12 of the Best Robot Movies for When You Want to Binge-Watch Through the AI Apocalypse
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links."
So, you want to prepare from the forthcoming AI takeover, huh? Why else would you be looking for a robot movie to watch? Clearly, you're looking to study up on what is potentially coming for us once the bots start doing things beyond writing weird summaries of reality TV shows and creating photos of celebrities doing things that they didn't actually do. You know, one day they could be writing their own online listicles of the best robot movies—that'd be very meta of you, robots!
For now, though, here are 12 of the best robot movies—including everything from a scary robot doll, to animated robots, to a robot romance—as assembled by a human movie fan. Promise.
Ex Machina
If you're afraid of lifelike robots taking over, Ex Machina will definitely shake you up. The 2014 thriller tells the story of a CEO of a tech company (Oscar Isaac), who invites an employee (Domhnall Gleeson) into his home to put a humanoid robot (Alicia Vikander) he built to the test and find out just how good at being human it really is.
The Terminator
The Terminator (1984) is a robot movie that you have certainly heard of, even if you've never seen it— "I'll be back" is one of the most famous movie quotes of all time. Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as the Terminator, a robot assassin who is sent back in time to kill Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), whose future child will save humans from an AI takeover. (And if you like the movie, you should know it has five sequels.)
WALL-E
WALL-E is a 2008 Pixar movie about a robot living on an abandoned Earth, who sets off on an adventure in which he befriends a more advanced robot and finds out what happened to humanity. What happened? They fled Earth due to horrors stemming from climate change and capitalism and now can barely function due to their dependance on robots. Hey, it's an animated movie, but it's still pretty darn dark.
After Yang
In 2021's After Yang, a couple (Colin Farrell, Jodie Turner-Smith) have to figure out what to do when the robotic son they purchased to help their adopted daughter, Mika (Malea Emma Tjandrawidjaja), learn about her Chinese heritage stops functioning. The story is about the blurred lines between humanoid robots and humans, as well as grief for a lost family member.
2001: A Space Odyssey
2001: A Space Odyssey is perhaps the most iconic and influential robot movie of all time. The 1968 film is about astronauts who find that their AI control center, HAL, is able to make decisions of its own as it turns against the people on board.
M3GAN
As you can tell, robots come in many forms, and that includes creepy robotic dolls. The 2022 horror movie M3GAN stars Allison Williams as an engineer at a toy company who creates an AI doll. Prior to the launch of the very disturbing new toy, she introduces the M3GAN prototype to her niece (Violet McGraw). Problem is, M3GAN bonds with the niece a little too much and goes to extreme and violent lengths to protect her.
Blade Runner
Harrison Ford stars in 1982's Blade Runner as Rick Deckard, a "blade runner" whose job it is to kill rogue humanoids known as replicants. The issue is that it's hard to determine who is a replicant and who is human, especially since replicants can be given false memories to make humans believe they lived full lives. Oh, and it's set in 2019—a year that didn't end up being quite as futuristic as this movie shows.
Blade Runner 2049
Thirty-five years after the original, Blade Runner got a sequel in 2017 titled Blade Runner 2049. Harrison returns as Rick Deckard and is joined by Ryan Gosling as a replicant, K, who works as a blade runner, too. K ends up confronting his own past and the truth of his own existence.
Big Hero 6
Big Hero 6 is a 2014 animated movie about a teenager (Ryan Potter) in the future, who sets out to avenge his brother's (Daniel Henney) death alongside a robot built by his siblings named Baymax (Scott Adsit) and an assembled team of other robots.
A.I. Artificial Intelligence
A.I. Artificial Intelligence is about a couple (Frances O 'Connor, Sam Robards) in the future who take in a robotic boy named David (Haley Joel Osment). But, when they begin to see him as a danger to their human son, Martin (Jake Thomas), the family send David away and he sets off on a journey to find his place in the world.
Her
Her is more about AI than an actual physical robot, but it's definitely on -heme. The 2013 film is, essentially, about a man (Joaquin Phoenix), who begins having conversations and soon falls in love with the AI in his phone (voiced by Scarlett Johansson).
The Iron Giant
The 1999 animated movie The Iron Giant is about a boy (Eli Marienthal) in the late 1950s who befriends a big robot—an iron giant, if you will. The film follows him as he attempts to keep his robot friend safe from government officials. By the way, the robot is voiced by Vin Diesel.
You Might Also Like
