Top 10 Cyberpunk Films

www.smashingukproductions.com/
Welcome to Smashing UK Productions's Top 10!
2021 Episode 25: Top 10 Cyberpunk Films
As we approach the end of the year, we wanted to get out one last video before transitioning to 2022. For this video we’re doing one suggested by our viewers, taking a look at the ten best cyberpunk films. Cyberpunk blends contemporary sci-fi with high-tech dystopian futures.
Thanks to The New Ongoam24 for the video suggestion.
Have your own opinions? Post them in the comments below!
Smashing UK Productions
Website - www.smashingukproductions.com/
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Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favour of fair use.

[@SmashingUKProductions]

Thank you everyone for all your support throughout 2021! This is our final video of the year, but rest assured that we’ll be returning on 14th January. Until then, all the best during the rest of your holiday break, and we wish you all a Happy New Year. See you in 2022!

[@t2av159]

*Total recall* was huge. It made 261.4 million USD at the box office on a 40 million budget in 1990. ( 519.2 million roughly using inlfation in 2023)

[@abdulrahmanalhendi6358]

Ghost in the shell ... akira.... bladerunner...

[@johnsalinas8562]

Definitely got this lost backwards

[@justsomeguywithafewmoregut4600]

The first terminator got that vibe

[@Cee_B]

Cyber-punk/dystopian Sci-Fi is my favorite and in my personal opinion the best genre of TV and cinema. It’s so reasonable yet so impossible to fathom for human kind. It can be anything and everything of the imagination yet limited to what is actually humanly possible with current and growing intelligence. It’s like the peak of societal perfection mixed with pure chaos based on the imperfections of humans and human moral, ideology and psychological tendency/patterns. So awesome to just think or day dream about lol

[@mdzarif9037]

Bro I would live in cyberpunk/dystopian shit over utopia

[@thenewongoam2486]

Thank for making this video, Mr. SMASHING UK.

[@phillywilly4155]

I think dredd is one of my favorite comic book movies. It was done really well

[@steveross2649]

Everybody is forgetting about "Johnny Mnemonic" from 1995. Screenplay written by WILLIAM GIBSON who was one of the biggest influences on the whole Cyberpunk genre. Yes it was a bit cheesy and underproduced but it is still more Cyberpunk than most on this list.

[@r-saint]

There's also an extended Japanese Cut of the film with a lot more screentime for Takeshi Kitano.

[@SabrinaCelestia]

Not to mention the similarities held between 2077 like the thermal monowire weapon used or the illegal underground cybernetic implant doctors. There's even a disease that causes shaking (most likely due to implants) similar to the shaking seen before cyber psychosis in the edgerunners show.

[@jeremy3drobinson]

Neuromancer is still a great book!

[@Carnefice]

The short story is great but the movie is sadly terrible.

[@indy2l]

And Keanu Reeves plays both Johnny Mnemonic and Johnny Silverhand, which are both in a Cyberpunk world. Huh, what a coincidence.

[@brettcoster4781]

Would like to have seen Alita: Battle Angel as one of the honourable mentions, but this was a terrific selection of films, all very worthy. Well done (and Happy New Year to all).

[@dustcrawler]

I found equilibrium (2002) also to be a great distopian future movie. Not a true cyberpunk flick but still great.

[@daviddean707]

For me, the narrator who cannot pick up on the correct pronunciation of 'dystopian' is the one of the most disturbing aspects of dystopia.

[@yeoedwin1619]

Also worth mentioning: Demolition Man (1993), Nemesis (1992), Hardware, Death Machine, The Fifth Element, Appleseed, American Cyborg Steel Warrior, Futurekick, Cyberjack, Cybertracker 1 & 2

[@danielrafferty4108]

Thanks. After playing Cyberpunk 2077, watching some of the Peripheral and accidentally coming across and watching the movie possessor last night I've been jonzing for some more Cyberpunk style movies as it's been a few years. Unfortunately I've seen the whole list in video so you're suggestions are good. Seen some, others I can't remember even hearing about. Will definetely given those a go!

[@alexkeys2764]

How is the Fifth Element not on the top 10???

[@swordguy1243]

Johnny Nemonic Time Cop Anon

[@yeoedwin1619]

Also worth mentioning: Virtuosity, Equilibrium

[@impulse187]

The fifth element is a goat of futuristic films

[@johnbianchi3675]

Where's the fifth Element? Didn't even get an honorable mention

[@user-xn3qm2il4l]

Agreed

[@maxwellschmidt235]

I'd agree if the list was about general sci fi, but I see it as more of a space fantasy with cyberpunk aesthetics.

[@josephlowry4320]

Great list dude and happy New Year to you too. Tron from 1982 has an similar Cyberpunk vibe to it.

[@parhamkalani]

you missed (2015) chappie

[@cosmic-fortytwo]

Good list, totally agree with everything.

[@JDStone20]

Awesome list!!

[@BeheadedPrisoner]

I'd like to mention Universal Soldier 1,2, and 3. This movie underrated for cyberpunk genre.

[@homegrowntwinkie]

it's so awesome to see just how much the cyberpunk genre borrows within itself.

[@nagruvajse]

love the deep forest song there at the beginning :) all 2 seconds of it :P

[@eugeniocamporato8427]

Total recall was amazing in early 90's

[@user-oi1iq6tt4j]

Still is

[@eugeniocamporato8427]

@@user-oi1iq6tt4j yeah

[@lacrimatorium]

Another well thought out list. Would you include Metropolis as a kind of proto-cyberpunk film?

[@SmashingUKProductions]

Funnily enough, it was a film that crossed my mind several times whilst making the list, and couldn't quite decide whether it was a cyberpunk film or not, but I definitely agree with your description as a proto-cyberpunk!

[@brettcoster4781]

@@SmashingUKProductions Metropolis (1927) would I think fit more into steam-punk, but Metropolis (2001) is, I think, definitely cyber-punk. Both are tremendous films.

[@miltiadisathanasiou4058]

From those I’ve seen: 1. Blade Runner 2. Akira 3. The Matrix 4. Blade Runner 2049 5. Ghost in the Shell 6. Total Recall 7. The Terminator 8. Robocop 9. Dark City 10. Dredd

[@jaldred1]

Great list! I wholeheartedly agree!

[@Cinema.Explorer]

Blade Runner totally deserves the top spot ! What a great video!

[@user-oi1iq6tt4j]

F no, movi w overrated

[@kevingregory5579]

Blade runner is dull as hell

[@briansmith8898]

Blade runner is the first true cyberpunk film. Many of the tropes of the genre originated with that movie.

[@OSGamer70]

Alita Battle Angel, Tron Legacy, Lucy, Aeon Flux, Ultra Violet, and Mad Max are a few others that fall into this category IMHO

[@marcocovarrubias544]

long live the 80's

[@RajeshKumar-wv5fp]

Hey bro can you also make a list of top 10 acting performances of all time such as 1)Marlon Brando from Godfather 2)Robert De Niro from Raging bull, 3)Peter O 'toole from Lawrence of Arabia 4)Al pacino from Godfather II Etc

[@Curi0u50ne]

John Travolta in pulp fiction (the OD scene)

[@troylandzerep8045]

ready player one should be honorable mention

[@sfdeliveries76]

I would have liked to see Bubblegum Crisis and Battle Angel Alita on this list.

[@TOFKAS01]

Nr. 1 will be like that in decades to come...

[@N73B60]

7:52 Glad to see Dark City (1998) here. It's one of the most underrated movies in cinema history. I'd also mention Cool World (1992).

[@QuelquefoisFois]

Lukewarm success? It was the fifth highest grossing movie of 1990. 😊

[@DK19998]

Samuria jack is still the best cyberpunk themed show ive ever seen

[@cgavin1]

Strange Days is amazing because it introduced me to PJ Harvey AND William Gibson.

[@mickmickymick6927]

Terminator and the Matrix aren't cyberpunk cause they're not set in the future (also Existenz). Minority Report arguably isn't either cause it's not dystopian. I realise it's kind of pointless to argue over a genre's definition, but everything is called cyberpunk now so the term kind of loses all meaning. Arguably we live in a cyberpunk world now.

[@t2av159]

*Total recall* was huge. It made 261.4 million USD at the box office on a 40 million budget in 1990. ( 519.2 million roughly using inlfation in 2023)

[@Glory-Compass]

How about making a Top 10 Sad Movie Endings??

[@criaturasdelaoscuridad.]

Nirvana with Christopher Lambert Brazil with Jonathan Pryce... And Metropolis...why not?...

[@nickfigueroa8531]

Yo what about elysium that movie was very cyberpunk its basically a live action of the cyberpunk vídeo game. Think about it in the movie dude is trying to do a heist for someone else to still a chip, literally just like cyberpunk, he implants it into his brain just like in the game, he also gets a body exo skeleton inplant just like the game, he is also dying just like the game obviously its not exactly the same. But both stories are super close to each other. I honestly wish they would make a cyberpunk 2077 movie based on the game

[@joet7136]

Should've been honorable mention at least.

[@antoniofrincic5116]

upgrade is top 5 easily

[@byoobyoo1280]

I don't know if this movie fit the criteria. But I would also mention The Fly (as the beginning of teletransportation technology and of hybrid animals of any species.)

[@dylanaddison2502]

Idk if it counts but you also have ready player one and also the tron series aswell and also I know it’s not a movie but cyberpunk edge runners aswell

[@eymerichinquisitore9022]

I recommend to you and your followers an Italian film known only to us fans: Nirvana by Gabriele Salvatores

[@warsincs]

Not even a mention of Albert Pyuns Nemesis or Van Damme's Cyborg

[@warsincs]

'Lukewarm success' for 1990's Total Recall... it earned 261 million dollars at the box office 😂

[@clash79]

Good list, although I would put Ghost in The Shell above Akira. Probably 2nd overall

[@user-oi1iq6tt4j]

Agreed...Akira ain't all t❤hat❤ cyber pink

[@user-oi1iq6tt4j]

No ALITA BATTLEANGEL?!!!! WHAT!!!! Nor TRON (The last one) or 5th element, Ready Player One?!!!

[@KaleksananBagusMassani]

Alita: Battle Angel should be in the top. WIth the modern tech in film production, they successfully bring how dystopian future would look like. Body modification, Mega Corp and such, the world look amazing.

[@user-oi1iq6tt4j]

Agreed

[@bojanhasan408]

He could still put a lot of films, including Alita, but definitely not at the top! Cyberpunk is a much darker and dirtier world...

[@user-oi1iq6tt4j]

@@bojanhasan408 alitas not dirty and dark ? Wtf 😆

[@bojanhasan408]

@@user-oi1iq6tt4j Alitas is a film for children from 12 years old! What are you talking about?? I'm not saying it's a bad movie, but it's not the same as some other cyberpunk movies...

[@user-oi1iq6tt4j]

@@bojanhasan408 u obviously don't know wtf ur talking about, I'm sure it was pg 13 and in the movie people are getting their faces sliced off and cut in half to pieces and more...obviously u don't know wtf ur talking about the list missed many others that should be on the list

[@fredschmitt456]

Never a doubt about what film would rule supreme. But I totally expected Blade Runner 2048 to be #2...

[@fox3319]

no johny mnemonic :( But good list thank i didnt know this movie : strange days

[@justonefyx]

Most of these films arejust stanscifi and not cyberpunk

[@DrMonKz]

love terminator but... not a cyber punk movie....... just science fiction..... which is cool as well...

[@original_cb0895]

where da Johnny Pneumonic?

[@iamworstgamer]

you should add akira

[@arte0021]

What exactly makes something cyberpunk? Is it just any dystopian science fiction?

[@edm5682]

Essentially, yes. It's a dystopian future where people live a high tech lifestyle but do so from in poverty. Often the films have quite dark themes and a neo noir / tech noir feel to them.

[@brettcoster4781]

I think it involves more than dystopian science fiction, I think robotics or computers must also be a significant or crucial part of the story.

[@arte0021]

@@brettcoster4781 then Akira is not cyberpunk, since robotics dont really feature it it

[@edm5682]

@@arte0021 It's not specifically robotics, more just futuristic high tech in general. But yes, Akira is most definitely a cyberpunk film and is generally considered a staple of the genre.

[@edm5682]

@@arte0021 But alongside the high tech future, a lot of themes come into play with cyberpunk, whether that be corruption, poverty, political turmoil, it's a dystopian future featuring lowlife living.

[@DG-vr3kc]

The creator is a new one to add to the list now enjoy

[@nivek123]

A skaner darkly, 6th days, alita, ready payer one, timecop,...

[@andrethannhauser6302]

Terminator is one of my favorite scifi-"series", BUT I would not put it in a Top10 list of "Cyberpunk" movies. I neither get enough cyber nor punk in the Terminator movies to put them in that genre. Keep in mind that 99% of the first movies play in the present and the only SciFi aspect is the Terminator himself. That's nothing cyberpunk compared to Blade Runner, Matrix and Alita Battle Angel (not a great movie, still good, but extrem cyberpunky) Furthermore, for my taste, there a few too many 80s/90s films in that top list. We arent just talking about dystopian SciFi but about Cyberpunk, and in the last 20 years computer technology became great to visualize cyberworlds in movies and series. I mean, e.g. the very first episode of Star Wars Andor feels more cyberpunky than some of the 80s/90s movies. I love the 80s and also the way distopian movies had such a great dark atmosphere, but except for Blade Runner and 1 or maybe 2 other movies, I wouldnt fill slots of the top10 cyberpunk list.

[@ricardofernamdezportabella8103]

I miss Brazil :(

[@ihalloway]

terminator and matrix does not belong here at all .... whatahell ?

[@sheridancarpenter1803]

Also the anime Cyberpunk 2077

[@kurtlangberg5886]

My only lament is that there doesn't seem to be much in the way of family friendly cyberpunk. I'd like to introduce my kids to the genre, but beyond Tron, there isn't much that doesn't stray into both the pornographic and the graphically violent.

[@Aeneas137]

maybe my definition of cyberpunk is different than most people's. that means mine is more accurate and most people are loose with it. to me, cyberpunk must be derivative of neuromancer. so you've got a future date where the human mind is fully mapped and cybernetic implants are the norm and body parts can easily be replaced with cybernetic parts. And accessing networks is done wirelessly directly from your brain so Ghost in the Shell is perhaps the most perfect example of that to date. I disagree with all of your other film choices. maybe they have a look but they're not cyberpunk. by the way, the Terminator is not a cyborg. it's a robot. a cyborg is a human with cybernetic parts. If James Cameron got that wrong, then that's his error. I don't think that calling the Terminator a cyborg is just ified reason to change the definition. a cyborg is not part flash part machine. a cyborg is a human with machine parts. Ghost in the Shell and standalone complex explore this in extreme detail for anyone that wants to do their homework.

[@RussianBot69420]

Strange Days 1995 Dredd 2012 Total Recall 1990 Minority Report 2002 Robocop 1987 Ghost in the Shell 1995 Akira 1988 Terminator 1984 Matrix 1999 Honorable Mentions: Dark City 1998, Videodrome 1983, Tetsuo The Iron Man 1989, Existenz 1999, Upgrade 2018 Blade Runner 1982

[@joet7136]

It's a crime that Dredd didn't get a sequel or trilogy. If Netflix wanted a good series to back Dredd would've been it but they aren't very bright.

[@leonardvicari2857]

Robocop and Total.Recall and Ghost In the Shell.are the best cyberpunk movies

[@mingolam]

Johnny Mnemonic is not on the list

[@wesbarone]

where is johnny mnemonic ? D=

[@JustinWilliams367]

1. The Matrix 2. Terminator 2: Judgment Day 3. Ready Player One 4. Robocop 5. The Terminator 6. Total Recall('90) 7. District 9 8. Minority Report 9. Blade Runner 2049 10. The Matrix Reloaded

[@DrCocoaNot]

Thank you

[@tytusdezoo4722]

Where is "Johny Mnemonic" a cult classic based on the story itself William Gibson

[@kasper-jw2441]

Bladerunner, honorable mentions.... how... its like calling Mario a third party double A title for Nintendo

[@vintersphrost]

no, it's not on honorable mentiones, it is on 1. look again, it just follows after the HMs

[@kasper-jw2441]

my mistake! thanks for noticing!@@vintersphrost

[@leonardvicari2857]

Blade runner is number 1 it is philosophical about society

[@pumfeethermodynamics3286]

blade runner before akira

[@issaronow]

matrix

[@Lily-gs9iv]

Matrix?

[@theboydoingthings8510]

Where is i robot?

[@user-yv6pk4ji9x]

Wre was Johnny numonnic yes I know you probably didn't think of that one but it reminds me of the the first one on you list lot better than the one at number 10 on your list sorry old film buff fan. Lie some of your list. Late sending you a like. KEEP ROCKING IN THE FREE WORLD and all the team STAY SAFE.

[@Spacehog1981]

Total Recall was successful from the start

[@Mikeyfoobear]

Akira

[@maxwellschmidt235]

I disagree with terminator and matrix as cyberpunk movies. I've also seen fifth element proposed in comments, and I'd disagree with that as well. All great movies that would rank highly in a more general sci fi list, but not cyberpunk. There are certainly aesthetic elements that put these films adjacent to cyberpunk, but thematically they don't hit the mark for me. In the case of matrix and terminator, the advanced tech is split from the lived in world- the tech is in the post apocalyptic world run by machines. There are intrusions, but the questions they engage are not about the fundamental rot of the society that generates the tech. The fifth element is a space fantasy. It has some subthemes that engage social issues, but at the end it is the mystical power of love that conquers an external evil. The society is vaguely dystopic, but it doesn't really engage with this aspect. Blade Runner 2049 should be number two on the list in my book.

[@saiiasenpai3079]

No one remember equilibrium 😢

[@troylandzerep8045]

i have guess these world calls our world modernpunk

[@fahvm4362]

Blade Runner is best cyberpunk of all time.

[@TheJadeJester]

Elysium. Alita.

[@thetiktokman]

Only a few of these are true cyberpunk.

[@itsdamnloud]

Wondering where is 2049

[@eloux3963]

I can't see star ears 😢😢😢😢

[@cube6485]

This is almost the same list as Watchmojo's list.

[@deltasixtwo]

i'm sorry, but Ghost in the Shell and Akira are placed way too low :(

[@mikewalnoha8971]

Ray Fiennes? Who?

[@dewapd1169]

Cyberpunk 2077 stole ALOT of stuff from Strange Days.....

[@bismarkmontalvan6850]

Some of these I don't consider cyber punk.

[@KurtMidas1510]

Man im glad cgi is now on a Level so live action movies like this could be produced. I just didnt like animes

[@MouseCIick]

I like some of the bigger flops. Tron Legacy Alita Battle Angel Ready Player One

[@ucNg-ls6ro]

Tron isn't cyberpunk

[@user-oi1iq6tt4j]

​@@ucNg-ls6royes it is r u kidding me

[@user-oi1iq6tt4j]

All 3 are great and didn't flop

[@user-oi1iq6tt4j]

It's just that their too smart for most viewers

[@courtneyj.bennett3530]

Children of men

[@LoneWOLF00234]

(Spoiler alert)Does anyone know that there is a film Ghost in the shell,which the main character inculdes Johannes Scarlet.

[@philhelm1318]

I skipped ahead, and at first I was like, "How the hell is Bladerunner an honorable mention?"

[@FansAn-NasrDarijamanJahiliyah]

CYBERPUNK. Mention to cyborg!!!! Why some of them arent cyborg

[@GauravSingh-qf8lh]

most of the movies listed are boring. I want to watch sci fi or cyberpunk movie to see how world might look in future, but if movie itself look like from 80's i ain't watching. They are just too old

[@Loyal_Lion]

Dies-topian futures? 🙄

[@ErikMalkavian]

5:32 Akira??? That's Just Ridiculous! BLADE RUNNER with Harrison Ford is the DEFINITIVE Film of Cyberpunk!

[@jeremy3drobinson]

Strange days👍, Dredd👍, Total Recall👍, Minority Report😐, Robocop👍, Ghost in a Shell👍, Akira😐, Terminator👍, Matrix👍, Dark City👍, Blade Runner + 2049👍, Missed - Cherry 2000 👍, Aeon Flux👍, Fifth Element👍