Remember when Artificial Intelligence in movies used to look like 2001: A Space Odyssey‘s HAL 9000 or The Terminator‘s Skynet network? AI has been depicted in films for decades, and those portrayals have evolved during the years to reflect our perception of a fascinating world that we keep learning more things about. Artificial Intelligence is a hot topic at the moment, as it is currently being used in a variety of industries – from virtual assistants like Siri to AI Detector tools to check for plagiarism – but today we want to look back at some movies whose stories are made better by their unique, captivating depictions of AI characters. Find all the films below, in alphabetical order, and enjoy!
1. Blade Runner 2049
Denis Villeneuve
The much awaited sequel to Blade Runner takes place in 2049 Los Angeles, and revolves around a replicant named K (Ryan Gosling) who works as the titular blade runner – someone whose job it is to look for rogue replicants and make them disappear. One day, K finds a box that belonged to a replicant he has just retired, which reveals some information that leads our hero on a quest to find out more about the nature of replicants, and his own. This is where K’s holographic A.I. girlfriend, Joi (Ana de Armas), is introduced and a new side to K’s story starts to take place. If all replicants are supposed to be created, why does K have childhood memories? Could he have actually been born? Could there be so much more about replicants that is being kept hidden, and could that hold the answers that K has been looking for for his entire life?
This is what’s so fascinating about not only Blade Runner 2049, but also the original 1982 film: these machines are just so human that both movies continue to spark debates about what it actually means to be human, and the possibilities of AI as a whole. And since Denis Villeneuve (Arrival, Dune) directed the film, this 2017 sequel in particular is a highly philosophical movie too, which will both entertain you and make you think. It’s best if we leave it at that to let you discover some fantastic twists on your own, but if you haven’t seen Harrison Ford and Ryan Gosling together in a film yet, you’re in for a treat.
2. Ex Machina
Alex Garland
Before Civil War and Annihilation, writer-director Alex Garland made everyone talk with a gem of a sci-fi film that combines gorgeous visuals with the fascinating, unpredictable tale of a young programmer whose opportunity of a lifetime soon turns into a nightmare. It all begins when Caleb (Domnnall Gleeson) is given an exclusive invitation to spend a weekend at his boss Nathan Bateman’s (Oscar Isaac) house. The retreat is meant to be a chance to do some advanced research that could lead to ground-breaking discoveries in the field of artificial and synthetic intelligence. Caleb is supposed to take part in an experiment where he has to spend time with a highly intelligent AI and conduct an evaluation on its “humanity”.
Of course, things aren’t as easy as it sounds, and the AI in question, Alicia Vikander’s Ava, is not only capable of displaying some very “human” behavior, but is also hiding a few secrets that might even affect Caleb’s safety. But who is the real villain of this sci-fi horror hybrid? And what is the disquieting message at its core? You’ll have to watch the movie to find out, but it all ultimately comes down to the role of technology in our lives, and the possibilities and dangers of artificial intelligence. If you think that, based on this synopsis, you’ve already seen similar films, think again: we guarantee Ex Machina will surprise you.
3. Her
Spike Jonze
Spike Jonze’s Her is one of the most inventive and thought-provoking films you’ll ever see. While not exactly an uplifting watch, the movie is a fantastic analysis of the universal need of human connection, and the role that advanced technology has in our lives. Our protagonist, Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix), is dealing with the aftermath of a divorce. Feeling lonely, he installs a highly intelligent Operating System on all his devices that is operated through an AI. This AI is so advanced that she – her name is Samantha (Scarlett Johansson) is able to communicate with Theodore exactly like a human being would, and, for a while, she’s the perfect cure to his desperate need to share his life with someone else.
At first, Samantha seems to have a very positive effect on Theodore. It’s when the two of them enter into an actual relationship that things begin to change, especially since Samantha isn’t satisfied with living in Theodore’s OS: she wants her own life. This is the fascinating premise of a movie that doesn’t limit itself to explore the role of Artificial Intelligence in our lives, like the other films on this list do, but that also explores our relationship to it in innovative ways – so innovative that it might even have predicted life in 2025. Don’t miss it!
4. Moon
Sam Bell
If you’re looking for the kind of AI you can find in films like 2001: A Space Odyssey, we recommend Moon, a lesser known entry in Duncan Jones’s (Source Code, Warcraft) filmography featuring one of Sam Rockwell‘s best performances to date. It also offers an interesting parallel to Bong Joon-ho’s Mickey 17, since it’s about a man who shares his own memories with someone else. If that sounds vague, it’s because we don’t want to give the main twist away, but this psychological sci-fi thriller is guaranteed to have your eyes glued to the screen for its entire duration.
There is no HAL 9000 in Moon, but there’s an AI computer named GERTY, who becomes our protagonist Sam’s only companion on a trip to the titular Moon to harvest some energy to keep our planet going. There are obvious parallels to Kubrick’s space film, but Moon also has its own charm, and is grounded by two fantastic lead performances: Rockwell as Sam, and Kevin Spacey as GERTY.
5. Wall-E
Andrew Stanton
Let’s end this list with a movie where Artificial Intelligence is portrayed as a positive character! Wall-E is one of the best films in Pixar’s catalogue, revolving around a sentient robot who would seem to be the only survivor on Earth after a huge environmental crisis destroys the planet. When we meet him, he has been cleaning the Earth – a task he was born to do, since Wall-E stands for “Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-class” – for 700 years, and he has gotten used to this routine. Soon, everything changes when another robot shows up: EVE (Elissa Knight) was sent to the planet to find survivors, and happens to stumble upon our titular lonely AI.
So begins a fantastic adventure that, in true Pixar fashion, will take you on a rollercoaster of emotions, as our two protagonists grow together and make many discoveries about themselves and the world around them. It might not be the first film you’d associate with Artificial Intelligence, but it has not one but two AI robots and it’s absolutely worth the watch (or re-watch)!
There you have it: the 5 movies listed above are all about Artificial Intelligence and will make for very diverse watches and highlight different aspects of AI. On top of this, they’re all fantastic films that you should definitely check out! Happy watching!
