Robot Films are a subgenre of Sci-Fi and will often include Films About Artificial Intelligence. For our purposes, we define Robots and Cyborgs in the Films About Robots subgenre where the focus on the film is a physical representation of a robot vs. AI or artificial intelligence which is often a more abstract theme or visual. Though AI often powers a robot, this subgenre focuses more on C-3PO and R2-D2 than HAL 9000.
Films with Robots will often appear in almost every other subgenre imaginable, but the primary subgenres that intersect with Robot Films includes Films About Artificial Intelligence, Alien Invasion Films, Biotech Films, Cyberpunk Films, Hard Sci-Fi Films, Sci-Fi Military Films, Sci-Fi Films Set in Space, Techno Thrillers, Contemporary & Urban Fantasy Films, Films Based on Superheroes & Comics, Romantic Comedies and Romantic Dramas.
Types of Robots can include anything from the unstoppable T-800 killing machine in Terminator (1984) to the benevolent NDR-144 Robot Andrew in Bicentennial Man (1999). There are also a wide variety of themes within the subgenre but the most common theme is a Robot dealing with awareness of being an artificial being and/or wanting to be more human-like. And even though Killer Robots are also a popular subgenre theme, they often focus on malignant or malfunctioning AI controlling the Robot.
What are the Best Robot Films? Read on as we look at some of the most popular Films About Robots from the last 50 years. This is our seventeenth “Best Of” subgenre list where we will rank the Top 20 films of the Films About Robots subgenre.
For our rankings we’re going to use some criteria to help define and refine our list. First, and easiest, the film must contain a physical representation of a Robot. This will exclude some films such as 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and Her (2013) as they are primarily about AI.
Second, we will give priority ranking to films where Robots are humanoid. This means they have arms, legs, etc. and resemble a human being. This will lower the ranking for films such as Oblivion (2012) but will still likely make our list.
Third, we will include Films About Cyborgs though some of these films will rank lower – especially if the theme of the film is about AI. An example would be Upgrade (2018) where Grey gets the STEM AI implant. Technically he becomes a Cyborg because he’s part man / part machine, but the film is much more about AI than Robots. A Cyborg Film that will rank higher on our list is Robocop (1987) as it focuses on the robotic nature of becoming a Cyborg.
Fourth, we will also include Robots made from either classic metal frames to organic material. The classic metal frame example would include GORT from The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) and an organic material Robot would be a Replicant from Blade Runner (1982).
Fifth, and this will be a tricky one, but we’re going to try and isolate any Robot Films that deal with themes of Cloning. There are a few films of the subgenre that feature a narrative where a person has cloned or uploaded their brain and consciousness to a Robot. An example of what we’ll consider is JUNG_E (2023) which involves a cloned brain that is uploaded to a Robot mercenary.
And sixth, we had to follow our rule for all of KBZ’s film listings where we only list films that have a 4.0/10 or higher rating. We’ll also be focusing on films from 1968 to the present.
Our complete list of Films About Robots features over 203+ films from 1951 – 2023 and we have a separate article of the Top Films About Robots You Haven’t Seen. If you’re interested in AI films, we also have a list of the Top Films About AI You Haven’t Seen and an article on the Best Artificial Intelligence Films. We’re planning some additional articles about Robot Films from the last few decades so subscribe to our newsletter to get updated as we release future articles.
Best Robot Films
Honorable Mentions: Westworld (1973), Saturn 3 (1980), Runaway (1984), The Vindicator (1986), Chopping Mall (1986), Short Circuit (1986), Deadly Friend (1986), Class of 1999 (1990), Screamers (1995), Star Trek: First Contact (1996), Bicentennial Man (1999), A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), Natural City (2003), Edge of Tomorrow (2014), Automata (2014), Chappie (2015), Eva (2015), Kill Command (2016), Tau (2018), Zoe (2018), Finch (2021), After Yang (2022), Brian and Charles (2022) and JUNG_E (2023).
Rank 20-1:
#20 Alienoid (2022) Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/46iBccK
#19 Battlestar Galactica (1978) Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3Ps9LY6
#18 Archive (2020) Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3Plvy3N
#17 Oblivion (2012) Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3CDKzGw
#16 The Matrix (1999) Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3JrmAOv
#15 Hardware (1990) Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3xzUDhp
#14 I, Robot (2004) Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3Of8Rh1
#13 The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/449RV0i
#12 Prometheus (2012) Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3MtwtvP
#11 Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3q4GY1k
#10
The Black Hole
Plot: The explorer craft USS Palomino is returning to Earth after a fruitless 18-month search for extra-terrestrial life when the crew comes upon a supposedly lost ship, the USS Cygnus, hovering near a black hole. The ship is controlled by Dr. Hans Reinhardt and his monstrous robot companion, but the initial wonderment and awe the Palomino crew feel for the ship and its resistance to the power of the black hole turn to horror as they uncover Reinhardt’s plans.
KBZ’s Take: The Black Hole was one of a handful of Disney films that had darker than usual content like Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983). Though the Robot designs are obviously ‘inspired’ by Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977), it was the menacing Maximilian that held the Best Killer Robot title for awhile until the Terminator (1984) arrived on the scene.
Even though the film also had some notable Robots from the family friendly V.I.N.CENT and B.O.B to the darker, Star Wars-inspired Sentry Robots, the spinning blades and cold red stare of Maximilian were the perfect ingredients for childhood induced nightmares.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3PntRTm
#9
M3GAN
Plot: M3GAN is a marvel of artificial intelligence, a lifelike doll that’s programmed to be a child’s greatest companion and a parent’s greatest ally. Designed by Gemma, a brilliant roboticist, M3GAN can listen, watch and learn as it plays the role of friend and teacher, playmate and protector. When Gemma becomes the unexpected caretaker of her 8-year-old niece, she decides to give the girl an M3GAN prototype, a decision that leads to unimaginable consequences.
KBZ’s Take: M3GAN soared at the box office due to its ‘Killer Robot Doll’ themes, but often overlooked are some of the current moral and ethical implications of AI found in the film.
While the film takes a more satirical look at the attachment between children and AI, this is a very real concern of AI development. As noted in the film, the AI within M3GAN is meant to be used in a support role for Cady (Violet McGraw) after the loss of her parents. However, due to Cady’s attachment to M3GAN, AI quickly turns into a replacement not only for her parental loss but also for any type of parental authority or supervision.
Second, though the ethical concerns of releasing a technology before it’s been thoroughly tested and vetted is looked at in a comical manner in M3GAN, it’s also a real concern for any technology – especially AI. This is where M3GAN outperforms the reimagined robotic version of Chucky in Child’s Play (2019). While Chucky was primarily programmed to kill (by having its safety protocols removed), M3GAN learns to kill while becoming sentient.
Though M3GAN fits squarely in the Horror Comedy subgenre, it has some surprisingly detailed looks at seldom tackled themes within the subgenre.
Additional Lists: Best Films About Artificial Intelligence #8
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Plot: When Alita awakens with no memory of who she is in a future world she does not recognize, she is taken in by Ido, a compassionate doctor who realizes that somewhere in this abandoned cyborg shell is the heart and soul of a young woman with an extraordinary past.
KBZ’s Take: Alita is a film you don’t watch as much as experience. It has some of the most impressive CGI of any film on this list and Director Robert Rodriguez delivers a unique tale of a female military Cyborg rediscovering who she really is.
The visual effects in this film are so seamless it almost fools you into thinking you’re watching a live action film. And while Alita is star of the show, Zapan (Ed Skrein) cements his ranking as one of the top ‘bad’ Cyborgs of the subgenre.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3qWN983
#7
Transformers
Plot: Young teenager, Sam Witwicky becomes involved in the ancient struggle between two extraterrestrial factions of transforming robots – the heroic Autobots and the evil Decepticons. Sam holds the clue to unimaginable power and the Decepticons will stop at nothing to retrieve it.
KBZ’s Take: It almost seems as if Michael Bay’s role in life was to direct the live-action adaptation of the Transformers series of films. It’s hard to imagine anyone but Bay bringing to life Hasbro’s lineup of Robots and animated TV series that generations of kids grew to love.
Our spot on this list is not only for the groundbreaking first film (and its sequels) but also for the prequels of films – most notably Bumblebee (2018). Outside of Star Wars, no other subgenre films have as diverse a lineup that the Transformers roll out. And no other film can top the Robot on Robot brawls that appear in every film.
Optimus Prime and Megatron are two of the most iconic Robots of all time and their eternal battle of good vs. evil will continue to be one of the best themes of the subgenre for years to come.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3qUl9BS
Plot: In this animated adaptation of Ted Hughes’ Cold War fable, a giant alien robot (Vin Diesel) crash-lands near the small town of Rockwell, Maine, in 1957. Exploring the area, a local 9-year-old boy, Hogarth, discovers the robot, and soon forms an unlikely friendship with him. When a paranoid government agent, Kent Mansley, becomes determined to destroy the robot, Hogarth and beatnik Dean McCoppin (Harry Connick Jr.) must do what they can to save the misunderstood machine.
KBZ’s Take: Our list was initially going to only include live-action films (like most of our lists), but we couldn’t in good conscience not list The Iron Giant. This is also one of those animated films that will appeal to both kids and adults and shouldn’t be missed.
There are many words to describe this film – beautiful, intelligent, funny, emotional – and they all refer to a great film about the friendship that develops between a Robot and a boy. There are other films in the subgenre that have used this theme of a human/robot friendship (Earth to Echo (2014), A-X-L (2018)) but The Iron Giant does it best.
There’s one classic film that this film will remind you of – E.T. The Extra Terrestrial (1982) – and like that film, this film has a core message about choosing to do good to become your own hero.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3Xjrz9I
#5
Ex Machina
Plot: D Caleb, a coder at the world’s largest internet company, wins a competition to spend a week at a private mountain retreat belonging to Nathan, the reclusive CEO of the company. But when Caleb arrives at the remote location, he finds that he will have to participate in a strange and fascinating experiment in which he must interact with the world’s first true artificial intelligence, housed in the body of a beautiful robot girl.
KBZ’s Take: When watching Ex Machina, it’s easy to get distracted by the robotic body of Ava (Alicia Vikander) and the performances of Vikander, Domhnall Gleeson and Oscar Isaac. The film mainly features these three main actors, and they all give amazing performances throughout the film.
What is more intriguing is the accuracy in AI development and the administration of the Turing Test. While the film does a great job explaining what the Turing Test is to non-technical filmgoers, where it excels is with the deeper implications of the Turing Test – to see if Ava can convince Gleeson’s character that she is not only human but a female.
Ex Machina is one of the best films in the subgenre that explores the concept of AI ‘sentience’ and how we might need to redefine how AI systems ‘become aware’.
Additional Lists: Best Films About Artificial Intelligence #2, Best Hard Sci-Fi Films #3, Best Cyberpunk Films #6
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3nlYr4m
#4
Blade Runner
Plot: In the smog-choked dystopian Los Angeles of 2019, blade runner Rick Deckard is called out of retirement to terminate a quartet of replicants who have escaped to Earth seeking their creator for a way to extend their short life spans.
KBZ’s Take: Blade Runner was #1 on our Best Future Noir Films list, #2 on our Best Cyberpunk Films list, #3 on our Best Films About Artificial Intelligence list and #4 here. The film’s core theme is about AI (in the form of Replicants) and tackles everything from the evolution of AI in surpassing humans to the moral questions of what it means to be human or AI.
As for the film, it’s based on Philip K. Dick’s “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep”. Dick is known as the father of Cyberpunk and even has an award named after him (that another famed Cyberpunk novelist, William Gibson, won in 1985). Though the film loosely follows the novel, it’s Ridley Scott’s direction and visuals that bring life to the Cyberpunk world. Until that time, there weren’t many filmed visualizations of a Cyberpunk world, but Scott set the standard with Blade Runner.
Watched together with its sequel, Blade Runner 2049 (2017), and various supporting films, there’s entire worldbuilding around AI, Robots and philosophical questions about life that’s some of the best of the subgenre.
Additional Lists: Best Future Noir Films #1, Best Cyberpunk Films #2, Best Films About Artificial Intelligence #3, Best Hard Sci-Fi Films #20
Plot: Princess Leia is captured and held hostage by the evil Imperial forces in their effort to take over the galactic Empire. Venturesome Luke Skywalker and dashing captain Han Solo team together with the loveable robot duo R2-D2 and C-3PO to rescue the beautiful princess and restore peace and justice in the Empire.
KBZ’s Take: There’s little surprise the Star Wars franchise would be #3 on our list. There’s no other Sci-Fi franchise with the dazzling amount of different ‘Droids’ across its series of films, tv series and animated specials. While most of these Droids are secondary characters that often have little to no personality, Star Wars created some of the more memorable Robots in the galaxy.
You cannot think of the first initial film in the Star Wars franchise without first thinking of C-3PO and R2-D2. They are some of the first characters throughout the first act of the film. Their constant bickering back and forth also led to a subgenre first – Androids with actual personalities.
The film franchise would also roll out some memorable Droids in BB-8 and K-2SO, but no other Droids in the Star Wars universe would become as iconic as the “mindless philosopher” and “overweight glob of grease”.
Additional Lists: Best Military Sci-Fi Films #1
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3JZct45
#2
RoboCop
Plot: In a violent, near-apocalyptic Detroit, evil corporation Omni Consumer Products wins a contract from the city government to privatize the police force. To test their crime-eradicating cyborgs, the company leads street cop Alex Murphy into an armed confrontation with crime lord Boddicker so they can use his body to support their untested RoboCop prototype. But when RoboCop learns of the company’s nefarious plans, he turns on his masters.
KBZ’s Take: While the film focuses on ‘cops’ and the cyborg RoboCop, the theme of the film is militarized law enforcement to combat out of control crime. There’s also the ED-209 Enforcement Droid which is an example of one of the best Sci-Fi Military machines.
RoboCop is also one of the best films in the subgenre to explore the dual nature of a human/robotic hybrid and how much of a human is left in a Cyborg creation.
Though RoboCop (1987) and RoboCop 2 (1990) are classic films of multiple Sci-Fi subgenres, the third film Robocop 3 (1993) and remake Robocop (2014) fall short of the bar the first two films created. However, Robocop is still one of the best franchises of the Sci-Fi genre and will always be known for its classic line: “Dead or alive, you’re coming with me.”
Additional Lists: Best Military Sci-Fi Films #7
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/40wkUJT
Plot: Nearly 10 years have passed since Sarah Connor was targeted for termination by a cyborg from the future. Now her son, John, the future leader of the resistance, is the target for a newer, more deadly terminator. Once again, the resistance has managed to send a protector back to attempt to save John and his mother Sarah.
KBZ’s Take: We have Terminator 2 listed here but it’s really for the entire series of films. There’s just no other franchise that embodies Robots better than the iconic Terminator.
The first Terminator (1984) gave us Arnold Schwarzenegger as the indestructible T-800 which becomes more terrifying when only its robotic body remains. And the second Terminator film introduced an entirely new form of Robot as liquid metal – the T-1000. In fact, there so many different variations of Skynet-created Robots in the Terminator universe, that it’s easier to just read about them here.
Terminator 2 was also our pick here (over its predecessor) because it both introduced this new terrifying Robot and gave us some great scenes of T-800 and T-1000 hand to hand combat.
With over 70 years of various forms of Robots, Cyborgs, Androids and Droids in film, one Robot (and film franchise) still stands above them all – The Terminator.
Where to Stream / Buy: https://amzn.to/3pj4RCg
