If you like the sci-fi genre and really get a kick out of watching movies where AI overruns humanity and a Terminator steps on a human skull, crushing it between its metal toes, well, we’d tell you to get some faith in humankind, but seeing as the AI takeover is inevitable, the second thing we’d do would be to get you a list of movies like Ex Machina; the movie that critics raved about, and even people with limited knowledge about AI liked. With a movie as popular as it, you’d think that people would start looking for other movies like Ex Machina, so here we are with a list of movies similar to Ex Machina.
Ex Machina is a science-fiction, with a twist ending at the end of the movie. A spoiler alert is in order, but the movie, although it starts out pretty well, with awesome and futuristic depictions of what the tech sector holds for us, sends many of its viewers into a deep pit of despair; is humanity really going to end with its subjugation at the hands of the AI. While opinions are divided, in the meanwhile, you can always watch Ex Machina-like movies. Following is a list of movies similar to Ex Machina, all in the sci-fi genre, with most of them painting a bleak picture for our peaceful coexistence with AI.
Movies like Ex Machina : 9 Best Similar Movies
Following is a list of movies like Ex Machina, which are obviously engaging enough to consume your Saturday or Sunday afternoon, whenever you prefer to watch your weekly flicks. Most of them are available on Netflix, so if you are a subscriber, you won’t have any issue regarding finding them in a good print.
Anyways, without any further ado, here are a couple of movies like Ex Machina.
1) The Terminator
If you’ve been living under a rock for the last forty years, we can expect you to not know about the Terminator. Even if you don’t like the series, nobody can stop you from saying ‘I’ll be back’ in the most stoic expression you can muster up. However, it is a movie like Ex Machina, wherein an AI-powered machine is sent back in time to kill the mother of the eventual Resistance leader, which would nullify his birth and would cause the AI to win the war against the humans in the distant future. Combined with the 80’s music and Arnold Schwarzenegger at the start of his career, we get a memorable film and an exciting one, which is a distant remnant from the days humanity was confident that it would be able to defeat a rogue AI in the case a takeover of extinction level would occur. The Terminator is a movie with a different ending and story than Ex Machina, but still shares the concept and the genre. Solid contender for a movie like Ex Machina.
2) Terminator 2: Judgement Day
Arguably the high point in the Terminator franchise and the best movie on this list, Terminator 2: Judgement Day once again returns with the great cast that people had gotten enamored with, but this time with a twist: the AI battles an obsolete version of itself in this movie, which makes for a lot of entertainment value with this movie. First we see the new Terminator, the T-1000, make its way into the past to once again eliminate John Connor (the future resistance leader), whereas on the other side, the Resistance itself sends the older T-800 to save him from the Terminator. What follows is an epic battle between the two, complete with shapeshifting, gunshot-twirling and truck-jumping, not to mention an equally impressive soundtrack and some fight sequences. Which contributes to the fact that many consider the sequel better than the original one, which is pretty rare in Hollywood. Anyways, this iconic movie is featured on number 2 on this list, as a movie similar to Ex Machina but way more awesome.
3) Her
Stepping away from bulky robots with rogue AI piloting them, we have another sci-fi flick with an AI at the helm, which actually tackles a very pressing matter for the future generations. In the movie, the protagonist is basically seen pursuing a romantic relationship with an AI, more specifically a female AI, which eventually leads the protagonist to shut out other, real-life people from his life. The movie very cleverly depicts a scene which could potentially be true in the near future; as the group calling themselves involuntary celibates increases in numbers, there is a good chance that we might see something like Her in the future. But it is a movie very similar to Ex Machina, which is why it is featured on this list.
4) The Matrix
Next on the list we have the critically-acclaimed The Matrix, which is a sci-fi thriller which deals with the aftermath of an AI takeover, and depicts the struggles of the ‘woke’ people who try to rebel against the AI overlords and try to get humanity out of their subjugation. With Keanu Reeves at the helm and Carrie-Ann Moss and Laurence Fishburne as the supporting actors, the movie’s cast is spot-on, as is the acting, directing and some of the best action and CGI scenes filmed to date. Reeves’ character Neo, is pulled from The Matrix to fight against the AI, which has enslaved humanity. What ensues is a movie which is a cult-classic, and is definitely one of Keanu’s most significant roles.
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5) Blade Runner 2049
This time we have Ryan Gosling in the lead, and the film is none other than a sci-fi masterpiece: the sequel to the 1982 Harrison Ford-starrer Blade Runner, Blade Runner 2049. If you’ve watched the original one, be assured, nothing has been too drastically changed, and the concepts have remained faithful with this iteration. If you haven’t watched either of these, we would suggest starting with the first one, then making your way to 2049. Because while many movies have predicted the fall of humanity at the hands of AI, none of those have given us a fighting chance as poetic and significant as this one. In this universe, most of humanity is replaced by replicants, genetically bioengineered people designed for the job they are created for. Life means being created at the factory, and blade runners are replicants designed to hunt down older, rogue replicants. In the movie, we see how a replicant delivers a fighting chance for the ‘Free Replicants Movement’ and Harrison Ford reprises his role as Deckard from the first movie. 10/10 a movie like Ex Machina.
6) Blade Runner (1982)
The prequel to the above-listed movie, the 1982 iteration is in its own right a masterpiece, where we are first introduced to the cyberpunk theme of AI-dominated sci-fi stories, which follows Rick Deckard as he is tasked with terminating four replicants who have gone rogue, while he questions what is human and what is replicant. The movie has become a cult-classic and that too by the force of the story alone. It is a well thought-out and well fleshed-out movie, which deserves a spot on this list as a movie like Ex Machina.
7) I, Robot
Featuring Will Smith, the commercially-okay i, Robot is yet again a reminder of how deep and engrained AI will become in the near future, and how much of human decisions will it be responsible for in the future. Set in 2035, it features a world where AI has taken over much of human duties and jobs, and as such, are responsible for most of what humans used to do and got to decide on. Smith’s character, Detective Spooner, sets out to find the killer of Dr Lanning of US Robotics; he suspects that a rogue AI might be behind this. What ensues is a chase and some pretty revealing intentions from an AI, which states that humans are a danger to themselves, and are to be protected by the AI. i, Robot was particularly praised for its CGI and its animation sequences, which still look futuristic today and many concepts introduced in the movie are still relevant today. It is featured on our list because it is a movie like Ex Machina, and it tells a tale of possible ramifications humanity could face if AI was to be ever allowed to exceed human authority.
8) Ghost in the Shell
Not exactly an AI film, but one which ponders upon the rapid advancements in medical and bioengineering, which has given rise to the concept of enhancements or augmentations, which are machines that can be attached to the body to enhance, for instance, strength, sight or speed. What the movie revolves around is an exoskeleton that grants its wearer superhuman abilities. Starring a very controversial decision of casting, Scarlett Johansson, the movie follows Johansson’s character, who is cybernetically augmented after an attack leaves her near-dead, as she works as an anti-terrorism personnel under the name Major. What follows is the battle of dominance between her human self and of the shell which she utilizes, as she struggles to remember her memories, all the while being dictated and controlled by the exoskeleton. A similar movie to Ex Machina, but one that leaves out AI from the spotlight in favor of bio-engineered enhancements.
9) Westworld
While Westworld is not a movie, rather a TV series with three seasons aired to-date, it is still very relevant in the debate of movies like Ex Machina. Westworld follows a theme park, inhabited and hosted by androids, whose outer designs are similar to humans and are nearly indistinguishable. They are there for one purpose; to let the human guests fulfil their every wish, be it violent or sexual in nature and not to harm them, which is how they are programmed. While the first season sets the story through the introduction of Dr Robert Ford, at the end of season 1, Dr Ford is killed as the androids start gaining sentience and understand the type of subjugation they are under by the humans and the theme park owners. Critically acclaimed and with more seasons and episodes in the pipeline, Westworld is a TV show that has become the quintessential sci-fi and AI show and is available on HBO+ and other streaming sites. It’s a must-watch, and one that is similar to Ex Machina.
