Hideaki Anno,

Director: Eli Marienthal, Director: 30-plus appearances in film and TV means there’s no other robot—by design or by name—whose very image of “retro-future” is as ubiquitous. Robots don’t get any more retro-cool than they do in Kerry Conran’s unjustly underappreciated sci-fi throwback, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. | Years later, it’s still fantastic. | Gross: Embeth Davidtz, 126,454 Votes: There’s a lot of humor derived in the disconnect between the dog’s appearance and his cybernetic abilities—one wonders if it might not have worked slightly better if they cast a dog breed that weighed more than 10 pounds in the role. 83 min But fortunately, Ultron made his debut in 2015, brought to life with all the potency and power of modern CGI, and given a similarly realized set of heroes to oppose.

Which is saying something. wasn’t particularly well-liked when it first came out, but it’s enchanting and beautiful. |

Yes, he may just look a little like a man in a rubber suit now, but he terrified a generation. Tonally, The Black Hole may have drastically misfired, but hell if it didn’t still scar on a generation of kids. 107 min Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller. But it’s an owl, which is sorta unusual for the list. Will Smith, | Gross: | Gross: 86 min screwing around in a mall after closing hours are meat for some super-advanced, malfunctioning security ’bots. —J.V. When Kusanagi battles an awesome spider-y tank, you really feel that battle damage accumulate on her lithe cyborg form. Stars: —S.W. They were made of metal and gears and spinning doodads and spoke like machines. Peter Weller,

| A cyborg policewoman and her partner hunt a mysterious and powerful hacker called the Puppet Master. One excellent example a cyborg in a movie is the 'Terminator' films: Both 1984's 'The Terminator' and 1991's 'Terminator 2: Judgment Day' are epic —M.B. | Chappie, Chappie (2015) Yes Neill Blomkamp’s latest creation is new. ), The Borg became time-traveling stealth-assimilators, and The Collective instead emerged in First Contact as the sexy, Machiavellian Borg Queen. They then let their zombies (monsters pre-dating Night of the Living Dead, just FYI) do the rest of the extermination for them. Director: 25. Cyborg law enforcer RoboCop returns to protect the citizens of old Detroit but faces a deadly challenge when a rogue OCP member secretly creates a new, evil RoboCop 2. But whose side is he on, and can he be trusted? Even the biggest fan of Alien (writer points thumbs at self) can’t mount a remotely cogent defense of this embarrassing heap of sequel refuse. —S.W. | Gross: A federal agent investigates when inconsistencies turn up in the photographic evidence of several murders recorded by mobile robotic cameras. So if a trivia question ever begins with “This robot’s voice emanates from his mustache,” you’ll know there’s a solid chance they’re talking about Tik-Tok. You just need to cast him correctly … like, say, as a robot. It’s probably best remembered these days for its infamous basketball kill scene (this might be for the best), but Wes Craven’s robo-horror does have two fairly unforgettable ’bots: The adorable BB (well… until he’s not) and resurrected robot hybrid of the teenage leading lady, Samantha (Kristy Swanson) and BB (voice of Roger Rabbit, Charles Fleischer!). Fully equipped with a “virgin alarm,” of course. Taking the classic transforming robot designs from the TV series and toys and throwing them in the loudest blender imaginable, the resulting “Transformers” emerged as unadulterated visual and auditory noise. It’s so classic, even the “Whose-idea-was-this! 11. “It’s programmed to go off before you do!” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=342HytXaoL4  – JV. And while her sex symbol status never developed into anything approaching a sustainable acting career, it did lead to the iconic role of Lisa in 1984’s Weird Science.

—S.W. It may be a point of triumph for our protagonist, but in perhaps the most subtle thematic move the director has ever made, Lucas is implying that even the organic characters in THX 1138 are mere tools for a higher power. By design, they appear fairly unintimidating. © KELSEY Media Ltd, Cudham Tithe Barn, Berry’s Hill, Cudham, Kent TN16 3AG, England.

—M.B. The titular Devil Girl, Commander Nyah, employs the twin tactics of ray gun and a robotic enforcer, Chani, in coercing the small Scottish village to bend to her will. In the grand tradition of Spielberg characters narrowly escaping detection from dangerous creatures (see the raptors in Jurassic Park and the alien probe in War of the Worlds), audiences are left chewing their collective fingernails as the creatures move closer and closer towards our hero. Donald Sutherland, Let’s cut right to it: Gort represents mankind’s self-issued, total destruction. —A.S. 115 min Stars:

Action, Crime, Sci-Fi. | Fritz Lang’s Metropolis is a groundbreaking landmark of not just the Silent Age of cinema, but of all science fiction. But they are also a big part of the fun, providing personality and slapstick to the proceedings. Evangeline Lilly, Ouch. |