Nowadays, there’s an action film for everybody. Some feature spies fighting evil villains and saving the world in the process. Then, there are also action flicks that almost appear like a horror film. At the same time, there are also those that venture into sci-fi. These include Netflix’s Outside the Wire, which happens to be one of the streaming service’s most anticipated films this year.
In the movie, Anthony Mackie portrays an android officer who gets paired up with a human soldier for a specific mission. For fans of the film, here are some similar movies you can watch.
The Terminator Movies
Sure, there were a number of cyborg movies that were released before The Terminator movies started coming out in 1984. But James Cameron, arguably, got Hollywood to take cyborgs more seriously when he introduced Arnold Schwarzenegger as the titular character who went on to become one of the best cyborgs in cinematic history.
Oddly enough, Schwarzenegger was under the impression that Cameron’s first choice for the role had been O.J. Simpson this whole time. However, Cameron finally cleared things up, telling Los Angeles Times, “Arnold is literally just wrong.”
I, Robot
This sci-fi movie is set in the year 2035 when robots are performing public service jobs and abiding by three rules to keep humans safe. Things take an unexpected turn, however, following the supposed suicide of the founder of U.S. Robotics, which prompts an investigation by Detective Del Spooner (Will Smith).
He is under the impression that one robot (Alan Tudyk) murdered him. However, he and a robot expert (Bridget Moynahan) soon discover a larger threat to the human race. Despite the thrilling story and the film’s overall commercial appeal, I, Robot only achieved modest success at the box office.
Project Power
With a cast that features Oscar winner Jamie Foxx and Emmy winner Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Project Power is one of Netflix's most high-profile original movies to date. The movie is so-called because of a pill that delivers superpowers to whoever takes it for a full five minutes.
And so, a cop (Gordon-Levitt), a former soldier (Foxx) and a teenage dealer (Dominique Fishback) eventually decide to team up to discover the source of the drug. Overall, the movie scored some decent reviews, but some critics noted that the film features too many clichés.
Spectral
It’s safe to say that this 2016 sci-fi film is among the most underrated Netflix original movies in recent years. And that's too bad because it features a premise that's never really been covered by similar films – the idea that supernatural forces can assault someone and kill them with just one touch.
Directed by Nic Mathieu, the movie stars Emily Mortimer as an operative who has been investigating the phenomenon. Meanwhile, James Badge Dale plays a weapon/armor designer deployed with the spec ops unit that’s been fighting these forces on the battlefield.
Robocop
Robocop is another classic film that came out in the 80s. It's set in an imagined future where a wounded cop (Peter Weller) returns to duty as a cyborg. The cyborg’s suit looked impressive, especially for its time. That said, the film’s director, Paul Verhoeven, also confessed that the suit was a real challenge to make because they weren’t sure how they wanted it to look in the first place.
“We had unrealistic expectations after reading too many Japanese comic books,” Verhoeven told Esquire. “We were essentially sabotaging the suit, so when we started shooting, the suit wasn't ready.”
Justice League
Justice League marks the first time that the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) brought together its primary band of superheroes. The group includes Ray Fisher’s Cyborg, who previously appeared as the enhanced human character in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Unfortunately, Justice League was essentially a box office flop.
Nonetheless, some fans still believe that Cyborg should still star in his own solo movie, much like the rest of the Justice League. There is also some who feel that the previous DCEU movies didn’t do the character any justice.
Ghost In The Shell
In this sci-fi film, Scarlett Johansson stars as Major, a cyber-enhanced human soldier who has been tasked with stopping some of the world’s most brutal criminals. Ultimately, she comes face to face with Kuze, a criminal mastermind who manages to hack androids and get control of them.
Overall, the film received some positive reviews from critics (although it isn’t viewed as one of Johansson’s best films). However, Johansson’s casting also drew scrutiny after fans questioned why an Asian actor wasn’t hired to portray Major instead. The film is based on an anime series.
Avengers: Age Of Ultron
In the Age of Ultron, the core superheroes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) come face to face with Ultron (James Spader), an evil robot that started out as a part of Tony Stark’s (Robert Downey, Jr.) AI peacekeeping program. Fortunately for the Avengers, they also soon meet Vision (Paul Bettany), an android who was partly created by Ultron himself.
Unfortunately, Age of Ultron didn’t receive as much praise as the other Avengers films. Nonetheless, the movie is critical to propelling the MCU’s overall story arc forward, eventually concluding in the record-breaking film, Avengers: Endgame.
Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw
In this Fast & Furious spinoff, Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) and Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) team up to fight against Brixton Lorr (Idris Elba) a cyber-enhanced soldier with superhuman abilities who is determined to infect humanity with a lethal pathogen.
While speaking with Blackfilm.com, Elba described the character as “part man part machine and an egotistical maniac.” True to its parent franchise, the movie offers some impressive vehicle stunt scenes. Moreover, it also features several intense fight scenes with Elba’s Brixton, who is also one of the franchise’s most impressive villains to date.
Alita: Battle Angel
Directed by Robert Rodriguez, this 2016 action sci-fi film centers on the titular character of Alita (Rosa Salazar), a deactivated cyborg who is brought back to life and becomes determined to discover her past.
As it turns out, the whole concept of the film came from James Cameron, who had already created a brief “art-reel” of Alita. But as Rodriguez explained to Rolling Stone, “A little something called Avatar started taking up all of his time and got in the way.” And so, Rodriguez decided to helm the film himself.