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This week, rising star Alicia Vikander plays a mysterious android in “Ex-Machina.” Here are five more films that feature femme bots.
Metropolis (1927)
The Stepford Wives (2004)
Nevermind the 1975 original — Frank Oz’s “Stepford Wives” remake is so splendidly awful, it’s a wonder it doesn’t pop up on more guilty pleasure lists. In dropping a TV exec (Nicole Kidman) into an idyllic community post-nervous breakdown, the movie attempts to make a feminist statement (she’s a hardened professional; her new female neighbors are all, well … Stepford wives). It kinda works, but it’s mostly an illogical romp, in which women implanted with microchips somehow become human ATMs (among other things).
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s foil in this “Terminator” sequel isn’t a man made of liquid metal, but a woman, the T-X (Kristanna Loken), affectionately dubbed “The Terminatrix.” Loken’s Amazonian beauty makes her a perfect fit for the killer android, who can disarm a cop or dismember a victim with catlike grace.
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)
Yes, the film that gave us the “femme bot” term was this much beloved James Bond spoof, which saw Mike Myers’s eponymous swinger square off against Dr. Evil (also Myers) and his band of Barbie-doll henchwoman. You don’t want to feel up these beauties — hidden beneath fluffy pink bras are mammary machine guns!
WALL-E (2008)
It might seem silly to call an animated film about two canoodling robots one of the greatest romances of the last 10 years, but it wouldn’t be hyperbole. In this Pixar triumph, the title character, a post-apocalyptic hoover, falls hard for streamlined, egg-shaped cyberbabe, and their wordless rapport is swoon-worthy. The movie effortlessly recalls great silent-era love stories.
Contact the South Philly Review at editor@southphillyreview.com.
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