Best: He’s a magnet for trouble, and a little uptight, but legions of Star Wars fans like this droid anyway.
We often associate robots with their lack of, well, humanity. But, when the Iron Giant forges a relationship with a little boy, the audience feels a whole lot of tenderness for something made of metal.
We can give points for being cute, right? This scrappy little guy is a recent favorite robot, courtesy of Pixar’s animated film of the same name.
The Day the Earth Stood Still is a classic — a story about an alien emissary and his 8-foot robot sent to warn Earth about its use of atomic power. Gort is great because he’s exactly the kind of simple, impenetrable robot/alien that your average citizen from 1951 (or current-day) could project their fears onto.
He’s got a bit of an ego, a penchant for backbiting, and the voice of Alan Rickman. Sold.
Worst: In their defense, these three are probably the most eco-friendly robots to appear on screen — they care for the last remaining vegetation from a ruined Earth. However, they are wondrously clunky and awkward, especially considering they’re supposed to be from the future.
If Siri makes you mad, Johnny Cab will have a similar effect — in Total Recall, he’s the fake robot taxi driver (or at least, the head and shoulders of one) who remains maddeningly calm as Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character tries him to drive anywhere, just to escape. Johnny Cab’s response: “I’m sorry, I’m not familiar with that address.”
Haley Joel Osment plays a robot made to imprint on humans. He gets shunned. Bummer for him, but you’ve got to admit the idea is a little creepy.
A mention of this movie seems to inspire cringes. It wasn’t a bad concept — a robot created to be a butler, essentially, tries to become human — but its gears get clogged with treacle.
The Terminator wasn’t exactly met with critical acclaim, though the pop cultural landscape wouldn’t ever be quite the same. And when he said he’d be back, we wasn’t lying. Here’s to sequels and reboots.
Erin Carson is a Staff Reporter for CNET and a former Multimedia Editor for TechRepublic.
