EW's Top Ten Favorite Movie Robots: 1. R2-D2 AND C-3PO

This is from Entertainment Weekly's List of the Top Ten Movie Robots.

10. THE FEMBOTS

FROM Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)

PLAYED BY Cindy Margolis of Internet-download fame (foreground), plus a bevy of unknowns (Cheryl Bartel, Donna W. Scott, Barbara Ann Moore, and Cynthia Lamontagne)

PROGRAMMING These swingin' synthetic sirens, done up like bedroom Barbies, are designed by Dr. Evil to lure Austin Powers to his doom.

SPECIAL FEATURES Each of the fembot fatales has, as Austin calls them, ''machine-gun jubblies.'' Oh, naughty!

MEMORABLE MOMENT Austin short-circuits the fembots, sending their heads spinning with nothing more than his hairy-chested mojo.

WHY THEY PUSH OUR BUTTONS Actually, the existence of these lethally sexy androids explains a lot, especially in Austin Powers in Goldmember, which reveals that Britney Spears is a fembot too.

EW MOVIE GRADE: B

What I say: What's not to like about the Fembots? As Austin Powers would say, they're dead sexy!

Discuss.

 

Oink humour.

 

(from EW.com)

9. ROBBY

FROM Forbidden Planet (1956)

PLAYED BY Designer Robert Kino****a's creation Robby the Robot, which went on to appear in a handful of other movies and TV shows

PROGRAMMING In this sci-fi version of Shakespeare's The Tempest, Robby is the Ariel figure, at the beck and call of solitary Morbius (Walter Pidgeon) and his daughter Altaira (Anne Francis, pictured).

SPECIAL FEATURES Though he looks like a jukebox (especially the way his parts awaken and twirl when someone asks him to do something), he's a skilled butler, capable of making dresses for Altaira or synthesizing gallons of whiskey.

MEMORABLE LINE ''I rarely use [oxygen] myself, sir. It promotes rust.''

WHY HE PUSHES OUR BUTTONS Although today he seems quaintly stiff and clunky, Robby was clearly influential ? such mechanical men as the Robinsons' robot on Lost in Space (also designed by Kino****a) bear his classic imprint.

EW MOVIE GRADE: A-

What I say: Robby the Robot was probably the first movie robot that I can recall ever seeing in a movie, and he still stands the test of time. Great lines, and he led to other robots like the Robinsons' on Lost in Space.

 

He' s great fun, and very influential.

 

The episode when the Robby robot guested on Lost In Space and battled
the Robinson robot for the family's affection and trust was one of my
favorite as a kid. I had no idea the same guy designed both of them.
His creations really fired my teenage imagination.

 

He's not even in the top 5? Should be much, much higher, if not number one.

 

Definitely a top five. I can't think of eight others . . .

 

I agree with both of you, I would have rated Robby in the top 5 as well, but this is Entertainment Weekly's list, not mine. Now on to number 8.

8. MARIA

FROM Metropolis (1927)

PLAYED BY Brigitte Helm, once she's fully animated

PROGRAMMING In a future world where masses of industrial workers toil underground while the elite live in the spires of skyscrapers, a scientist (played by Rudolf Klein-Rogge, pictured) kidnaps radical labor leader Maria and replaces her with a robot doppelgänger to defuse a potential rebellion.

SPECIAL FEATURES Looks like the real thing but is more inclined to dance with erotic abandon than to give fiery speeches

MEMORABLE MOMENT The android Maria offers a lascivious, unsettling wink, an instant re-created in 2004's I, Robot.

WHY SHE PUSHES OUR BUTTONS Robot or not, Maria is a captivating presence and an apparent influence on a range of electric-powered film females, from the Bride of Frankenstein to the T-X of Terminator 3.

EW MOVIE GRADE: A-

What I say: Definitely sexy as compared to the bland robots in I, Robot and she definitely influenced later robots including the female T-X in Terminator 3.

 

"Metropolis" literally has to be seen to be believed--I saw a restored version once. Very strange, dreamlike, and futuristic. The Nazis loved it.

Ye plot: A dictator's son falls in love with a girl who champions the workers. To discredit her, the dictator hires a scientistic named something like Rotwang to make a robot Maria. The robot looks just like her, but will behave very differently.

 

Not forgetting the major influence she played on 3pos design.

 

Oh, yes, definitely.

 

C3PO never did the sex-dance like Maria, though. Missed opportunity there, I think.

 

Threep did pose for that one naughty trading card though, if you'll recall.

Yes, the robot Maria is fantastic; great design and Helm's performance is purely scenery chewing of the most brilliantly fun.

 

7. GIGOLO JOE

FROM A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)

PLAYED BY Jude Law

PROGRAMMING Humanoid hustler Joe accompanies young ''mecha'' David (Haley Joel Osment, above left) on his Pinocchio-like quest to find the Blue Fairy and become a real boy.

SPECIAL FEATURES Joe, who struts to his own soundtrack of old love songs, can alter his hair color and his accent according to the whims of the client he's, um, servicing.

MEMORABLE LINE (Talking to David about humans) ''They made us too smart, too quick, and too many. We are suffering for the mistakes they made because when the end comes, all that will be left is us.''

WHY HE PUSHES OUR BUTTONS David may be A.I.'s protagonist, but it's cynical Joe, with his contempt for the humans who've built him, used him, and discarded him, who gives the movie its kick.

EW MOVIE GRADE: A-

What I say: I hate to say that I've never seen A.I. yet, so therefore I don't know what to say other than he's probably way overrated in this countdown.

 

Jude Law's had bettter roles. I like HJO as David better in the film and don't forget Teddy.

 

I loved him as Gigolo Joe in this movie. I thought he looked great. Very charming. Acted the role well too.

 

6. THE IRON GIANT

FROM The Iron Giant (1999)

PLAYED BY Vin Diesel (voice)

PROGRAMMING He may have been designed as an interstellar weapon, but the alien android makes an ideal companion for a fatherless boy, Hogarth Hughes, who in turn teaches the massive robot that he actually has a soul.

SPECIAL FEATURES Like any alien invader in a movie set in the early Atomic Age, this metal-munching robot can take on an entire army. Also, he can fly, learn a few English words, and make believe he's Superman.

MEMORABLE LINE ''I am not a gun.''

WHY HE PUSHES OUR BUTTONS We like his retro-cool design, but we also choke up at his self-sacrificing stand against a paranoid army, a tear-jerking climax worthy of E.T.

EW MOVIE GRADE: A-

What I say: Another movie I haven't seen, so again I can't say if he's deserving of this spot in the top ten.

 

Haven't seen this one.

 

Iron Giant is a must see, Zaz.

Its a perfect movie to rent or put on your netflix list.

 

Yep. This is a good film with good lessons, for both adults and kids.

I totally agree with the "Why he pushes our buttons" comment in the review.

 

QFT. In a just world The Iron Giant would been nominated for an Oscar. It's THAT good. Brad Bird actually got animated characters to emote. That's no mean feat. He's been called the Steven Spielberg of animation for a reason. This movie shows you why.

 

5. ROBOCOP

FROM RoboCop (1987), RoboCop 2 (1990), RoboCop 3 (1993)

PLAYED BY Peter Weller (RoboCop, RoboCop 2), Robert John Burke (RoboCop 3)

PROGRAMMING Killed in the line of duty and brought back to life as a cyborg, Officer Murphy fights both street thugs and the white-collar criminals at OCP, the corporation that built him.

SPECIAL FEATURES His mind is a crime database, his body is bulletproof, and he's quick on the draw.

MEMORABLE LINE ''Your move, creep.''

WHY HE PUSHES OUR BUTTONS In the first film, at least, Weller puts his wry deadpan to good use as the monotone law-enforcing machine who retains a flicker of his old humanity.

EW MOVIE GRADES: A (RoboCop); C+ (RoboCop 2); D- (RoboCop 3)

What I say: I definitely thought that the first Robocop was the best, after that, meh.

 

I don't really care about the list, but I have to protest at them allowing cyborgs on a list of favorite robots.

 

"Your move, creep?"

How's about "Dead or alive, you're coming with me?"

Since that's, y'know, a BIT more iconic from him...

 

4. ASH

MOVIE Alien (1979)

PLAYED BY Ian Holm

PROGRAMMING The most villainous computerized space traveler this side of 2001's HAL 9000, Ash keeps the fact that he's an android secret from Ripley (Sigourney Weaver, above left) and the rest of the crew until he's well on the way to accomplishing his mission: to bring one of the predatory, parasitic aliens back to Earth for the Company.

SPECIAL FEATURES Even after his head is knocked off, he can still speak, offering a final, chilling warning to the crew.

MEMORABLE LINE (Before he's disconnected for good) ''I can't lie to you about your chances, but...you have my sympathies.''

WHY HE PUSHES OUR BUTTONS Ash says of the alien, ''I admire its purity. A survivor...unclouded by conscience, remorse, or delusions of morality.'' We could say the same about him.

EW MOVIE GRADE: A

What I say: Excellent performance by Ian Holm makes this robot instantly famous. He was the predecessor to Bishop in "Aliens" and definitely was the best robot from the "Alien" movies.