As HBO’s “Westworld” series explores the problems of making robots more human, TheWrap looks back on shows and movies that saw machines turn the tables on humanity.
“Westworld,” the 1973 movie
Written and directed by Michael Crichton, the film starred Yul Brynner as a robotic gunslinger at a futuristic amusement park who rebels against his human creators, along with his android brethren.
“Ex Machina”
Tech tycoon Oscar Isaac hires Domhnall Gleeson to do the Turing test on a human-like AI who looks like Alicia Vikander, but she ends up playing them both.
The “Terminator” franchise
Arnold Schwarzenegger blasted his way onto the scene as a killer automaton originally sent back in time by the AI program Skynet to kill the leader of the human resistance to a machine takeover of Earth.
“Battlestar Galactica”
In Syfy’s 2004 “Battlestar Galactica” reboot, war between the robotic Cylons and their human creators is reignited by a nuclear attack, wiping out all of mankind except a small military fleet.
“The Matrix”
When a race of machines imprisons humankind’s minds, only Keanu Reeves has the Kung Fu know-how to stop them.
“Blade Runner”
Harrison Ford used the trusty Voight-Kampff test to figure out who was a rogue replicant android in this sci-fi classic from Ridley Scott.
“I, Robot”
In this adaptation of the Isaac Asimov short story collection, Will Smith plays a cop who is out to prove that the helpful robots everyone loves are actually out to kill mankind.
“Maximum Overdrive”
Stephen King wrote and directed this camp classic about machines — like cars and lawnmowers — that start killing every human in sight.
“Tron/Tron: Legacy”
In the original film, Jeff Bridges is sucked inside a computer world by the nefarious Master Control program. In the sequel, his son must battle against a program of his father’s making that wants to take over the world.
“Avengers: Age of Ultron”
The Avengers have their work cut out for them when an AI designed by Tony Stark decides it would rather destroy humanity than protect it.
“2001: A Space Odyssey”
HAL 9000 originally helped the astronauts under his care, but ultimately tried to kill them when they planned to disconnect it.
“War Games”
Matthew Broderick plays a young hacker who inadvertently activates a computer program that puts the U.S. and Soviet Union on the brink of global thermonuclear war.
“Smart House”
In this Disney Channel favorite, a computerized house’s AI (voiced by Katey Sagal) decides it is the maternal figure a single father and his two kids need in their lives.
