15. Elysium (2013)
Elysium is a sci-fi dystopian film that is packed with action from start to finish. The movie stars Matt Damon as Max Da Costa, who is poisoned with radiation and is desperate for a cure.
Elysium features two main settings – a diseased and ravaged Earth, and the highly-affluent Elysium, which is a space station that orbits Earth. In order to be cured, Da Costa must reach the station to use their medbays.
A true sci-fi thriller, gamers will enjoy the many futuristic weapons featured in the film, especially Max Da Costa’s exoskeleton. Fans of Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare will find the exoskeleton very familiar, as it boosts Da Costa’s stamina and strength.
Max Da Costa (Matt Damon) fights a baddie while utilizing his powerful exoskeleton.
14. Ready Player One (2018)
Ready Player One is a sci-adventure flick from the legendary mind of Steven Spielberg. The film follows Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan), a teenager looking to escape his dystopian surroundings through the world of virtual reality. Watts, along with many other gamers, participates in virtual challenges to find a Golden Easter Egg prize organized by virtual reality giant OASIS.
The movie is famous for its heavy references and Easter Eggs to past and present pop culture, which gamers and geeks will truly enjoy. Ready Player One honors many popular video game titles, including Goldeneye, Borderlands, and Mortal Kombat.
Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan) journeys through the virtual world of OASIS.
13. The Matrix (1999)
Regarded as one of the best sci-fi movies of all-time, The Matrix kicked off a film saga that is still in development today. The movie stars Keanu Reeves as Neo, as he and other crew members fight to unplug the rest of civilization from The Matrix, a simulation technology which has enslaved humanity since the early 21st century.
Gamers who enjoyed titles like Cyberpunk 2077 will thoroughly enjoy The Matrix, as the film is one of the most popular within the cyberpunk genre. It also borrows heavily from Chinese action flicks, much like the inspiration behind the adventures of Night City.
Neo (Keanu Reeves) mastering his abilities to stop a wall of bullets.
12. In Time (2011)
Count me among those who never expected Justin Timberlake to star in a sci-fi thriller. In Time follows his character Will Salas, who lives in poverty in the year 2169. The world of the future is dictated by a new currency – time.
The wealthiest of this world hoard nearly all the time in the world, while the impoverished have just enough to get through the day. When you run out of time, you die. After his mother passes, Salas dedicates his life to disrupting society and leveling the playing field by stealing time for the rich and giving it back in troves to the poor.
In Time paints a clear picture of good vs. evil, where a protagonist fights to survive against his oppressors. Gamers will enjoy the film’s hero tropes, which are also central to many video game storylines.
The amount of time someone has remaining is shown prominently on their forearm in In Time.
11. Surrogates (2009)
Although Surrogates is set in the year 2054, its plot doesn’t seem too far away from society today. The film depicts a civilization that relies entirely on remotes called Surrogates. Each living person uses these robots as avatars day-to-day life, while they remain plugged-in at the safety of their own homes.
FBI agent Tom Greer (Bruce Willis) resents the use of surrogates, and when his android is destroyed by the movie’s antagonist, he has no choice but to carry out a dangerous mission without one.
Gamers who frequently play within virtual reality environments will enjoy this flick, but it may hit too close to home. As the Metaverse continues to grow, we soon may have Surrogates of our own.
Tom Greer (Bruce Willis) plugs into the world of Surrogates.
10. Repo Men (2010)
Repo Men, set in the year 2025, follows buddy cop-tandem Remy (Jude Law) and Jake (Forest Whitaker) and their careers as Repo Men. Their profession is objectively awful – they repossess people of their biomechanical organs once they fall behind on payments. As you would expect, those unfortunate folks typically die without their needed organs.
Remy, at the encouragement of his wife, eventually realizes his job is downright evil and attempts to change career paths. Because of this revelation, Remy also works to free society from the chains of their biomechanical organ debt, which places his life in severe danger.
The video game industry is severely-lacking in buddy cop dramas, but gamers will still enjoy Repo Men for its action-packed sequences and gory use of blades and guns.
Remy (Jude Law) and Jake (Forest Whitaker) laugh it up on the job.
9. Equilibrium (2002)
Fans of Christian Bale will enjoy his masterful performance in Equilibrium. Bale plays John Preston, an enforcer of a tyrannical government that outlaws all emotion within society. Emotion is blamed for causing World War 3, and anyone who shows emotion is executed.
Preston has an awakening after discovering an underground society that is set on overthrowing their oppressors, and decides to join them. Fans of the Wolfenstein games will enjoy this movie, as its central theme is overthrowing and dismantling a Nazi-esque ruling party.
John Preston (Christian Bale) works as a stone-cold enforcer of a fascist government
8. Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
Edge of Tomorrow is a masterful film that focuses on the popular sci-fi theme of time travel. The movie stars Tom Cruise as Major William Cage, who is a military leader in a world that has been invaded by aliens.
Through a series of unfortunate events, Cage is sent to war without any prior military experience, but gains the ability to relive each day over and over again. The Major decides to use this gift to try and finally win the war over their alien invaders.
Most gamers are very familiar with the concept of time travel, as it is a core theme of many popular gaming titles. The game Deathloop is very similar to Edge of Tomorrow, as players must execute a series of missions before time runs out, or else they face starting all over again.
Major William Cage (Tom Cruise) pilots a mech suit in war against aliens.
7. Total Recall (2012)
If Total Recall seems like a more recent movie than you remember, it’s because the 2012 version is a remake of the original film from 1990. The remake follows Douglas Quaid (Colin Farrell), who lives in an underground society after chemical warfare destroys the surface world. Quaid and many others live in squalor, as civilization is ruled over an oppressive society named the United Federation of Britain (UFB.)
Through a series of events, Quaid discovers that the life he knows may not be his own, and his memories may be artificial. Quaid’s life is turned upside-down, and he has to fight to survive this post-apocalyptic world.
Fans of the Fallout video game series should see many similarities in Total Recall, as the underground setting post-nuclear fallout is grungy and desolate. Just don’t expect Dogmeat to show up during the movie.
Douglas Quaid (Colin Farrell) in a firefight with the UFB.
6. Dredd (2012)
Dredd is another sci-fi flick that takes place in post-apocalyptic wasteland. In the year 2080, the United States is as dystopian as it gets, with the country ravaged by crime. Karl Urban plays Judge Dredd, who is one of many to hold the position of Judge – essentially the judge, jury, and executioner of society.
Dredd is full of non-stop action, featuring explosions and gunfights galore. The plot is fairly simple, as Judge Dredd and new recruit Judge Anderson are tasked with taking down a prolific drug ring. The sting undercovers layers of deep corruption that turns everything on its head.
This is far from the first iteration of Judge Dredd, as many video games have been released featuring the character. The first game was developed and released over 30 years ago!
Karl Urban looks downright intimidating as Judge Dredd.
5. Pacific Rim (2013)
Pacific Rim is futuristic warfare on a massive scale. Directed by Guillermo del Toro, the film takes place on Earth in a not-so-distant future. Humanity is at war with gigantic sea monsters called Kaiju, who emerge from a portal located at the bottom of the Pacific ocean.
To fight these monsters, the military relies on human-powered mech suits (called Jaegers) as the last line of defense. If you’ve ever played Titanfall, you’ll likely experience deja-vu, as Pacific Rim could easily be inspired by the popular video game series that was released just a year prior in 2012. I think I speak for all gamers when I say that piloting a mech suit would be a dream come true, but I’m not eager to run into sea monsters anytime soon.
The four remaining Jaegers take the fight to the Kaiju.
4. Upgrade (2018)
Upgrade is yet another sci-fi film that displays the downsides of rapidly evolving technology. Logan Marshall-Green plays Grey Trace, a handicapped individual who is given full use of his body thanks to a neurological implant.
Although Trace regains full function of his body and then some, the implant (called STEM) begins to slowly take control of its host. Initially driven by reckless rage and revenge, Trace finds himself in a situation that seems impossible to escape.
Gamers who played Cyberpunk 2077 are all too familiar with cybernetic implants, having become acquainted with their local ripperdoc for the latest bodyware enhancements. Let’s just hope that this concept remains fictitious.
Trace and his wife Asha take in the sights next to a sweet futuristic car.
3. Archive (2020)
Archive takes the viewer on a journey to 2038 Japan where we meet scientist George Almore (Theo James.) Devastated by the loss of his wife, George’s mission in life has been to create an artificial intelligence that will essentially serve as the vessel for his late wife’s memorie and personality.
As unnerving as it is futuristic, Archive strives to show the power of grief and how unrelenting loss can be. A common concept in the video games industry, artificial intelligence and their controversial place in society has been addressed in titles such as Detroit: Become Human. Gamers are all too familiar with the good and the bad that androids have to offer.
George Almore (Theo James) working in his robotic laboratory.
2. District 9 (2009)
While we wait seemingly forever for the rumored sequel, District 9 holds up very well to this day. In 1982, over one million aliens arrived at Earth but were severely malnourished. Government officials ‘rescue’ the aliens, but relocate them all, effectively subjecting them to harsh living conditions.
The story is centered mostly around a weapons manufacturer employee named Wilkus, who is tasked with yet again relocating the alien camp, this time farther away from society. Wilkus ultimately becomes ‘infected’ after an altercation and begins to slowly transform into an alien himself. Desperate for a cure, Wilkus spends the rest of the movie fighting for a cure.
For gamers, there’s never been a better time to watch District 9. Gunzilla Games is developing a battle royale of the movie, titled Off The Grid. The game is set to release in late 2023.
Wilkus (Sharlto Copley) faces off against a Prawn brandishing a shovel.
1. RoboCop (2014)
Robocop (2014) is the latest movie in a long-line of RoboCop media, including television shows, video games and comics. The most recent telling follows ex-cop Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman), who undergoes the procedure of becoming RoboCop after being injured in a gang-related incident.
To create the most-efficient police robot possible, OmniCorp suppresses Murphy’s emotions little-by-little, while replacing his human characteristics with military programming. Murphy is ultimately faced with fighting back against his programming so that he doesn’t lose himself and his family both.
Gamers and RoboCop fans alike are in for a treat this year, as video game RoboCop: Rogue City is set to be released at some point in 2023. Players will be tasked with bringing justice to the streets of Old Detroit in what promises to be an exhilarating adventure.
Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman) brings intimidation and justice to the streets of Old Detroit.
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