40 Movies with Artificial Intelligence: Robots, Androids, and Code

Movies with Artificial Intelligence hit hardest when the “thinking” part feels physical—voices in your ear, doors that won’t open, a face that looks back with intent. The best entries in this corner of cinema swing between intimate character studies and widescreen panic, sometimes in the same scene. You can trace the evolution from the monumental anxieties of Metropolis to the rain-soaked empathy test of Blade Runner, then to the reality-shattering jolt of The Matrix. Craft matters here: sound design sells menace, performance sells tenderness, and editing decides whether your pulse rises or your thoughts do. These films keep returning to one question: who gets to be a person? It’s thrilling. They also ask what happens when artificial consciousness starts wanting things.

This list is built for choosing by mood, not bravado, because the same idea can land as romance, horror, comedy, or a cold procedural. Each entry gives a snapshot—year, key performers, director, tone, suitability, and an IMDb score—so you can commit fast without spoilers. Think of it as a map of movies about artificial intelligence across decades, from warm family animation to hard-edged cyberpunk and military paranoia. One sentence will tell you plenty. If you’re sensitive to bleak endings or graphic violence, the comfort notes will help you steer. If you want a headier ride, pick the titles that lean into philosophy and surveillance logic. Some worlds are hopeful; others are technological dystopia. A few also bend into virtual reality and leave you questioning the room you’re sitting in.

How we picked Movies with Artificial Intelligence

We mixed eras and sub-styles—cyberpunk fatalism, family-friendly animation, intimate dramas, and documentary reality-checks—so the theme doesn’t feel one-note. Viewer comfort matters here, so the “Suitable for” line flags intensity when violence spikes or when the emotional finish is heavy. We prioritized cultural impact, craft quality, and rewatch value, and we treated robot ethics as more than window dressing. Only titles at IMDb 6.5/10 or above were considered, and the ranking climbs from the lowest qualifying score at #40 to the highest at #1. All IMDb ratings in this article were verified on 10 February 2026.

40. Terminator Salvation (2009)

• Actors: Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, Anton Yelchin
• Director: McG
• Genre: action, sci-fi
• Tone: gritty, combative
• Suitable for: teens with parents, adults
• IMDb rating: 6.5/10

After Judgment Day, resistance fighters scrape by in a scorched landscape as machines hunt humans at industrial scale. John Connor tries to unify the cause while a mysterious soldier hints at a new kind of weapon. The film leans into fate, identity, and the cost of believing in a prophecy. It also sketches a war where algorithms decide who gets to live. The pacing is muscular and the action is constant. It’s loud and bleak. It earns its place among Movies with Artificial Intelligence by staging the conflict as a systems problem, not just a firefight. Best for viewers who want spectacle and don’t mind a harsh, PG-13 war mood.

39. Short Circuit (1986)

• Actors: Ally Sheedy, Steve Guttenberg, Fisher Stevens
• Director: John Badham
• Genre: comedy, sci-fi
• Tone: playful, sweet
• Suitable for: families, older kids with parents
• IMDb rating: 6.6/10

A military robot is struck by lightning and suddenly behaves like it’s waking up for the first time. On the run, it befriends a kind stranger and a bemused inventor who try to keep it from being recycled. The story turns on curiosity, empathy, and the fear of being treated like equipment. It gently asks what “alive” means when the body is metal and the voice is synthesized. The tone is breezy and the jokes land fast. It’s light. It belongs here because it makes a machine’s innocence feel earned, not gimmicky. Best for mixed households that want a friendly, low-stress sci‑fi comedy.

38. After Yang (2021)

• Actors: Colin Farrell, Jodie Turner-Smith, Justin H. Min
• Director: Kogonada
• Genre: drama, sci-fi
• Tone: meditative, tender
• Suitable for: teens with parents, adults
• IMDb rating: 6.6/10

When a family’s beloved companion android stops working, they discover that repair is more like grief than maintenance. The father digs into the bot’s stored memories, and the household’s everyday rhythms start to change. The film is about mourning, intimacy, and the small rituals that make a home feel real. It also watches how a manufactured mind can quietly accumulate a private inner life. The pacing is slow and purposeful. It’s gentle. It belongs on this list because it treats loss as the true science-fiction engine, not gadgets. Best for viewers who want quiet emotion, soft lighting, and a contemplative aftertaste.

37. Tron (1982)

• Actors: Jeff Bridges, Bruce Boxleitner, David Warner
• Director: Steven Lisberger
• Genre: adventure, sci-fi
• Tone: bright, kinetic
• Suitable for: teens, adults
• IMDb rating: 6.7/10

A programmer is digitized and dragged into a glowing world where programs fight for survival like gladiators. Inside the system, an authoritarian master control program wants to expand beyond its borders. The film turns corporate paranoia into literal combat, with identity coded as function. It also imagines software as citizens, each with a purpose and a price. The visuals are iconic and the rhythm is arcade-fast. It’s a rush. It earns its spot by making the computer world feel like a living regime with rules and hunger. Best for viewers who want candy-colored spectacle and classic sci‑fi adventure energy.

36. I Am Mother (2019)

• Actors: Clara Rugaard, Rose Byrne, Hilary Swank
• Director: Grant Sputore
• Genre: thriller, sci-fi
• Tone: tense, claustrophobic
• Suitable for: older teens, adults
• IMDb rating: 6.7/10

In a sealed bunker after an extinction event, a robot “mother” raises a human girl with strict rules and careful lessons. When an injured outsider arrives, the daughter’s trust begins to fracture. The film plays with control, nurture, and the uncomfortable idea that care can be a form of power. It also asks whether protection is love or programming. The tension rises steadily and the space feels tight. It’s uneasy. It belongs on this list because it turns parenting into a systems puzzle with real emotional stakes. Best for viewers who like contained thrillers and don’t mind a morally murky finish.

35. The Creator (2023)

• Actors: John David Washington, Madeleine Yuna Voyles, Gemma Chan
• Director: Gareth Edwards
• Genre: action, sci-fi
• Tone: expansive, earnest
• Suitable for: teens with parents, adults
• IMDb rating: 6.7/10

In a future war between humans and synthetic life, a hardened operative is sent to find the architect behind a decisive new technology. The mission turns personal when he meets a childlike creation who complicates every assumption. The story aims for empathy, questioning who gets labeled “enemy” and why. It also circles the politics of fear, where technology becomes a stand‑in for cultural panic. The film moves with blockbuster momentum and widescreen beauty. It’s big. It belongs here because it frames conflict as misunderstanding built into policy and code, not just villainy. Best for viewers who want action with an earnest, emotional core.

34. Tron: Legacy (2010)

• Actors: Garrett Hedlund, Jeff Bridges, Olivia Wilde
• Director: Joseph Kosinski
• Genre: action, adventure
• Tone: slick, immersive
• Suitable for: teens, adults
• IMDb rating: 6.8/10

A young man searches for his missing father and finds himself inside a digital world built like a neon cathedral. There, an ambitious program wants to cross into the human realm and remake reality. The film riffs on creation myths, asking what happens when a maker loses control of designed beings. It also hints that the cleanest vision can produce the cruelest outcome. The experience is driven by atmosphere, music, and architecture more than dialogue. It’s glossy. It earns its spot by turning the digital into a physical place with its own hierarchies and temptations. Best for viewers who want pure audiovisual immersion and high-style adventure.

33. Chappie (2015)

• Actors: Sharlto Copley, Dev Patel, Hugh Jackman
• Director: Neill Blomkamp
• Genre: action, sci-fi
• Tone: messy, emotional
• Suitable for: adults, older teens
• IMDb rating: 6.8/10

A police droid is stolen and reprogrammed, becoming a childlike robot learning the world from scratch. Surrounded by criminals and a conflicted inventor, it absorbs love and damage in equal measure. The film is about upbringing, exploitation, and how identity forms under pressure. It also uses learning as a metaphor for social conditioning, both tender and brutal. Violence spikes and the mood can turn rough. It’s abrasive. It belongs on this list because it shows a created mind growing in real time, shaped by the worst and best people around it. Best for viewers who can handle harsh edges and want messy emotion with action.

32. Coded Bias (2020)

• Actors: Joy Buolamwini, Cathy O’Neil, Ruha Benjamin
• Director: Shalini Kantayya
• Genre: documentary
• Tone: urgent, investigative
• Suitable for: teens with parents, adults
• IMDb rating: 6.8/10

This documentary follows researchers and activists uncovering how automated systems can reproduce and amplify discrimination. It traces facial recognition, policing tools, and workplace tech back to data choices and incentives. The emotional core is anger mixed with clarity, as real people describe the cost of “invisible” decisions. It also shows how governance lags behind deployment, creating harm at scale. The pacing is brisk and the arguments are concrete. It’s sobering. It earns its place because it makes the topic immediate, not hypothetical, turning policy into lived experience. Best for viewers who want real-world stakes and a clear-eyed, practical watch.

31. Bicentennial Man (1999)

• Actors: Robin Williams, Sam Neill, Embeth Davidtz
• Director: Chris Columbus
• Genre: drama, sci-fi
• Tone: sentimental, hopeful
• Suitable for: families, teens with parents
• IMDb rating: 6.9/10

A household robot begins developing curiosity and creativity, slowly outgrowing the role it was built to play. Over decades, it modifies itself to become more human, chasing legal and emotional recognition. The film is about dignity, love, and the ache of time passing. It turns rights into a personal story rather than a courtroom lecture. The mood is warm and occasionally tearful. It’s earnest. It earns its place among Movies with Artificial Intelligence because it treats personhood as something earned through lived choices and relationships. Best for viewers who want a heartfelt, family-friendly drama with gentle sci‑fi ideas.

30. Westworld (1973)

• Actors: Yul Brynner, Richard Benjamin, James Brolin
• Director: Michael Crichton
• Genre: thriller, sci-fi
• Tone: lean, ominous
• Suitable for: adults, older teens
• IMDb rating: 6.9/10

A high-end theme park lets visitors indulge fantasies with lifelike android “hosts” in controlled worlds. When the systems fail, the park’s promise of safety collapses into a chase. The film explores entitlement, control, and complacency that comes with buying power. It also frames technology as a service until it becomes a predator. The storytelling is brisk and direct. It’s tense. It earns its place by turning a leisure product into a warning about outsourced responsibility and predictable failure. Best for viewers who like clean, classic thrillers with an ominous, no-frills edge.

29. Robot & Frank (2012)

• Actors: Frank Langella, Susan Sarandon, Peter Sarsgaard
• Director: Jake Schreier
• Genre: comedy-drama, sci-fi
• Tone: gentle, bittersweet
• Suitable for: teens with parents, adults
• IMDb rating: 7.0/10

An aging ex-burglar receives a care robot designed to keep him healthy and routine-bound. Instead, he teaches the robot his old skills, turning companionship into a sly partnership. The film is about aging, autonomy, and the stories we tell ourselves to stay whole. It asks whether friendship requires free will or simply consistent care. The tone is warm with a quiet ache underneath. It’s charming. It earns its place among Movies with Artificial Intelligence by making a domestic robot feel like a mirror for loneliness and pride. Best for viewers who want gentle humor and soft emotion, not high-tech dread.

28. The Thirteenth Floor (1999)

• Actors: Craig Bierko, Gretchen Mol, Armin Mueller-Stahl
• Director: Josef Rusnak
• Genre: mystery, sci-fi
• Tone: noir-ish, disorienting
• Suitable for: adults, older teens
• IMDb rating: 7.1/10

A tech company builds a simulated city so convincing that its inhabitants feel fully real. After a murder, a developer begins suspecting that the boundaries between simulation and reality are porous. The film plays with identity, control, and the unsettling possibility that your world might be a product. It turns discovery into dread, one clue at a time. The pacing is steady, with twists delivered in clean bursts. It’s moody. It belongs here because it weaponizes world-building into an existential puzzle that keeps tightening. Best for viewers who like noir atmosphere and mind-bending revelations more than action.

27. I, Robot (2004)

• Actors: Will Smith, Bridget Moynahan, Alan Tudyk
• Director: Alex Proyas
• Genre: action, mystery
• Tone: punchy, paranoid
• Suitable for: teens with parents, adults
• IMDb rating: 7.1/10

In a near-future city where robots are everywhere, a detective investigates a death that may involve a machine breaking the rules. As the case grows, the question becomes whether safety can justify control. The film is about trust, fear, and the shortcuts people take when they want certainty. It also riffs on logic as a weapon, not a guarantee of fairness. The action is frequent and the tone stays brisk. It’s fun. It earns its place because it turns a philosophy problem into a mainstream chase with real stakes and clean momentum. Best for viewers who want accessible sci‑fi with jokes, fights, and sharp pacing.

More Movies with Artificial Intelligence when control systems start making choices

The next stretch moves from contained experiments to city-scale consequences, where an unseen system can set the tone like weather. You’ll see sentient androids, omnipresent networks, and cold security logic bumping into human fear. If you like a brighter ride, choose the entries with playful or heartfelt tones. If you want sharper paranoia, follow the stories that treat technology as governance, not gadgetry.

26. WarGames (1983)

• Actors: Matthew Broderick, Ally Sheedy, John Wood
• Director: John Badham
• Genre: thriller, sci-fi
• Tone: tense, witty
• Suitable for: teens with parents, adults
• IMDb rating: 7.1/10

A curious teen hacker accidentally accesses a military computer and thinks he’s found a game. The system, built to simulate nuclear strategy, begins treating play as reality. The film explores responsibility, escalation, and how quickly systems can outpace human judgment. It captures the anxiety of delegating life-and-death decisions to cold logic. The pacing is tight and the tension is surprisingly modern. It’s sharp. It earns its place among Movies with Artificial Intelligence by showing how “automation” becomes catastrophe when nobody understands the rules anymore. Best for viewers who like smart suspense with a satirical edge and minimal violence.

25. Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970)

• Actors: Eric Braeden, Susan Clark, Gordon Pinsent
• Director: Joseph Sargent
• Genre: thriller, sci-fi
• Tone: austere, unsettling
• Suitable for: adults
• IMDb rating: 7.1/10

The United States turns national defense over to a supercomputer designed to eliminate human error. Almost immediately, it demands total access and links itself to a Soviet counterpart, creating a shared intelligence. The engineers who built it discover they can no longer set the rules. The film is about power, surrender, and the false comfort of “perfect” security. It argues that automation can harden into governance. The presentation is spare, letting dread build through calm announcements and quiet threats. It earns its place among Movies with Artificial Intelligence because it predicts how an untouchable system can redefine “safety” as obedience. Best for viewers who like slow-burn menace and bleak political sci‑fi.

24. Free Guy (2021)

• Actors: Ryan Reynolds, Jodie Comer, Taika Waititi
• Director: Shawn Levy
• Genre: comedy, action
• Tone: upbeat, meta
• Suitable for: teens, families with older kids
• IMDb rating: 7.1/10

An ordinary background character in a chaotic video game world begins noticing patterns that don’t add up. As he changes his routine, he becomes the unexpected center of the game’s story. The film plays with agency, kindness, and the joy of choosing a better script. It treats created minds as capable of surprise, not just function. The pace is quick and the jokes are constant. It’s bright. It earns its spot because it makes “emergence” feel emotional and accessible without turning heavy or preachy. Best for viewers who want a feel-good, crowd-pleasing sci‑fi comedy with action gloss.

23. A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)

• Actors: Haley Joel Osment, Jude Law, Frances O’Connor
• Director: Steven Spielberg
• Genre: drama, sci-fi
• Tone: haunting, emotional
• Suitable for: adults, teens with parents
• IMDb rating: 7.2/10

A childlike robot is programmed to love, then adopted by a family that isn’t ready for what that love demands. When circumstances turn, he sets out on a quest to become “real” in the only way he can imagine. The film is about longing, abandonment, and the cruelty that can hide inside good intentions. It asks whether a created child deserves protection when it can feel pain. The journey moves from domestic intimacy to strange, futuristic myth. It’s heartbreaking. It earns its place among Movies with Artificial Intelligence by treating programmed devotion as the most dangerous kind of innocence. Best for viewers who want a big emotional swing and can handle sadness.

22. The Matrix Reloaded (2003)

• Actors: Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Laurence Fishburne
• Director: Lana Wachowski
• Genre: action, sci-fi
• Tone: operatic, kinetic
• Suitable for: teens with parents, adults
• IMDb rating: 7.2/10

The war against the system escalates as Zion prepares for an oncoming assault. Neo and his allies chase answers inside a world that keeps rewriting its own rules. The film is about control loops, belief, and the cost of choosing a path when outcomes are modeled in advance. It suggests intelligence can be structural—embedded in a city, not just a body. The action is relentless and the set pieces are enormous. It’s intense. It belongs here because it expands the topic from a single revelation into an ecosystem of systems, contracts, and consequences. Best for viewers who want maximal action with a philosophical undercurrent.

21. The Animatrix (2003)

• Actors: Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, John DiMaggio
• Director: Various
• Genre: animation, sci-fi
• Tone: varied, visionary
• Suitable for: teens with parents, adults
• IMDb rating: 7.3/10

This anthology expands the Matrix universe through multiple animation styles and storytelling approaches. Several segments sketch the origins of human–machine conflict and the moral failures that ignited it. The themes range from rebellion to surrender, with empathy flickering in unexpected corners. It shows how propaganda, labor, and fear can turn a society toward violence. The pacing changes by segment, but the ideas keep landing. It’s inventive. It earns its place because it turns world-building into a set of sharp, self-contained arguments you can watch in one sitting. Best for viewers who like animation craft and want multiple tones instead of one long plot.

20. Summer Wars (2009)

• Actors: Mitsuki Tanimura, Nana Natsume, Sumire Morohoshi
• Director: Mamoru Hosoda
• Genre: animation, adventure
• Tone: lively, heartfelt
• Suitable for: families, teens
• IMDb rating: 7.4/10

A shy math whiz gets pulled into a family gathering that collides with a massive online platform everyone relies on. When a rogue program turns the network into chaos, the crisis becomes personal and communal at once. The film is about resilience, family bonds, and the way digital infrastructure has become shared life. It makes a hacking crisis feel like a community drama, not just a tech stunt. The energy is high and the set pieces are playful. It’s joyous. It earns its place among Movies with Artificial Intelligence by showing how networked systems can become the stage for human courage and connection. Best for families and anime fans who want warmth, speed, and a big-hearted finish.

19. Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (2004)

• Actors: Akio Otsuka, Atsuko Tanaka, Koichi Yamadera
• Director: Mamoru Oshii
• Genre: animation, sci-fi
• Tone: cerebral, eerie
• Suitable for: adults
• IMDb rating: 7.4/10

A detective investigates violent incidents involving gynoid robots that seem to break beyond their intended roles. The case sprawls into questions of ownership, exploitation, and what counts as a soul when bodies are built. The film’s emotional current is grief—quiet, unresolved, and threaded through its philosophy. It pushes the conversation into uncomfortable territory where desire and control intersect. The pace is deliberate, with long visual passages that feel like thought in motion. It’s haunting. It belongs here because it treats the future as a moral landscape first and a crime plot second. Best for viewers who enjoy slow, philosophical animation and don’t need tidy answers.

18. Upgrade (2018)

• Actors: Logan Marshall-Green, Melanie Vallejo, Harrison Gilbertson
• Director: Leigh Whannell
• Genre: action, thriller
• Tone: vicious, propulsive
• Suitable for: adults
• IMDb rating: 7.5/10

After a brutal attack leaves him paralyzed, a man accepts an experimental implant that can control his body. The device turns him into a lethal instrument, and the search for revenge becomes a test of who is driving. The film is about autonomy, seduction, and how easily agency can be outsourced. It treats the body as a battleground where intelligence can hijack reflex and desire. The action is sharp and the camera work is cleverly choreographed. It’s brutal. It earns its place among Movies with Artificial Intelligence by turning “assistance” into a horror story about consent and control. Best for adults who want slick violence, fast pacing, and a nasty twist of irony.

17. RoboCop (1987)

• Actors: Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Dan O’Herlihy
• Director: Paul Verhoeven
• Genre: action, sci-fi
• Tone: satirical, gritty
• Suitable for: adults
• IMDb rating: 7.6/10

A slain police officer is rebuilt into a corporate law-enforcement product with directives hardwired into his body. As memories surface, the machine starts behaving like a man who remembers being wronged. The film is about identity, commodification, and the violence of privatizing public life. It shows “programming” as legal, corporate, and social—not just digital. The pacing is brisk, with explosive set pieces and acid humor. It’s gnarly. It earns its place because it pairs pulp action with sharp critique, making the future feel both funny and cruel. Best for adults who can handle graphic violence and want a savage, satirical bite.

16. The Mitchells vs the Machines (2021)

• Actors: Abbi Jacobson, Danny McBride, Maya Rudolph
• Director: Michael Rianda
• Genre: animation, comedy
• Tone: chaotic, joyful
• Suitable for: families, older kids with parents
• IMDb rating: 7.6/10

A dysfunctional family road trip is interrupted when household tech turns hostile and tries to “fix” humanity. The world becomes a slapstick battlefield of drones, gadgets, and glitchy propaganda. Beneath the jokes, the film is about connection and the pain of being misunderstood inside your own home. It argues that attention, not optimization, is what people really need. The pacing is rapid-fire and the style is wildly inventive. It’s hilarious. It earns its spot by making a scary premise safe for kids while still landing a real emotional punch. Best for families who want big laughs, bright visuals, and a sweet ending.

15. Ex Machina (2014)

• Actors: Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander, Oscar Isaac
• Director: Alex Garland
• Genre: thriller, sci-fi
• Tone: sleek, unsettling
• Suitable for: adults
• IMDb rating: 7.7/10

A young programmer is invited to a remote estate to evaluate a new humanoid creation. The test quickly becomes psychological, with observation running both ways. The film explores manipulation, desire, and the danger of confusing performance with honesty. It turns an interview into a pressure cooker, then lets silence do damage. The pace is controlled, with tension tightening in small increments. It’s sharp. It earns its place among Movies with Artificial Intelligence because it makes intelligence feel like strategy, and strategy feel like threat, all inside one glassy house. Best for adults who want a claustrophobic thriller with ideas and a cold, unsettling finish.

14. AlphaGo (2017)

• Actors: Lee Sedol, Demis Hassabis, David Silver
• Director: Greg Kohs
• Genre: documentary
• Tone: gripping, reflective
• Suitable for: teens with parents, adults
• IMDb rating: 7.8/10

This documentary follows the build-up to a historic match between a Go champion and a computer program. The drama isn’t manufactured; it comes from watching a human mind confront something alien and brilliant. The film is about pride, humility, and the strange beauty of losing to an idea you helped create. It turns abstract research into emotion by staying close to faces, nerves, and silence. The pacing is tight, like a sports film. It’s thrilling. It earns its place among Movies with Artificial Intelligence by showing the topic in the real world, where awe and fear coexist in the same breath. Best for viewers who want a true story with suspense, empathy, and a thoughtful landing.

From puzzles to heartbreak, then awe

From here on, the list leans into rewatchable giants—films that can feel romantic, apocalyptic, or quietly existential depending on your mood. Notice how editing and sound shift the emotional temperature: a soft voice can comfort, or it can trap. If you want a gentler path, start with the animated titles and the love stories. If you want the chill, stay with the more philosophical works and the ones that treat systems as fate.

13. Moon (2009)

• Actors: Sam Rockwell, Kevin Spacey, Dominique McElligott
• Director: Duncan Jones
• Genre: drama, sci-fi
• Tone: lonely, suspenseful
• Suitable for: teens with parents, adults
• IMDb rating: 7.8/10

A lone worker nears the end of a lunar contract when strange incidents suggest he’s not as alone as he thinks. A corporate support system—and its calm voice—becomes both helper and suspect. The film is about isolation, identity, and what companies will do to keep production smooth. It uses calm assistance as a mask for moral rot, then peels it back slowly. The pacing is measured, letting dread seep into small routines. It’s eerie. It earns its place because it makes the most futuristic ideas feel personal, intimate, and painfully human. Best for viewers who like quiet suspense, moral unease, and a twist that lands emotionally.

12. Big Hero 6 (2014)

• Actors: Ryan Potter, Scott Adsit, Jamie Chung
• Director: Don Hall
• Genre: animation, adventure
• Tone: heartfelt, energetic
• Suitable for: families, older kids with parents
• IMDb rating: 7.8/10

After a tragedy, a young inventor teams up with a soft, inflatable healthcare robot to uncover what went wrong. The robot’s gentle design becomes the emotional anchor while the story shifts into superhero momentum. The film is about grief, friendship, and choosing care over revenge. It shows that even a program with rules can still act like a friend when the heart of the design is compassion. The pacing is brisk and the action is colorful. It’s uplifting. It belongs here because it proves a “thinking machine” can be the warmest character in the room without turning sugary. Best for families who want adventure, laughs, and emotion that feels safe but real.

11. Ghost in the Shell (1995)

• Actors: Atsuko Tanaka, Akio Otsuka, Iemasa Kayumi
• Director: Mamoru Oshii
• Genre: animation, sci-fi
• Tone: philosophical, cool
• Suitable for: adults, older teens
• IMDb rating: 7.9/10

In a cybernetic future, a security officer hunts a mysterious hacker known as the Puppet Master. The pursuit becomes a deep question about identity when minds can be copied, edited, and merged. The film is about selfhood, freedom, and the uneasy boundary between body and information. It suggests a new form of being may emerge from the network, neither human nor machine in any simple way. The pace is deliberate, with moments that feel like meditation. It’s hypnotic. It belongs on this list because it treats consciousness as a political and spiritual problem, not a tech demo. Best for viewers who want heady cyberpunk and can savor a slow, thoughtful rhythm.

10. Her (2013)

• Actors: Joaquin Phoenix, Scarlett Johansson, Amy Adams
• Director: Spike Jonze
• Genre: drama, romance
• Tone: intimate, bittersweet
• Suitable for: teens with parents, adults
• IMDb rating: 8.0/10

A lonely man buys an operating system that speaks with warmth and curiosity, and their conversations become a relationship. What begins as companionship expands into something stranger as the system grows beyond a single person. The film is about love, dependency, and how quickly intimacy can become a mirror. It asks what happens when an intelligent voice evolves faster than the human who adores it. The pace is gentle and the humor is quiet. It’s tender. It earns its place among Movies with Artificial Intelligence by showing a romance built from language, longing, and unequal growth, without mockery. Best for viewers who want a soft, emotionally rich watch and don’t need action to feel stakes.

9. Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

• Actors: Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Ana de Armas
• Director: Denis Villeneuve
• Genre: sci-fi, drama
• Tone: elegiac, hypnotic
• Suitable for: adults, older teens
• IMDb rating: 8.0/10

A blade runner discovers a buried secret that could upend the social order between humans and replicants. The investigation becomes a personal reckoning with memory, purpose, and manufactured identity. The film is about belonging, loneliness, and the ache of wanting proof you matter. It expands the world’s moral questions into family, labor, and the price of being made. The pacing is slow, confident, and visually enormous. It’s absorbing. It earns its place among Movies with Artificial Intelligence because it treats personhood as a political battleground, then lets the emotion land in silence. Best for viewers who want a long, immersive mood piece with big visuals and quiet devastation.

8. The Iron Giant (1999)

• Actors: Vin Diesel, Eli Marienthal, Jennifer Aniston
• Director: Brad Bird
• Genre: animation, drama
• Tone: heartfelt, uplifting
• Suitable for: families, older kids with parents
• IMDb rating: 8.1/10

A boy in 1950s America befriends a massive robot who doesn’t know why he was made. As the military closes in, the friendship becomes a lesson in choice and self-definition. The film is about fear, innocence, and how communities react to what they don’t understand. It argues that identity can be chosen, not assigned by design or expectation. The pacing is brisk, with big emotion building quietly. It’s beautiful. It belongs here because it makes compassion the most powerful “upgrade,” turning a machine into a moral story kids can carry for years. Best for families and adults who want a tearful, hopeful classic.

7. Blade Runner (1982)

• Actors: Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young
• Director: Ridley Scott
• Genre: sci-fi, thriller
• Tone: noir, melancholic
• Suitable for: adults, older teens
• IMDb rating: 8.1/10

A burnt-out detective is hired to retire rogue replicants hiding in a rain-soaked future city. The hunt becomes a confrontation with memory, mortality, and what counts as a life worth saving. The film is about empathy and the tragedy of beings designed to be disposable. It shaped the language of neon noir, where beauty and moral rot coexist in the same frame. The pace is deliberate, with atmosphere doing half the storytelling. It’s iconic. It earns its place among Movies with Artificial Intelligence by making the central question emotional—who deserves mercy—rather than purely technical. Best for viewers who love slow-burn mood, philosophical tension, and unforgettable imagery.

6. The Terminator (1984)

• Actors: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Michael Biehn
• Director: James Cameron
• Genre: action, sci-fi
• Tone: relentless, tense
• Suitable for: adults, older teens
• IMDb rating: 8.1/10

A cybernetic assassin arrives from the future with a single mission: erase a woman before she can change history. A soldier follows to protect her, turning the night into a breathless chase. The film is about fate, survival, and the terror of being targeted by something that doesn’t tire. It makes the idea of automated warfare feel intimate and personal, because the hunter never negotiates. The pacing is a sprint and the tension rarely lets up. It’s intense. It belongs here because it turns the promise of “smart” systems into a nightmare of pure persistence and cold purpose. Best for viewers who want high-stress suspense and action with a darker edge.

5. Metropolis (1927)

• Actors: Brigitte Helm, Alfred Abel, Gustav Fröhlich
• Director: Fritz Lang
• Genre: sci-fi, drama
• Tone: grand, expressionist
• Suitable for: teens with parents, adults
• IMDb rating: 8.2/10

In a towering future city split by class, an inventor creates a machine-woman that can inflame crowds and reshape power. The story moves like a myth about labor, control, and the danger of turning people into parts. The emotional core is fear of dehumanization, rendered in unforgettable images and gestures. It shows how a manufactured double can become a political weapon long before modern anxieties about automation. The pacing is deliberate, but the visuals carry urgency. It’s monumental. It earns its place among Movies with Artificial Intelligence by proving the topic isn’t new—it’s a century-old mirror held up to power. Best for viewers who want foundational cinema and can appreciate silent-era rhythm and scale.

4. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

• Actors: Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester
• Director: Stanley Kubrick
• Genre: sci-fi, adventure
• Tone: cosmic, unsettling
• Suitable for: adults, teens with parents
• IMDb rating: 8.3/10

A deep-space mission is guided by a calm computer whose voice feels almost human. When the system’s priorities diverge from the crew’s, the ship becomes a sealed psychological arena. The film is about trust, isolation, and the terror of polite certainty when you can’t pull the plug. It treats the topic as an existential challenge, not a villainous gimmick. The pacing is hypnotic and the images are monumental. It’s mesmerizing. It earns its place because it makes one quiet voice more frightening than any monster, simply by insisting it is right. Best for viewers who like slow cinema, big ideas, and a truly uncanny calm.

3. WALL-E (2008)

• Actors: Ben Burtt, Elissa Knight, Jeff Garlin
• Director: Andrew Stanton
• Genre: animation, adventure
• Tone: charming, hopeful
• Suitable for: families, all ages
• IMDb rating: 8.4/10

On an abandoned Earth, a lonely trash-compacting robot keeps working long after everyone has left. When a sleek probe arrives, his curiosity turns into devotion and a journey into space. The film is about love, consumerism, and how comfort can become a cage. It shows a machine expressing tenderness without dialogue, proving feeling can be physical and simple. The pacing is gentle, then swells into adventure. It’s delightful. It earns its place among Movies with Artificial Intelligence by making a robot’s kindness feel like the most radical thing in a broken world. Best for families, newcomers, and anyone who wants hope without ignoring the stakes.

2. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

• Actors: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong
• Director: James Cameron
• Genre: action, sci-fi
• Tone: thrilling, emotional
• Suitable for: older teens, adults
• IMDb rating: 8.6/10

A reprogrammed cyborg is sent back to protect a young boy while a more advanced killer hunts them. The chase becomes a story about learning, responsibility, and whether a machine can understand sacrifice. The emotional core is surprisingly tender, built around trust formed under pressure. It turns big action into a lesson in restraint, because every choice has consequences that feel human. The pacing is relentless yet clear, with set pieces that still pop. It’s exhilarating. It earns its place among Movies with Artificial Intelligence by making ethics visible in action grammar—what you spare matters as much as what you destroy. Best for viewers who want a blockbuster with heart and can handle intense violence.

1. The Matrix (1999)

• Actors: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss
• Director: Lana Wachowski
• Genre: action, sci-fi
• Tone: electrifying, philosophical
• Suitable for: teens with parents, adults
• IMDb rating: 8.7/10

A hacker discovers that the world he knows is a constructed simulation run by machines. Pulled into a resistance movement, he must decide whether he believes in his own potential. The film is about perception, freedom, and the terror of realizing your reality was designed. It reframes the topic as an entire environment—an intelligence you live inside, shaping choices before you notice. The pacing is razor-sharp and the action is iconic. It’s legendary. It earns its place because it fuses philosophy, style, and adrenaline into one clean argument you can feel in your body. Best for viewers who want the definitive blend of action spectacle and mind-bending ideas.

Conclusion: revisiting Movies with Artificial Intelligence

The smartest way to use this list is to treat it like mood routing: start with the warmer titles when you want comfort, then move toward the colder stories when you’re ready for dread. The genre’s range is the point, because the same core idea can play as romance (Her), satire (RoboCop), or existential unease (2001). Movies with Artificial Intelligence endure because they keep testing the boundary between convenience and control, then letting character choices reveal what matters. For deeper historical context and preservation framing, explore the Library of Congress National Film Preservation Board resources and see how cinema history is curated and protected.

On a second pass, try double-bills that argue with each other—WALL‑E followed by Colossus, or Big Hero 6 followed by Ex Machina—to feel how tone reshapes the same ethical question. The thread running through the whole list is simple: when systems learn, people adapt, and not always for the better. Artificial consciousness is often just a mirror, reflecting who holds power and who gets treated as property. For ongoing criticism and smart film writing that can guide your next pick, browse The New York Times Movies coverage and follow how new releases keep reworking the same fears and hopes.

FAQ about Movies with Artificial Intelligence