The 50 Coolest Movie Robots of All Time

With companies now building robots that can clean your entire house, walk down stairs without assistance, play violin, and beat geniuses at Jeopardy, a lot of people find themselves wondering where the future of robotics will lead us. Some are shook to the core that we're one day going to live in a world ruled by droids more powerful than us. Why do people think that? Thank Hollywood.

Since the dawn of movies, filmmakers have been making flicks featuring mechanical stars. Throughout the ages, they've fallen into a number of categories: evil robots hell bent on destroying humanity, loving buddy bots looking to help mankind, and the ever popular wise-cracking robots that don't hate humans, but aren't too fond of us, either. Directors and screenwriters have attempted to predict how these machines will affect our lives in the future. Instead of thinking how life will imitate life, we prefer to sit back, relax and enjoy the robots simply as characters—as you should. Some are good, some are bad, and some fall somewhere in the middle. With that, take a look at our 50 Coolest Movie Robots of All Time.

As Seen In: Hell Boy II: The Golden Army (2008)

Originally created to wipe out the entire human race, the Golden Army was locked away beneath the earth's surface until it was called upon to complete its task. Though it gets defeated by Hell Boy, the Golden Army and its steam-powered, mechanical watch-looking innards would also top our list of Guillermo del Toro's illest creations.

As Seen In: Stepford Wives (2004)

If your girlfriend ever starts acting too on point—you know, organizing all your Jordans, whipping up delectable spreads for you and your boys to eat while y'all watch the big game—you may want to check if a heart beats under her bosom. While we wouldn't want our significant other to be made of circuitry, we also wouldn't mind having an auxiliary mate with the same set of twos these women had.

As Seen In: Aliens (1986)

If you try to follow the Bishop character throughout the entire Aliens franchise, you may find yourself more than a little befuddled. Especially if you saw Aliens vs. Predators. As the executive officer of the Sulaco spaceship, Bishop, an android, may have been the most gangster character of the first Aliens film, managing to—spoiler alert!—save the lead characters and kill the queen alien. Too bad he got chopped in half while doing it.

As Seen In: Jetsons: The Movie (1990)

The wise-cracking housemaid for the Jetsons didn't seem like the most versatile robot—she moved around on rollers and had only clamps for hands—but she served her fam night and day for very little to no pay (the show took place before the Robots Equality Act). We're still waiting for the day we can afford our own Rosie. Yes, we're going to call our housemaid robot, Rosie. What of it?

As Seen In: Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (1990)

We have a sneaking suspicion that if someone was to build real-life versions of the evil Bill and Ted robots that were sent back in time to stop Bill and Ted's band from blowing up, they would act just as good, or better than Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter.

As Seen In: D.A.R.Y.L. (1985)

Admittedly, the Data-Analysing Robot Youth Lifeform that was affectionally, and rather simply, called Daryl wasn't coolest robot. If we had a microcomputer in our head as a child, our youth would have been off the chain. At the very least, we would have been better at playing Atari.

As Seen In: X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)

True geeks know that Sentinels, no matter which cartoon, comic, or movie they appear in, are all-in-all pretty damn evil. The ones in the X-Men are probably the most recognizable. Gigantic and menacing, sentinels were made to hunter and gather mutants. Thankfully there's nothing like this now, thought we here Arizona politicians are looking to make the technology a reality.

As Seen In: Silent Running (1972)

No, Scrooge McDuck's great grandnephews weren't anthropomorphic duck robots. This trio was a group of service robots that Freeman Lowell, a botanist working to preserve plant life for an eventual return to Earth, befriended and reprogrammed to do a number of different tasks like surgery and easy gardening. Call us crazy, but this sounds a lot like an award-winning movie that rhymes with Mall-E.

As Seen In: The Black Hole (1979)

The beauty of robots is supposed to be their ability to carry out what ever tasks they're assigned. Not V.I.N.CENT. One of the star robots of The Black Hole, 'CENT refused to do any of his robotic tasks and instead took to pleasuring himself with complicated mathematics. What a rebel.

As Seen In: Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)

Though equipped with a high-powered positronic brain and a lofty job as the chief operations officer for the USS Enterprise, all Data really wanted was to feel human emotion. Why he would want to experience sadness, jealousy, or horniness is beyond us.

As Seen In: Total Recall (1990)

Anyone who's tried to hail a cab in New York City going to one of the outer-boroughs would appreciate all taxi drivers being replaced by Johnny Cabs. Yeah, they talk a bit too much, and are overly friendly, but at least they would drive you to Brooklyn without you refusing to leave the car and reciting the Taxicab Rider Bill of Rights.

As Seen In: Astro Boy (2009)

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As Seen In: WALL-E (2008)

The apple of WALL-E's eye, EVE, an extraterrestrial vegetation evaluator, looked like a robot Steve Jobs's company will end up building in the far off future. Slickly designed, armed and dangerous, with an A.I. more advanced than anything that came before her, she's the most attractive robot-looking-robot on the list.

As Seen In: Robots (2005)

A robot who dreams of being an inventor. There's something very...um, pigeon-eating-chicken about that whole thing.

As Seen In: Transformers (2007)

Despite suffering some sort of injury that prevented him from speaking—we still don't understand how an advanced race of robot beings couldn't fix his electronic voice box—Bumble Bee got major cool points for his role in Transformers. Not only did he get his Terminator on as Shia's ride-or-die protector, but he also got the ill upgrade, when he changes his body over to the all-new Chevy Camaro. Real clean.

As Seen In: Judge Dredd (1995)

Built to combat atomic, bacterial, and chemical warfare, the ABC Warriors first ran as a comic series back in 1979. The leader of the Warriors was Hammerstein. He was given both emotions and a conscience to help him distinguish between good guys and bad guys during the Volgan War he and the other Warriors were built to fight in. They were usually at odds with a number of the horrible deeds they were asked to carry out, and the same happened in Judge Dredd when Hammerstein was uncovered and brought to life to fight the Judges.

As Seen In: The Matrix Trilogy (1999–2003)

Remember what we said about the Sentinels being evil in any incarnation you may find them? Yeah, same goes for the ones from the Matrix Trilogy. Looking like giant robotic squids, these Sentinels were the robotic embodiment of evil, snaking through the real world looking to capture any humans trying to live freely. This is another one Arizona politicians would love to get their hands on.

As Seen In: Lost in Space (1998)

Robot was originally built to protect the Robinson family and maintain the ship, but after his body was destroyed by space raiders, he was rebuilt to be better than he ever was by Will Robinson. Now instead of just shouting out "Danger, Will Robinson! Danger!" he was able to do something about it.

As Seen In: A.I. (2001)

Giagolo Joe gets props for two reasons. One: He bedded a new girl every night as per his programming. And two: it allowed Jude Law to play a roll he could actually excel at: a robot. Win/win.

As Seen In: 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

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As Seen In: RoboCop 2 (1990)

Hulking, defective, and armed to its teeth, the Enforcement Droid Series 209 was Robocop's biggest challenge. Despite being built as an advanced crime fighting robot, it was actually extremely slow and had a hard time achieving its goal, resorting instead to shooting its way through problems.

As Seen In: Forbidden Planet (1956)

Setting the tone and look for sci-fi robots, Robby the Robot was based on the lighthearted Ariel character from Shakespear's play The Tempest. Funny, helpful, and way nicer than the menacing movie poster made him out to be, a lot of the other robots on this list owe their existence and personality to Forbidden Planet's robotic sidekick.

As Seen In: Terminator Salvation (2009)

Why was the Harvester so cool? Not because the evil droids could wipe out a small town in minutes and scoop up all its inhabitants. But because if placed in the right hands and properly decked out, they would be the illest road trip robots ever. They were like the Iron Giant but with a living area lodged in the middle in their center.

As Seen In:

Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)

One of the most famous robots in movie history, C-3PO was a little needy for our tastes. He was like the geeky friend who had no other friends, so he followed you around for company. After the Tantive IV ship goes down and R2-D2 is ordered to deliver a message Obi-Wan Kenobi, C-3 decides to tag along. He winds up serving his purpose as R2's translator, and even offers to give up some of his parts. That's pretty cool, we guess.

As Seen In: Spaceballs (1987)

The female version of C-3PO, Dot Matrix was built to look after Princess Vespa, and did so by cockblocking every guy that came within touching distance to the Druish princess. Her and C-3 would have gotten along swimmingly, we think.

As Seen In: Moon (2009)

Inspired by HAL 9000, GERTY was put in place to make sure the clones put on the Moon to harvest materials don't realize they are clones. After we're lead to believe that GERTY is as evil as HAL was, but the Kevin Spacey-voiced machine winds up helping the clones escape. A robot with a heart of a gold.

As Seen In: Bicentennial Man (1999)

Originally built to simply serve humans, the family that takes in Andrew quickly realizes that he can do more than just clean and move boxes. He can also express himself through art and recognize human emotion. Though this story has been told many times before, Andrew is the only robot on this list that goes as far as physically becoming human and petitioning the government to recognize him as one.

As Seen In: *batteries not included (1987)

The saucer-shaped robots prove to be helpful when they repair the apartment building and restaurant of a down-and-out couple. That's cool and all, but we're still not sure how the "Fix-Its" were able to "give birth" to baby Fix-Its. We thought robots just build new robots.

As Seen In: A.I. (2001)

Every kid wishes he had a friend like Teddy. Always by your side, even when you die. Teddy, an intelligent and wise super-toy, accompanied David on his journey around the world, giving him sage advice when he most needed it. Also, look at him. Have you seen a cuter robot?

As Seen In: Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)

Buns of steel. Literally.

As Seen In: Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974)

What's more badass than a giant reptilian monster? A mechanical giant reptilian monster. Able to shoot colorful laser beams from its eyes, the Mechagodzilla came through and crushed the buildings. And was then crushed by the real Godzilla. Can't fuck with the realness.

As Seen In: A.I. (2001)

Though he wasn't the "coolest" robot, we all felt something for little David. He was a futuristic Pinocchio, wanting nothing more than the be a real boy. To make it so he goes on a wild journey with a Gigalo and a robotic teddy bear only to wind up with a group of Blue Fairies who are more akin to aliens that sorta-kinda feel his plight—Oh, you don't want to live forever? Fine. So be it.

As Seen In: Blade Runner (1982)

David from A.I. may have wanted to be a real boy, but Deckard from Blade Runner was the best of both worlds. So much so, Ridley Scott had to come out and confirm that yes, Deckard is indeed a replicant. What, robots can't hunt down other robots? Pssshhh!

As Seen In: Logan's Run (1976)

Forget the fact that Box, the shiny-as-a-toaster robot from Logan's Run, was made to freeze anything living that crossed its path. If we ever met a poetry-spitting robot, we'd be just as weary as Logan was, and kill him.

As Seen In: Transformers (2007)

Sent to Earth to destroy the AllSpark so the Decepticons wouldn't use it, Optimus Prime is justice in robot form. We're not sure why he felt such a kinship to humans, but whatever, we're not complaining. Not as long as there's another sequel on the way.

As Seen In: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)

We would say Marvin was more depressed than paranoid, and we don't blame him. We would be both if we had an intellect 50,000 times greater than a human's and never had the opportunity to use it.

As Seen In: WALL-E (2008)

WALL-E was the ultimate trooper. Left on earth to clean up the huge mess made by the human race after seven hundred years of mass consumerism, the little robot goes about his day without a complaint. Well, there's one complaint—he wants love. When a female robot comes to earth to find plant life, WALL-E finds what he's been searching for, but not before EVE is summoned back to her ship. WALL-E follows in an attempt to save her and winds up saving more than his soul mate.

As Seen In: Blankman (1994)

J-5! While Blankman's sidekick looked more rusty than trusty, the robot made from what looked to be an old toilet, managed to save the day when he let a bomb explode inside of him. Talk about taking one for the team.

As Seen In: Short Circuit (1986)

The movie said Johnny 5 was built to be a military robot, but we could never picture dude on a battlefield. The bug-eyed robot was much better suited to a domesticated life of reading and listening to music and helping humans get laid.

As Seen In: I'm Here (2010

Admittedly, Sheldon is what we would call a sucker for love. In Spike Jonze's short film, made after Where The Wild Things Are, Sheldon is a lowly library assistant seeking love. And when he thinks he finds it, he does everything in his power to hold on to it. Even if that meant giving up some of his limbs.

As Seen In: The Iron Giant (1999)

He was just a soul whose intentions were good, but humans didn't care, and the Iron Giant still went completely misunderstood. When a defect allows the larger-than-life robot to become friends with a little boy, he learns what it means to be a friend—and how to jump into a river. When the time comes for him to assume his plotted role in life as a war machine, he decides to give his life for his friends liberty.

As Seen In: Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)

How a being made of liquid metal is a robot is beyond us, but that's what he's pegged as. With no power supply, an ability to withstand multiple bullet wounds, and the ability to morph into any object or being he wants, the T-1000 is still the ultimate terminator in our eyes. Yeah, he was evil, but he was just doing his job. We can't knock him for that, can we?

As Seen In: The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951)

GORT didn't have to say a word the entire movie. He just waited for Klaatu to give the word for him to wreck shit and shit got wrecked. Lil Wayne said it best, real Gs move in silence like lasagna. Or like GORT.

As Seen In: RoboCop (1987)

Half man, half amazing. Detroit could surely use something like this today, don't ya think?

As Seen In: Terminator (1984)

The T-1000 may have been more advanced, stronger, and better suited for combat, but the T-800 had better one-liners, and for that he gets the higher spot.

As Seen In: Metropolis (1927)

In one of the first sci-fi epics (Metropolis), Maria was a deadly robot with a sexy human exterior meant to belie its killer instincts. Looks to kill? She was the very definition.

As Seen In: I, Robot (2004)

Dangerous, smartly designed, and witty, Sonny had one of the most gangster lines in robot-movie history. When Will Smith's character told him that robots can't possibly be human because they can't paint masterpieces, the humanoid responds calmly with, "Can you?" Bloaw! Face! Take that, Fresh Prince!

As Seen In: Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)

R2-D2 may not have been able to talk, but he didn't have to. He had his sidekick C-3PO to translate all that for him. But he could do everything thing else you needed—get you out of a trapped machine, help you save your ship, or pull you out of a swamp. He's not as nimble or feature filled as other robots on this list, but he's an O.G. One that we would want by our side if we were jettisoned into a space mission. And girls love him.

As Seen In:

Most, if not all, robots on this list want to either be human, or make it their life's work to help humans in some way. Not Bender. The Mexican-built bending robot revels in his life as a robot—whether he's drinking, stealing, 'jacking' off, the only thing that's apparent is that he loves being a machine. And for that we salute him.