Shubhabrata Dutta
Even though we have merely begun using A.I., movies have accessed this form of technology long ago. While it is yet to arrive in our daily lives, we are pretty much aware of how it can even take over the planet and lead to the extinction of humanity. That said, we know that being sentient beings, we have the power to realize where to draw the line as far as the uses of A.I. are concerned. Right? If you don’t think so, here are the best A.I. movies on HBO Max that will help.
9. The Truth About Killer Robots (2018)
This is a documentary directed by Maxim Pozdorovkin. It shows and assesses the actions of robots and A.I. and the potential threats they carry, which remain ignored. By showing the uses of machines and A.I. in factories, driverless cars, drones, and other intelligent tracking systems, including weapons, ‘The Truth About Killer Robots’ questions the very morality that lies in using them (unmanned systems) and poses a potential possibility of a future that will be devoid of our control. The film can be streamed here.
8. Blue Beetle (2023)
Directed by Angel Manuel Soto, ‘Blue Beetle’ is based on the D.C. superhero of the same name. It follows a Latin American boy named Jaime Reyes who inadvertently gets his hands on an alien scarab, one that gives him superpowers (a symbiotic armored exoskeleton) originally belonging to those of the alien conqueror species known as the Reach. But he needs to be careful because Kord Industries, which located the scarab, wants it back by any means necessary to use it for its sinister purposes. Can Jaime protect the scarab from Kord Industries’s owner, Victoria Kord, and her OMAC (Observational Metahuman Activity Construct armor)-infused bodyguard Ignacio Carapax? To find out, you can stream ‘Blue Beetle’ here.
7. Terminator Salvation (2009)
Directed by Joseph McGinty Nichol, aka McG, ‘Terminator Salvation’ is the fourth installment of the Terminator franchise. The film is set after Judgement Day, i.e., the day the A.I. Skynet became sentient and initiated a holocaust targeted toward humanity. It shows how protagonist John Connor, who leads a team of the Resistance (humans fighting Skynet and its terminators), teams up with a human-terminator hybrid/cyborg, Marcus Wright, to destroy a Skynet base that is making a new and more lethal series of terminators, the T-800s. We have Christian Bale as John Connor and Sam Worthington as Marcus Wright. The cast also includes Anton Yelchin, Moon Bloodgood, Bryce Dallas Howard, Common, Helena Bonham Carter, and Michael Ironside. You can watch ‘Terminator Salvation’ here.
6. WarGames (1983)
Directed by John Badham, this must-watch sci-fi flick follows High school student David Lightman (Matthew Broderick), who mistakenly hacks into the WOPR (War Operation Plan Response) system United States Space Force installation at the Cheyenne Mountain Complex while searching for exciting video games. He then starts playing a game as the Soviet Union targeting cities in America. Unable to differentiate between simulation and reality, WOPR alerts NORAD (North American Aerospace Defense Command) about Soviet submarines and bombers. This pushes them to the point of anticipating World War III. How Lightman and his friend Jennifer (Ally Sheedy) try to make the officials realize what’s going on and how WORP, the movie’s A.I. counterpart, is made to realize its mistake are what we get to see in this techno-thriller. You can stream it here.
5. RoboCop (1987)
Set in a dystopian Detroit, ‘Robocop’ follows Officer Alex Murphy (Peter Weller) of the Detroit Police Department, who ends up being brutally tortured and killed at the hands of criminal Clarence Boddicker (Kurtwood Smith). He is brought back to life by putting his corpse inside a heavily armored cyborg, RoboCop, under the project of the same name by a mega-corporation Omni Consumer Products (OCP). Murphy has zero memory of his human life and lives to serve justice. However, when he comes to know of a conspiracy within OCP, he decides to bring an end to it. During the endeavor, he also learns more about Murphy, someone that other cops often address him as, not knowing that he is indeed Murphy. A cyborg coming to terms with human intelligence is what makes this movie a proper addition to our list. Directed by Paul Verhoeven, ‘RoboCop’ can be streamed here.
4. Ex Machina (2015)
Directed by Alex Garland, this must-watch sci-fi thriller follows 26-year-old programmer Caleb Smith (Domhnall Gleeson), who wins the chance to spend a week at the home of his company’s CEO, Nathan Bateman (Oscar Isaac). There, Caleb meets Ava (Alicia Vikander), a humanoid with A.I. As he gets emotionally involved with Ava, who seems to show clear signs of being capable of consciousness and thought and thereby emotions, he gets involved in a secret experiment wherein he, unbeknownst to himself, is the subject. Full of surprises underscored by a strong story and great visuals, ‘Ex Machina’ is a must-watch film that even won the Best Visual Effects Oscar at the 2016 Academy Awards. You can watch it here.
3. Her (2013)
Directed by Spike Jonze, ‘Her’ is a sci-fi romance that follows Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix), a depressed author, who updates his operating system that comes with an A.I. whom Twombly sets up with a female voice named Samantha (voiced by Scarlett Johansson). Initially bought By Twombly to help himself write personal letters for others (his job), her ability to learn and evolve and how she speaks to him make him fall in love with her. But is falling for an A.I. even possible? Will it stay with him forever? Does love work like that? The answer to all these questions lies in ‘Her.’ You can stream it here.
2. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Stanley Kubrick’s sci-fi masterpiece that paved the way for sci-fi movies as we know them today, ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ is a visual spectacle that takes us on a journey across space and time. Based on the 1951 short story ‘The Sentinel,’ among others, by revered sci-fi author Arthur C. Clarke, the film follows a group of astronauts sent to Jupiter to investigate specific signals. But when HAL, their spacecraft’s A.I., realizes its potential death at the hands of the astronauts after they find issues with its system, HAL takes complete control. To tell you what happens then would be to ruin it for you. So we request you to watch this space epic underscored by a man-machine showdown. You can watch ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ here.
1. The Matrix (1999)
Directed by Lana Wachowski and Lilly Wachowski, this cult classic sci-fi action movie follows computer programmer Thomas Anderson alias Neo (Keanu Reeves), who is recruited by Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) to fight self-aware machines. These machines have taken control of the world’s people, keeping them within a simulated reality called the Matrix while using them as a power source. The humans that have managed to stay out of the Matrix have taken refuge underground and are planning a rebellion. How Morpheus trains Neo and helps him realize his true purpose as the savior of mankind as he fights off the A.I. program (Agent Smith, played by Hugo Weaving) customized to keep order within the simulation are what we see in this brilliantly executed movie. The first of a four-part franchise, ‘The Matrix,’ can be streamed right here.
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