Top Ten Cyberpunk Movies of All Time

All things dark and brooding meet with awesome bleeding-edge sci-fi in the Cyberpunk genre. Popularized by authors like William Gibson, Bruce Sterling and Walter John Williams, the genre is seeing a surge of popularity today. Notably, a new video game based on the popular tabletop RPG, Cyberpunk 2077, showed a trailer at E3 that captured the imaginations of gamers. If you’re looking to immerse yourself in the seedy, gritty drama, check out these ten flicks. We’ve got our ten favorite Cyberpunk movies ever rounded up right here! 

Our Top Ten Favorite Cyberpunk Movies

Cyber City Oedo 808 

Photo Credit: YouTube 

Our first entry is an anime original video animation, or OVO, from 1990. Oedo is a fictional city in the year 2808, and it is under the constant threat of cyber-crime. The police have resorted to contracting convicted felons to help bring in criminals at large. The catch? The criminals tapped by the police can have their sentences shortened for helping bring in the bad guys. Just one more thing: our heroes are strapped with bomb collars to guarantee their cooperation. If you’ve seen Suicide Squad, you know the premise.  

This one makes the list for its slick animation and beautifully realized cyberpunk cityscape. While the technological innovations may seem a bit quaint today, this remains a good, fun sci-fi romp.  

Strange Days 

Photo Credit: TVOvermind 

Strange Days is set in a near-future world where playback of other people’s memories is a reality. By attaching brainwave emitters called “squids” to your head, you can experience recorded memories. This has become something of a drug-like experience for many. The film concerns a police officer, Leno Nero, who is investigating the murder of a prostitute. The murder in question was recorded by the killer, and Lenny has the recording. It’s creepy, haunting, and a pointed criticism of people who would spend all their time being someone else. 

With virtual reality becoming more popular, Strange Days remains a fine criticism of its potential dangers. As good cyberpunk movies go, this is how you critique society and tell a noir story at the same time. 

The Matrix 

Photo Credit: IMDb 

You’ve probably never heard of this obscure sci-fi flick from 1999. Jokes aside, the Matrix redefined modern sci-fi and is a fantastic cyberpunk tale. If you’ve never seen it (how?) it follows mild-mannered programmer Thomas Anderson, who begins to question the nature of his reality. Upon discovering that reality is merely a simulation, Anderson discovers he has a destiny to become a Messiah-like figure. Under the new name, Neo, he connects with a resistance to help defeat the machines who keep humanity trapped in the simulation. 

Blade Runner 2049 

Photo Credit: Variety 

While the original Blade Runner introduced audiences to a rain-slick, neon-lit Los Angeles of 2019, the sequel slides the timeline forward thirty years. The world is the same, just older. The neo-noir sleuth work underscores the film’s deep themes and slow-burn action. Ryan Gosling stars as replicant android K, a police robot tasked with “decommissioning” rogue robots. The film expertly teases audience emotions and sensibilities, asking important questions about humanity.  

What makes us human? What makes a sufficiently advanced machine any worse than us? And, most importantly, do android dream of electric sheep? 

Terminator 

Photo Credit: LADbible 

The future is ruled by robots with Austrian accents. In this landmark 80’s action flick, humanity engineers its own predators in the form of Skynet. Skynet, a dangerous artificial intelligence, sends a Terminator assassin back in time to kill Sarah Connor. Why? Because her son, John, will one day be the leader of the Resistance seeking to oppose Skynet. Thankfully, John travels back to help his mother defeat the metal menace.  

While Terminator takes place in 1980’s, the alternate-reality future certainly embodies the cyberpunk dystopia other films on this list inhabit. Terminator makes the cut by being so important in the progress of American sci-fi films and 80’s action. 

Akira 

Photo Credit: Roxie Theater 

Anime has yielded a ton of fantastic cyberpunk films, and Akira is one of them. Set in a near-future Neo-Tokyo, the film concerns a young biker gang. One of their number, a punk named Tetsuo, begins to develop psychic powers after a bike accident. The film shows a dangerous city, besieged by both crime and an oppressive government. The film is also notoriously gruesome and accidentally brutal in ways that are certainly disturbing to audiences unprepared for it. Truly, this one earns its spot as a cyberpunk classic.

RoboCop 

Photo Credit: IFC Center 

Another huge 80’s action movie, RoboCop is a much more straightforward cyberpunk film. The film follows Alex Murphy, a Detroit beat cop killed in action and resurrected by technology. The RoboCop he’s brought back as has glimmers of Murphy’s humanity, but guns down bad guys with no remorse. Exploring themes of corporate greed and mortality, the film is a surprisingly thoughtful cyberpunk film. This high-minded ethos is contrasted by the film’s incredibly bloody shootouts and brutal vision of near-future Detroit. 

Ghost in the Shell 

Photo Credit: Forbes 

One of the most visually arresting anime films of all time, Ghost in the Shell is also an exemplary cyberpunk film. In fact, Ghost in the Shell is credited with directly inspired the Matrix and revitalizing interest in the genre. The film follows Major Motoko Kusanagi, a cyborg tasked with bringing in a criminal called the Puppet Master. Exploding with action sequences that serve as counterpoints to high-minded philosophy, Ghost in the Shell is a rare film.

A great example of how anime and sci-fi are like chocolate and peanut butter, this one looks as great now as it did in the 90’s. Exhilarating from start to finish, cyberpunk fans should see this movie. This is easily the greatest of the anime cyberpunk movies. 

Dredd 

Photo Credit: The Verge 

Based on the long-running comic strip, Dredd stars Karl Urban as the grim title character. Set in an oppressive, sprawling city called Mega-City One, the film focuses on a day in the life of Judge Dredd. Judges are law enforcement and justice system in one, executing criminals on the spot. This chilling premise runs alongside dangerous, deranged criminals and drug dealers. One of the drugs pushed by these criminals, Slo-Mo, provides trippy effects and slow-motion action in the otherwise gritty film. As solid and unyielding as concrete, this film hits all the beats that make it a great adaptation of the source material.  

Blade Runner 

Photo Credit: Warner Bros. 

You’ve already been introduced to Ridley Scott’s dystopian Los Angeles earlier in this list, but here’s the one that started it all. Based on Philip K. Dick’s novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Blade Runner stars Harrison Ford as Rick Deckard. Deckard is a police officer tasked with “decommissioning” replicants, a job that should sound familiar if you read the article from the start. Deckard begins to grapple with the morality of his job, and things get ugly.  

Depicting a retro-style future and stunning visuals, Blade Runner is a treat. If you love sci-fi or Cyberpunk, you owe it to yourself to check this one out. It’s got unconventional pacing, but it’s a quite exceptional work of art. In fact, Blade Runner is largely responsible for bringing cyberpunk movies into the mainstream. This one is easily our favorite film in the genre. 

Feature Image Credit: Omega Level