Must-watch AI (Artificial Intelligence) movies – Artificial Intelligence has transformed our lives in many ways. From supercomputers to oversized machinery, AI has made indescribable changes in human lives. However, whatever we know is just the tip of the iceberg. Moreover, Artificial Intelligence has been featured in movies since the mid-twentieth century. It has made it possible to escape reality creatively. Artificial Intelligence has allowed us to wonder about our future with more advanced technologies. Therefore, movies can present such futuristic concepts as a part of daily life.
In the year 1951, the first movie using Artificial Intelligence was released. It was directed by Robert Wise. It was based on the book by Harry Bates, “Farewell to the Master.” The name of the AI used in this film was Gort. Moreover, it was loved by the audience, and from then, Artificial Intelligence began featuring in cinema more and more.
Best Artificial Intelligence Movies to Watch in 2023
If you are an AI Enthusiast who would love to watch movies that feature AI in interesting scenarios, here are some movies that would take your mind and heart by tornadoes.
1. Matrix (1999-2021)
The Matrix is one of the best science fiction action films starring Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne. It has won a bunch of awards, including Academy Awards, Saturn Awards, and BAFTA. After its release on March 31, 1999, the movie grossed over 460 million dollars worldwide. On top of it, in the year 2012, the Matrix was added to the National Film Registry for preservation.
The movie used different AI named sentinels and agents. The story revolves around how in the future Artificial Intelligence and superhumans have taken over humans. They have created this world that runs using human energy. The visual effects in the movie were applauded and won many awards. The effect known as the “bullet time” effect was created for the film. It is a combination of physical cameras and CGI. The matrix is produced and directed by the Wachowskis.
2. Ex Machina (2014)
This movie revolves around a female humanoid robot called Ava. Unlike other science fiction and Artificial intelligence movies, it does not revolve around robots wanting world dominance or vice-versa. Instead, the plot of the movie revolves around the manipulation game between the programmer and the robot. Science fiction psychological thriller, Ex Machina, written and directed by Alex Garland. The movie was made on a budget of 15 million dollars and grossed 26 million dollars worldwide. The movie received positive reviews for its screenplay, editing, and visual effects.
All the effects in the film were added post-production, as the film was shot as live-action. Ava, the female humanoid robot, is part machine and part human. The human parts of her, like their hands, feet, and face were rotoscoped, and the rest of it was digitally painted. Moreover, because of this, the background had to be shot twice, once with Vikander and once without her. In addition to this, the movie had about 800 VFX shots, and 350 of them were ”robot” shots.
3. A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)
The movie revolves around a child-like robot called David. He is adopted by a Cybertronics employee and his wife as a test case. He was able to feel love. Other artificial intelligence featured in the movie are, Gigolo, Joe, and Teddy. Directed by Steven Spielberg, A.I. Artificial Intelligence was released in all international theaters on June 29, 2001. The movie is based on the book “Supertoys Lasts All Summer Long” by Brian Aldiss. The movie grossed approximately 235 million dollars with a budget of 100 million dollars. It received nominations for Best Original Score and Best Visual Effects and received positive reviews.
4. Her (2013)
American science fiction and romantic drama mark the screenwriting debut of Spike Jonze who has also written, directed and produced the film. The budget of the movie was 23 million dollars and it grossed around 48.3 million dollars. The film premiered on October 12, 2013, at the New York Film Festival. The movie tells the story of a man who falls in love with an artificially intelligent virtual assistant. The role of the male protagonist is played by Joaquin Phoenix and the role of the AI, Samantha, is played by Scarlett Johansson. The film received worldwide critical acclaim and was nominated for various awards. Jonze’s screenplay won him Best Original Screenplay at the 86th Academy Awards.
Moreover, most of the editing was done post-production. Many of the scenes had fictional video games, developed by the animation artist David Orielly. Many scenes were re-shooted and edited post-production.
5. Oblivion (2013)
Oblivion is directed by Joseph Kosinski and produced by Peter Chernin. Set in the year 2077, the film is an American post-apocalyptic action-adventure film. The movie stars Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman, Olga Kurylenko, and Andrea Riseborough among others. The film begins in the year 2077 as the Earth is devastated by the war with extraterrestrials. Moreover, this war has caused humans to relocate to Titan, Saturn’s largest moon. The movie continues as one of the technicians, Jack Harper (played by Tom Cruise) is sent back to Earth to retrieve the drones and has to fight the remaining Scavengers aka extraterrestrials. The movie is shot in various parts of America and Europe. Few scenes are shot in Iceland as the daylight lasts for 24 hours during June. The magic hour, from 6 PM to 1 AM, is captured to bring the sci-fi out into the daylight.
6. Real Steel (2011)
Hugh Jackman and Dakota Goyo starrer American science fiction sports drama, Real Steel was released on October 7, 2011, in the US. it is adapted from the short story “Steel” written by Richard Matheson. It is directed by Shawn Levy and revolves around rodeo brawling. Most of the filming is done in the US state of Michigan. Motion Capture technology was used to depict the rodeo brawling of computer-generated robots and animatronics as animatronic robots were built for the film. The film was made on a budget of 110 million dollars and grossed around 299.3 million dollars.
7. Big Hero 6 (2014)
The film is produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and directed by Don Hall and Chris Williams. This American computer-animated superhero movie was released on November 7, 2014. The film tells the story of a young robotics prodigy, Hiro Hamada, and his late brother’s healthcare provider robot, Baymax. Both of them form a team of superheroes who later fight the villain who was responsible for Hiro’s brother Tadashi’s demise. The movie grossed 657.9 million dollars against the 165 million dollar budget. The new software was created by Walt Disney for the animation works of the film.
8. 2001: A Space Odyssey
Directed by Stanley Kubrick, this classic movie 2001: a space odyssey showcases amazing possibilities that are present within the field of Artificial Intelligence. The movie is particularly based on the Discovery Once Space mission to Jupiter and the mission is mostly controlled by an advanced AI program known as H.A.L. This advanced system is depicted as a humanistic control system that has been enabled with actual voice and ability to communicate with the members. In this movie, AI has been instilled to think like humans and solve complex problems. So, if you are interested in such sci-fi AI movies then 2001: A Space Odyssey is a good option.
9. The Imitation Game
Release in the year 2014, The Imitation Game is a movie based on the life of Alan Turing also known as the father of modern computers. The movie revolves around Turing and his team members who are called code-breakers who all are determined to convert “Egnima” a Nazi military German code. This code is used by the Nazi military for safely transmitting important information to particular units. So Alan Turing and his team creates a primitive computer system that they would use to solve the code after the human brain. Eventually, the movie moves forward around this concept and takes an interesting turn. Hence, this is one of the best movies for Every AI enthusiast.
10. The Terminator (1984)
Now let’s talk about a cult classic movie “The Terminator” to this list. The movie is a perfect combination of action, machine learning, and sci-fi technology, stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is portrayed as a cyborg Asian from the future. The movie was ahead of its time and show the audience an advanced level of Artificial Intelligence and how it can be a threat to humanity. The movie now moves forward and shows how humanistic cyborg T-800 model 101 John Connor saves everyone. People who love watching AI along with action and war will definitely love the movie, go for it.
11. Chappie
Written and directed by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, Chappie released in the year 2015, is an American science fiction action film. The movie is entirely set in the future where law and order are maintained by Police Robots. But the movie takes a turn when Chappie a police robot is stolen and eventually reprogrammed with new abilities to show its emotions and tell its own opinions. Once changed, Chappie starts to show different habits where he starts fighting corruption within the society. However, this is not liked by everyone and a lot of question arises. The film started with amazing actors including, Sharlto Copley, Hugh Jackman, Dev Patel, Ninja, Yolandi Visser, etc. which made the movie loved by everyone.
12. Interstellar
A legendary movie directed by a legend himself Christopher Nolan was released in the year 2014. It is an epic science fiction film with a completely different approach for presenting artificial intelligence. However, AI is not the central theme of the movie but has been represented with the help of two robots called CASE and TARS. The movie is entirely set in a dystopian future where the astronauts travel through time to search for a new home for the human race near Saturn. The movie was nominated for five awards at the 87th Academy Awards and won the award for Best Visual Effects and numerous other allocates.
13. Moon
Released in the year 2009, Moon directed by Ducan Jones is very similar to 2001: a space odyssey and it made space in this list because of its enchanting energy portrayed among humans and AI. The movie is based on the protagonist Sam Bell who is a contract-based employee working with Lunar Industries. However, he is very bored with his monotonous work of living a lonely life on the moon. However as the mission moves towards the end, the movie takes an interesting twist when he meets his young self. This is among the list of the best sci-fi and AI movies that people have loved because of its thought-provoking and philosophical scenes.
14. Automata
Directed by Gabe Ibáñez, Automata released in the year 2014, is an English language Spanish-Bulgarian science fiction movie. Automata is again set in the dystopian future and the movie revolves around where while making the attempt of rebuilding the world a robotic company tries to make the humanoid robot, Pilgrim. Both the robots are made to help humanity but things take a drastic change when one of the robots is shot by police. If someone enjoys watching movies based on artificial intelligence then Automata can be a good choice for them.
15. Robocop
A 1987 American science fiction film directed by Paul Verhoeven is a science fiction film that reveals the ethics of AI. The movie is an amalgamation of human and artificial intelligence which has proved that ethics and morality cannot be faked. It touches on the factor of weaponizing AI and also raises numerous questions about who is creating such dangers to humanity. Robocop also relates to the danger of lethal weapon systems and misuse of AI. So, if you are into some intellectual content then this is the best option for you.
16. Wall-E
An animated science-fiction movie, Wall-E was released in the year 2008 and directed by Andrew Stanton. The movie was critically acclaimed for its story, voice acting, visuals, score, romance, and characters. The director of Wall-E has tried to showcase Artificial Narrow Intelligence which is what we see in today’s world. The character of Wall-E is able to show emotions such as love and sorrow. The purpose of narrow AI is to show that many intelligent things can be done with it as Wall-E is also shown doing numerous things such as cleaning garbage, feeling things, and showing emotions.
17. Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic saga, created by George Lucas and was first released in 1977. The franchise is divided into various films making a completely fictional universe. The movie has a great fan following due to the two beloved AI characters- C3-PO and his fellow droid friend R2D2. Both the AI droids are scientists and have human-like personalities, along with this they are also cable of feeling emotions. However, interestingly both the droids are treated as slaves like a close relationship between a pet and its owner. The use of artificial intelligence in the movie is very significant and made the audience think about the society we will be in and how AI will be treated in the future.
18. Star Trek: Generations
Released in the year 1994 Star Trek: Generations was directed by David Carson. The main AI character of the movie was Lieutenant Commander Data, a scientist and a self-aware android serving as a senior officer in USS Enterprise. The AI superpower has been equipped with an emotion chip that can showcase emotions. The story moves forwards and takes interesting turns which are liked by the audience. So this movie is also a good option for AI enthusiasts.
19. Westworld
Released in the year 1973 and is about AI and its usage for entertaining us and allowing us to live our fantasies. The movie Westworld was inspired by a TV show and stars Evan Rachel Wood, Jeffery Wright, Thandiwe Newton, Ed Harris, James Marsden ad Tessa Thompson. This film also reminds us that there is a fine line between technology and ethics and where they can collide.
20. Money Ball
Released in the year 2011, Moneyball is an amazing movie that shows the power of predictive analytics and the capabilities in the world outside. Directed by Bennett Miller in the movie Moneyball theory was used for picking up undervalued players on a minimal budget for making a bets team. The film is the best example of showing the importance of data in a decision-making and choosing the right way of statistics in predictive modeling.
Conclusion
Hence listed above are the seven most critically acclaimed Artificial Intelligence movies. If you are an AI enthusiast, prepare yourself to binge-watch them this weekend. These movies show every face of AI. From declaring world dominance by eradicating humans to helping ones to the ones who can feel all human emotions.
FAQs on AI Movies
Which movies have AI?
Ans: These are movies that show AI technology:
- Matrix
- Big Hero 6
- Oblivion
- A.I. Artificial Intelligence
- The Imitation Game
What is the most famous AI?
Ans: Some of the most famous AI are:
- Google Cloud Machine Learning Engine
- IBM Watson
- GPT-3
- Salesforce Einstein
- TensorFlow 2.0
Which of the following movies is the best example of AI?
Ans: Some of the best examples of movies based on Artificial Intelligence:
- The Terminator
- The Imitation Game
- Real Steel
What is the highest IQ of an AI?
Ans: As per various research reports, the highest level of IQ of an AI can reach up to 47 which is approximately the same as a child of six years.
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