Power Rankings: Cyberpunk Films

The SAW Power Rankings is our weekly ranking of a certain movie-related topic. Please feel free to comment on our rankings and provide a list of your own in the comments below.

 

“Classic cyberpunk characters were marginalized, alienated loners who lived on the edge of society in generally dystopic futures where daily life was impacted by rapid technological change, an ubiquitous datasphere of computerized information, and invasive modification of the human body.” Lawrence Person, editor of sci-fi magazine Nova Express.

Cyberpunk films exploded in the ’80s with genre-defining movies like Blade Runner (1982), Videdrome (1983) and The Terminator (1984). It’s difficult to put the genre in a box but usually, they deal with a central conflict among artificial intelligence, hackers, and megacorporations, and tend to be set in a near-future Earth. Seeing how ‘Blade Runner’ is Now, we decided to rank some of our favorite Cyberpunk films. Let us know some of your favorites down in the comments!

Vincent Kane:

  1. Videodrome (1983)
  2. The Matrix (1999)
  3. Total Recall (1990)
  4. The Fifth Element (1997)
  5. Ex Machina (2014)

Billy Dhalgren:

  1. Blade Runner (1982)
  2. The Terminator (1984)
  3. Ghost in the Shell (1995)
  4. Strange Days (1995) 
  5. Code 46 (2003)

Sailor Monsoon:

  1. Akira (1988)
  2. Ghost in the Shell (1995)
  3. The Matrix (1999)
  4. Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
  5. Strange Days (1995)

Lee McCutcheon:

  1. Akira (1988)
  2. The Matrix (1999)
  3. Blade Runner (1982)
  4. Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
  5. Upgrade (2018)

Saint Pauly:

  1. Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
  2. The Matrix (1999)
  3. Blade Runner (1982)
  4. Strange Days (1995)
  5. Dredd (2012)

Bob Cram Jr.:

  1. Videodrome (1983)
  2. Blade Runner (1982)
  3. The Matrix (1999)
  4. Dark City (1998)
  5. Akira (1988)

Romona Comet:

  1. Blade Runner (1982)
  2. Dark City (1998)
  3. Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
  4. Snowpiercer (2013)
  5. Hackers (1995)

DryButSoupy:

  1. Strange Days (1995)
  2. Freejack (1992)
  3. Johnny Mnemonic (1995)
  4. Blade Runner (1982)
  5. The Matrix (1999)

Author: Vincent Kane

I hate things.