50 Best Robot Movies and TV Shows of All Time
Robots, android cyborgs, and everything in-between have been a popular topic in sci-fi shows and movies as far as we can remember. The concepts of technology going wrong as well as commonplace themes of AI sentience have always fascinated us. In honor of that, we decided to put down the list of best robot movies and tv shows of all time! The list is going to include 30 movies and 20 tv shows. So without further ado, let’s check out our best robot-themed movies and shows!
30 Best Robot Movies of All Time
1. Ex Machina (2014)
Genre: Drama, mystery, sci-fi
Director: Alex Garland
Cast: Alicia Vikander, Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac
Synopsis: Caleb, a 26-year-old programmer, is chosen to take part in an unusual and fascinating experiment in which he has to communicate with the world’s first true artificial intelligence, housed in the body of a beautiful robot girl.
2. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Genre: Adventure, sci-fi
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Cast: Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester
Synopsis: A Space Odyssey follows a series of encounters of humans with a mysterious black monolith that apparently affects human evolution and a journey to Jupiter to find the signal that one such monolith emitted from the Moon.
3. I, Robot (2004)
Genre: Action, crime, drama
Director: Alex Proyas
Cast: Will Smith, Bridget Moynahan, Bruce Greenwood
Synopsis: In 2035, robots became common helpers and the workforce of the human race. Chicago police officer Del Spooner was given the task of investigating the murder of a scientist, in which a robot Sonny appears to be involved. If robots are able to harm humans, they could also rule the world.
4. Upgrade (2018)
Genre: Action, horror, sci-fi
Director: Leigh Whannell
Cast: Logan Marshall-Green, Rosco Campbell, Richard Cawthorne
Synopsis: Set in the near future, technology controls almost every aspect of human life. But when Gray, a self-identified technophobe, turns the whole world upside down, his only hope for revenge is an experimental computer chip implant called Stem.
5. Westworld (1973)
Genre: Action, thriller, sci-fi
Director: Michael Crichton
Cast: Yul Brynner, Richard Benjamin, James Brolin
Synopsis: In Westworld, Futuristic automation goes crazy when two people try to realize their fantasies. Businessmen Richard Benjamin and James Brolin visit a creepy western-themed amusement park, where life robots suddenly go wild.
6. Metropolis (1927)
Genre: Drama, sci-fi
Director: Fritz Lang
Cast: Brigitte Helm, Alfred Abel, Gustav Fröhlich
Synopsis: A cult futuristic film story set in the city of the future where the population is divided into the working class and the city elders. The mayor’s son falls in love with a worker who anticipates the arrival of a savior who will erase their differences.
7. The Iron Giant (1999)
Genre: Animation, action, adventure
Director: Brad Bird
Cast: Eli Marienthal, Harry Connick Jr., Jennifer Aniston, Vin Diesel
Synopsis: A young boy befriends a large robot from outer space, which paranoid government agents want to destroy.
8. The Terminator (1984)
Genre: Action, sci-fi
Creator: James Cameron
Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Michael Biehn
Synopsis: The premise of the Terminator franchise revolves around a seemingly indestructible android is sent from 2029 to 1984 to kill a waitress whose unborn son will lead humanity in a war against machines, while a soldier from that war is sent to protect her at all costs.
9. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
Genre: Action, sci-fi
Director: James Cameron
Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong
Synopsis: The film is about the return of the Terminator T-800 from the future to the present, but unlike the first film, this time it was sent with the task of protecting Sarah Connor and her ten-year-old son John from a new improved prototype T-1000, made of liquid metal.
10. A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)
Genre: Adventure, drama, sci-fi
Director: Steven Spielberg
Cast: Haley Joel Osment, Jude Law, Frances O’Connor
Synopsis: A very advanced prototype of a robotic child named David is programmed to show unconditional love. When his human family leaves him, David embarks on a dangerous quest to become a real boy in order to regain the love of his human mother.
11. Transformers (2007) and sequels
Genre: Action, adventure, sci-fi
Director: Michael Bay
Cast: Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel
Synopsis: The premise of Transformers revolves around a sentient race of extraterrestrial robots. For millions of years on the distant planet Cybertron, life has existed in the form of intelligent giant Transformer robots. The Transformer race is divided into two main races – the Autobots, led by the peaceful Optimus Prime, and the cruel Decepticons commanded by the warlike Megatron. Both races have been in a bloody war that has spread across the universe for centuries and Earth is one of the few planets not affected by the war. However, that too will change when the Deceptions invade Earth and the Autobots stand in defense of the human race.
12. Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977) and other Star Wars movies
Genre: Action, adventure, fantasy, sci-fi
Director: George Lucas
Cast: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher
Synopsis: Star Wars series revolves around Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia leading a rebellion against the tyrant Emperor and his aides.
13. Blade Runner (1982)
Genre: Sci-fi, thriller
Director: Ridley Scott
Cast: Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young
Synopsis: In a future full of high-tech possibilities and universal decay, Deckard, a hunter of deadly replicas of men, is attracted to a mysterious woman whose secrets can weaken his soul.
13. Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
Genre: Sci-fi, thriller
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Cast: Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Jared Leto, Robin Wright, Dave Bautista, Mackenzie Davis, Edward James Olmos
Synopsis: Thirty years after the events in the first film, the new “blade runner,” LAPD Officer K (Ryan Gosling), reveals a long-buried secret that has the potential to plunge what’s left of society into chaos.
14. Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
Genre: Sci-fi, action, adventure
Director: Joss Whedon
Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo
Synopsis: Entry in the mega-popular Avengers franchise. When Tony Stark and Bruce Banner try to restart a dormant peace program called Ultron, things go wrong, and it’s up to Earth’s most powerful heroes to prevent the realization of the evil Ultron’s terrible plans.
15. Alita: Battle Angel (2019)
Genre: Action, Romance, Sci-fi
Director: Robert Rodriguez
Cast: Rosa Salazar, Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly, Mahershala Ali, Keean Johnson, Ed Skrein, Jackie Earle Haley, Edward Norton
Synopsis: After Dr. Ido (Christoph Waltz) finds her in a dump and revives her, Alita (Rosa Salazar) sets off in search of her own identity, but also the past, which reveals much not only about her, but also about the place where alive. At the same time, Chiren (Jennifer Connelly) and Vector (Mahesrhala Ali) have their own plan that goes hand in hand with the mysterious New, who seems to control the whole story.
16. Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-fi
Director: Jonathan Frakes
Cast: Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner
Synopsis: Part of a Star Trek franchise. The Borg travels back in time to prevent Earth’s first contact with aliens. Captain Picard and his crew follow them to make sure Zefram Cochrane reaches warp speed on his first flight.
17. Bicentennial Man (1999)
Genre: Comedy, drama, sci-fi
Director: Chris Columbus
Cast: Robin Williams, Embeth Davidtz, Sam Neill
Synopsis: Android strives to become human as it gradually acquires emotion.
18. Forbidden Planet (1956)
Genre: Action, adventure, sci-fi
Director: Fred M. Wilcox
Cast: Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis, Leslie Nielsen
Synopsis: A group of explorers comes to the planet Altair 4 to find out what happened to the settlers.
19. The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
Genre: Drama, sci-fi
Director: Robert Wise
Cast: Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Hugh Marlowe
Synopsis: The film has a strong anti-war message and points to the insanity and absurdity of Cold War politics. At the heart of the story is an alien, who tries to convey a message to the inhabitants of the Earth on which the future of the Earth depends. This is a classic ZF film of the fifties, which inspired many later films about the alien invasion.
20. RoboCop (1987)
Genre: Action, crime, sci-fi
Director: Paul Verhoeven
Cast: Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Dan O’Herlihy
Synopsis: Robocop takes place in the future, and it is about a police officer who was transformed by scientists into a cyborg after the accident, a Robotic police officer.
21. Alien (1979)
Genre: Horror, sci-fi
Director: Ridley Scott
Cast: Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt
Synopsis: Alien follows the seven-member crew of the spaceship Nostromo, which is awakened from hibernation by the ship’s computer to respond to signals emitted from an unknown planet. After landing one of the crew’s attacks a mysterious life form, and they soon learn that the life cycle of that perfect predator has just begun.
22. Aliens (1986)
Genre: Action, adventure, sci-fi
Director: James Cameron
Cast: Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, Carrie Henn
Synopsis: Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), the last surviving crew member of the cargo spacecraft Nostromo, is rescued and resuscitated by a space station rescue team after 57 years of hovering in hyper-sleep in a space shuttle. The moon from the original film is now colonized, but contact with it is lost. This time, the colonial marines have impressive firepower, but will that be enough?
23. Prometheus (2012)
Genre: Adventure, mystery, sci-fi
Director: Ridley Scott
Cast: Noomi Rapace, Logan Marshall-Green, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron
Synopsis: A team of scientists and researchers on Prometheus is no more and no less than on the way to discovering the answers to the deepest questions of life. The expedition is led by two brilliant young scientists, Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green) with opposite motives. Shaw is a believer: she wants to meet these “gods” in order to get closer to her traditional religious views, while Holloway wants to expose that kind of spirituality. In their work as archaeologists, they discovered traces on cave pictograms from ancient civilizations around the world, all pointing to the same place in outer space, and convinced the Weyland Industries Corporation to fund the mission. None of the scientists were prepared for the unimaginable terror they would encounter.
24. WALL·E (2008)
Genre: Animation, adventure, family
Director: Andrew Stanton
Cast: Ben Burtt, Elissa Knight, Jeff Garlin
Synopsis: In the distant future, a small waste collection robot accidentally embarks on a space journey that will finally decide the fate of humanity.
25. X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
Genre: Action, adventure, sci-fi, superhero
Director: Bryan Singer
Cast: Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Hugh Jackman
Synopsis: X-Men and Wolverine will have to go back in time and make an incredible effort to change history and prevent events that could lead to the complete extinction of mutants, but also the human species.
26. Big Hero 6 (2014)
Genre: Animation, action, adventure
Director: Don Hall, Chris Williams
Cast: Ryan Potter, Scott Adsit, Jamie Chung
Synopsis: The main character of the story, whose title in Croatia will be “Team for 6”, is a boy Hiro Hamada (voice of Ryan Potter) and in his adventures, he is accompanied by a big white balloon Baymax. Robotic freak Hiro finds himself in the middle of a scam and a criminal idea whose ultimate purpose is the destruction of the high-tech city of San Fansokyo. The unusual balloon-robot Baymax helps him in everything and soon will gather a team of fighters against crime in the mission to save the city.
27. Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Action, adventure, sci-fi
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Cast: Idris Elba, Charlie Hunnam, Rinko Kikuchi
Synopsis: The premise of Pacific Rim revolves around aliens threatening to destroy the Earth, we can only resist them with giant robots controlled by the best pilots!
28. Real Steel (2011)
Genre: Action, drama, family
Director: Shawn Levy
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Evangeline Lilly, Dakota Goyo
Synopsis: The plot is set in the near future where real steel robots run by former boxers who lost their jobs after the total evolution of this popular sport meet in the martial arts ring. The main character is Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman) who only touched the bottom after leaving the ring, and survives thanks to the ability to assemble the small robots he fights underground. After no longer seeing a way out of life’s situation, Charlie will, unwillingly, enter into a partnership with his estranged son Max, so the two of them will try to connect a real steel robot and get another chance to return among the celebrities.
29. The Matrix (1999)
Genre: Action, Sci-Fi
Director: Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss
Synopsis: A retired software expert leads a double life. He spends the night in front of his computer where, under the pseudonym Neo, he becomes a hacker trying to discover something he himself is not sure exists. After coming into contact with Morpheus, a legendary hacker who the government claims is a terrorist, he begins to be pursued by police led by dangerous agent Smith (H. Weaving).
Morpheus reveals to him that he is part of the matrix, and that is the illusion of the world, that is, the virtual reality that computers have used for centuries to control the enslaved human race. Morpheus is the leader of a small group of people who have come to know the truth and are trying to start a war for liberation from the computer. A new hope awakens in them because according to the legend, the Chosen One is coming – the only one who will be able to oppose the machines. Everything indicates that Neo could be that.
20 Best TV Shows with Robots
If these amazing movies with robots are not enough for you, we have also made a list of the best TV shows with robots. Check them out below.
1. The Expanse (2015-)
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Creator: Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Daniel Abraham, Ty Franck
Cast: Steven Strait, Dominique Tipper, Wes Chatham
Synopsis: A police detective in the asteroid belt, the first officer among the planetary ice trucks, and the agent of the United Nations Earth, are slowly uncovering a large conspiracy that threatens the Earth’s rebel colony in the asteroid belt.
2. The Mandalorian (2019-)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Creator: Jon Favreau
Cast: Pedro Pascal, Gina Carano, Giancarlo Esposito
Synopsis: After Young and Bob Fett, another Mandalorian armored warrior arrives in the Star Wars world. The plot takes place five years after the fall of the Galactic Empire and before the founding of the First Order. We follow the adventures of a lone gunman who works as a bounty hunter in remote territories beyond the control of the New Republic.
3. Westworld (2016-)
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Creator: Lisa Joy, Jonathan Nolan
Cast: Evan Rachel Wood, Jeffrey Wright, Ed Harris
Synopsis: A series inspired by the 1973 film of the same name by director Michael Crichton about a futuristic theme park inhabited by artificial beings. Welcome to Westworld! Discover a world where every human appetite can be satisfied.
4. The Transformers (1984–1987)
Genre: Animation, Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Creator: Hasbro, Takara
Cast: Frank Welker, Peter Cullen, Corey Burton
Synopsis: This series focuses on the Transformers, split into two warring factions: the heroic Autobots and the evil Decepticons as they crash land on Earth and continue their eons-long conflict there.
5. Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Creator: Gene Roddenberry
Cast: Patrick Stewart, Brent Spiner, Jonathan Frakes
Synopsis: Set almost 100 years after Captain Kirk’s five-year mission, a new generation of Starfleet officers set off in the U.S.S. Enterprise-D on its own mission to go where no one has gone before.
6. Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008–2020)
Genre: Animation, Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Creator: George Lucas
Cast: Tom Kane, Dee Bradley Baker, Matt Lanter
Synopsis: It follows the adventures of Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, and other popular characters from the ‘Star Wars’ universe during the violent Clone Wars, as dwindling numbers of Jedi knights struggle to restore peace.
7. Futurama (1999–2013)
Genre: Animation, Comedy, Sci-Fi
Creator: David X. Cohen, Matt Groening
Cast: Billy West, John DiMaggio, Katey Sagal
Synopsis: Fry, a complete loser and pizza delivery man, is cryogenically frozen for 1,000 years during New Year’s Eve 2000 and wakes up in the 31st century, where he becomes an employee of the transportation company of his great-great-nephew Professor Hubert Farnsworth (who has over 100 years). Throughout the fourteen seasons, he and his new colleagues experience a number of dangerous adventures, most often due to Fry’s stupidity. The plot takes place in the largest city in the world, New New York, built on the ruins of old New York, in the year 301.
8. Battlestar Galactica (2004–2009)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
Creator: Glen A. Larson, Ronald D. Moore
Cast: Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Jamie Bamber
Synopsis: When the old enemies, the Cylons, come out again and destroy 12 colonies, the crew of the aging spaceship Galactica protects a small civilian fleet – the last of humanity – as they travel to the legendary 13th colony, Earth.
9. The Orville (2017-)
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi
Creator: Seth MacFarlane
Cast: Seth MacFarlane, Adrianne Palicki, Penny Johnson Jerald
Synopsis: In this fun and exciting SF series, we follow the crew of the USS Orville research spacecraft. The crew, made up of humans and aliens, faces the wonders and dangers of the universe while dealing with everyday life problems.
10. Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (2002–2005)
Genre: Animation, Action, Crime, Sci-Fi
Creator: Kenji Kamiyama
Cast: Shirô Saitô, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, William Frederick Knight
Synopsis: The Ghost in the Shell series takes place in the year 2030 when many people have become cyborgs with prosthetic bodies. Primarily set in the fictional Japanese city of Niihama, Niihama Prefecture, the series follows the members of Public Security Section 9, a special operations task force made up of former military officers and police detectives. While the group investigates various crimes, both seasons feature ongoing investigations into two incidents that embroil the group in corruption within other branches of the Japanese government.
11. Love, Death & Robots (2019-)
Genre: Animation, Short, Comedy, Sci-Fi
Creator: Tim Miller
Cast: Scott Whyte, Nolan North, Matthew Yang King
Synopsis: Terrifying creatures, robots, wicked surprises, and dark comedy converge in this anthology of animated stories presented by Tim Miller and David Fincher.
12. Doctor Who (1963–1989), (2005– )
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Family, Sci-Fi
Creator: Sydney Newman
Cast: Jodie Whittaker, Peter Capaldi, Pearl Mackie, Matt Smith, David Tennant, Billie Piper
Synopsis: The Doctor Who series revolves around the adventures of an alien who travels through space and time known as Doctor, a Time Lord/Lady who can change his appearance and gender, and his friends.
13. Humans (2015–2018)
Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi
Creator: Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Daniel Abraham, Ty Franck
Cast: Katherine Parkinson, Gemma Chan, Lucy Carless
Synopsis: In the parallel present where the obligatory device for every household is ‘Synth’ – a highly developed robotic servant who is so similar to a real man that he transforms the way we live.
14. Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2008–2009)
Genre: Action, Drama, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Creator: Josh Friedman
Cast: Lena Headey, Thomas Dekker, Summer Glau
Synopsis: Set after the events in Terminator 2 (1991), Sarah Connor and her son, John, try to stay ‘under the radar’ of power while figuring out how to destroy Skynet, hoping to prevent Armageddon.
15. Psycho-Pass (2012– )
Genre: Animation, Action, Crime, Sci-Fi
Creator: Tow Ubukata
Cast: Kana Hanazawa, Miyuki Sawashiro, Noriko Hidaka
Synopsis: Believing in humanity and order, policewoman Akane Tsunemori obeys the ruling, computerized, precognitive Sibyl System. But when she faces a criminal mastermind who can elude this “perfect” system, she questions both Sibyl and herself.
16. Person of Interest (2011–2016)
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Sci-Fi
Creator: Jonathan Nolan
Cast: Jim Caviezel, Taraji P. Henson, Kevin Chapman
Synopsis: John Rees, a former CIA agent, is believed to be dead. Under a false identity, he lives on the brink of ruin on the streets of New York, drowning his grief in alcohol. When he meets the genius Harold Finch, a retired billionaire who deals with software engineering, his life takes a completely new direction. Namely, Finch created software for the government whose purpose is to protect the nation by anticipating terrorist attacks. After the government doesn’t realize what the true value of that software is, Finch resigns, hacks the software, and takes justice into his own hands. John Reese will help him with that.
17. Mystery Science Theater 3000 (1988–1999)
Genre: Comedy, Sci-Fi
Creator: Joel Hodgson
Cast: Joel Hodgson, Michael J. Nelson, Trace Beaulieu
Synopsis: In the not-too-distant future Joel Robinson is held captive by Dr. Forrester and TV’s Frank, forced to watch B-Grade movies on the Satellite of Love with the help of his robot friends: Cambot, Gypsy, Tom Servo, and Crow T. Robot.
18. Red Dwarf (1988– )
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi
Creator: Rob Grant, Doug Naylor
Cast: Chris Barrie, Craig Charles, Danny John-Jules
Synopsis: The premise of the Red Dwarf series follows the low-ranking technician Dave Lister, who awakens after being in suspended animation for three million years to find he is the last living human, with no crew onboard the mining spacecraft Red Dwarf other than Arnold Rimmer, a hologram of Lister’s deceased bunkmate, and Cat, a life form which evolved from Lister’s pregnant cat.
19. Knight Rider (1982–1986)
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Sci-Fi
Creator: Glen A. Larson
Cast: David Hasselhoff, Edward Mulhare, Richard Basehart
Synopsis: Knight Rider follows the adventures of Michael Knight, a modern-day crime-fighter who uses a technologically advanced, artificially intelligent automobile. This car, named KITT, is virtually indestructible, due to a high-tech coating applied to it. Knight Rider stories usually depict either average citizens, or ethical heads of corporations, being bullied into subservience to an overbearing or ruthless criminal organization. The protagonist(s) of each particular series is instructed by the Foundation for Law and Government (FLAG) to assist in some manner. The protagonist(s) has the assistance of a high-tech, self-aware, and nearly indestructible vehicle.
20. Space: Above and Beyond (1995–1996)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
Creator: Glen Morgan, James Wong
Cast: Morgan Weisser, Kristen Cloke, Rodney Rowland
Synopsis: Set in the years 2063–2064, the show focuses on the “Wildcards”, members of the United States Marine Corps Space Aviator Cavalry, 58th Squadron. They are stationed on the space carrier USS Saratoga, and act as infantry and pilots of SA-43 Endo/Exo-Atmospheric Attack Jet (“Hammerhead”) fighters, battling an invading force of extraterrestrials.
