plagued by on-set issues. Nearly all of the stars of the film, including Kidman, have publicly expressed regret for their participation. Ouch.
“Robocop” (1987): This sci-fi film starring Peter Weller is set in Detroit Michigan in the not-so-distant future. After a police officer is brutally murdered, he is re-created as a human cyborg whose tag-line for bitter criminals is “Dead or alive, you’re coming with me.” The mega-successful film spawned two sequels, four TV series, video games, comic books and merchandise sold in toy stores worldwide. Not too shabby for a robot flick.
“Virtuosity” (1995): This film starring Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington is about a virtual villain who escapes into the real world after being transferred into an android body. It’s then up to a police officer (Washington) to try and take this virtual criminal (Crowe) down before he unleashes havoc.
'Metropolis' (1927): This silent film by Fritz Lang depicts a depressing view of an urban dystopia set in 2026 and examines the struggle between classes. It's famous posters and imagery endure today, as well as several versions of the film.
“I-Robot” (2004): This high-budget film starring Will Smith takes place in 2035 where robots and humans are living together, with robots working as assistants and employees of their human owners. The robots are programmed to live by three laws – they can’t harm humans, they must obey them and they have the right to defend themselves as long as it doesn’t conflict with the first two laws. But the robotic utopia begins to fall apart when the scientist who created them is killed and a robo-phobic detective begins to suspect one of the machines is responsible.
"Blade Runner" (1982): Starring Harrison Ford in a dystopian Los Angeles in 2019, the film's plot centers special forces known as "blade runners" whose duty is to kill escaped genetically manufactured beings known as replicants, who are used for dangerous work and are hiding in the city.