Comingsoon.net is logging on to determine the very best movies about computers. Check out our picks in the gallery below!
In the late 2010s, computers are practically integrated into almost every aspect of daily life. It’s something most have come to accept, and the movies from this time reflect our feelings toward that, with most covering topics like surveillance and ethics in the digital age. Back in the late 1950s, movies like Desk Set showed just how scary a prospect that was. Naturally, movies from the 80s and 90s are somewhere between fear and acceptance, portraying a sort of wrestling match of sorts.
Looking back, each these time periods has value when it comes to movies about computers. Anxiety, fear, and the desire for humanity to conquer over machines all create a through-line from the 50s to today, and these films below do the best job demonstrating these feelings. All in all, these are the ten best films about computers.
computer movies
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eXistenZ (1999)
Considering technology is getting closer and closer to complete integration with the human body, with different brands of wireless headphones and smart watches and even smart sunglasses hitting the market each day, it’s clear to see why body horror mastermind David Cronenberg took a crack at technological prophecy with his late-90s horror film existent. The film is kind of similar to Tron, but it’s way more demented.
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Ghost in the Shell (1995)
The ultimate cyborg movie, Ghost in the Shell is like a different iteration of Robocop that hones in on cyberterrorism instead of real-world crimes. It might be the only animated movie here, but it’s got just as much value as the rest.
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Hackers (1995)
Like WarGames, another entry in this slideshow, Hackers is pretty humorous to look back on after a couple of decades of separation from it. Still, the movie has value for perfectly capturing the feelings toward hacking in the mid 90s, a problem that still persists to this day.
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Her (2013)
Spike Jonze’s tech-heavy love story Her sees a man falling in love with the latest operating system in a world where technology is even more integrated into our daily lives than it is today. Joaquin Phoenix and Scarlett Johansson both give incredible performances here, and the themes of technological sentience explored are certainly pertinent ones.
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Sneakers (1992)
A hacking caper in a similar vein as WarGames and Hackers, Sneakers differs greatly because it actually has a dark sense of humor to it. It’s hard to top the all-star cast here, as well—Robert Redford, Sidney Poitier, and Ben Kingsley, especially.
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Steve Jobs (2015)
In the same vein as The Social Network, Steve Jobs portrays the ups and downs of one of the most influential minds in modern technology. Instead of profiling the creator of a social media site, the film takes a look at the creation and legacy of Apple—bruises and all.
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The Matrix (1999)
When the Wachowski siblings released The Matrix back at the end of the 1990s, it was probably difficult to anticipate how the film would hit audiences. 20 years later, it’s clear that they were onto something—the film is practically a part of daily conversations all over the modern world, and the central idea of computers controlling the world an even bigger concern than it was back then.
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The Social Network (2010)
While millennials are the ones stereotypically associated with social media use, websites like Facebook resonate with all age groups, young or old. That’s what makes The Social Network such a great watch: it shows the true story of the creation of the website and the ways it changed how we use the computer forevermore.
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Tron (1982)
We know now that no one will literally be transported into a video game anytime soon, but Tron’s central idea isn’t that far off from the virtual reality games we see today (the big difference being the graphics, of course). It’s no wonder Tron inspired a whole new generation of digital filmmakers.
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WarGames (1983)
While its view on technology seems pretty primitive by today’s standards, WarGames deals with very current ideas about nuclear war and, more specifically, cyber warfare. It’s definitely a little cheesy, but the minds behind the film honestly weren’t too ridiculous to imagine something like this.
