10 Best Movies About Computers That You Should Watching Update 04/2024

Movies About Computers

These days, there are a lot of wonderful movies about computer programmers, such The Matrix and Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and The Imitation Game.

Movies on computer programmers abound, whether they’re science fiction films about a virtual reality or biopics about some of history’s most famous inventors. Films about computer programming are surprising to find among all the superhero fare currently playing in theaters.

As a novelty in the 1980s and 1990s, today’s audiences are living in the computer-driven society that was foreshadowed by those films. Rather than cyberpunk action flicks about hacking, movies are now focusing on genuine stories about hacking.

1. The Fifth Estate (2013) – 6.2

The Fifth Estate (2013)

Assange (Benedict Cumberbatch) is Julian Assange, a real-life WikiLeaks activist and computer programmer. An anonymous user can release government secrets on his website, but his life is turned into an action-packed thriller in the film.

Because of this, the film may not have received the same level of critical acclaim as some of the others on this list, as it depends more on melodrama and less on actual facts.

While he stars in The Fifth Estate, Benedict Cumberbatch also portrays Alan Turing in The Imitation Game, a film about Turing’s life.

2. The Internship (2013) – 6.3

The Internship, on the other hand, is a lighthearted comedy about two naive college students who somehow land an internship at Google. Considering that the entire movie is about how awesome Google is, it’s one of the rare films that makes decent use of product placement.

There are better comedies out there, but anyone who is a fan of Google’s campuses would like The Internship because of how it showcases the company’s facilities. Between the Google bikes and the sleep pods in the movie, it is a successful commercial.

3. Swordfish (2001) – 6.5

Swordfish (2001)

Swordfish is a cross between Ocean’s Eleven and The Matrix. Even the green color palette is reminiscent of The Matrix, with its leather-clad protagonists and hackers, as well as a similar cyberpunk design.

The movie portrays a squad of bank robbers, just like Ocean’s Eleven, but they require the greatest computer programmer they can get their hands on in order to snatch $9.5 billion.

Swordfishmay not be everyone’s favorite heist movie, but the late ’90s aesthetic and innovative take on the genre make it worth revisiting.

4. Tron (1982) – 6.8

A number of reasons exist for programmers to enjoy Tron. Kevin Flynn is a computer programmer and video game creator who finds himself sucked into the software that he has been creating.

The software’s mainframe is a fantastical universe filled with amazing visual effects and interactive elements. The most important thing to remember about Tron is that it was one of the first films to make substantial use of computer-generated imagery (CGI).

5. WarGames (1983) – 7.1

WarGames (1983)

WarGames may not have been the most well-received film when it came out, but it was extremely ahead of its time. The story revolves around a young hacker who acquires access to a military-owned supercomputer.

Hackers have recently emerged as a big concern due to the volume of sensitive data they can access. WarGames and its main character David (Matthew Broderick) foresaw the future of computer presents for children as early as the 1990s. WarGames and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, another Broderick vehicle from the 1980s, share a similar plot device: hacking into the student database.

6. Steve Jobs (2015) – 7.2

Aaron Sorkin, who wrote The Social Network and Steve Jobs, has created two more films about programmers. Even though he is writing about two of the most well-known computer scientists, Sorkin’s approach to them is unique, as he cares more about their flaws as people than about their groundbreaking work.

Both Steve Jobs and Jobs, a biopic of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, were released at the same time. However, the Danny Boyle-directed film, written and directed by Aaron Sorkin, was the clear winner, thanks in part to the film’s structure. The plot of the 2015 film is divided into three acts, each of which centers on a new product launch.

7. The Social Network (2010) – 7.7

The Social Network (2010)

However, while portraying one of the most renowned self-made billionaires in a less than favorable light, The Social Networkis still one of the most inspiring movies for programmers to see. The film follows the founder of Facebook as he creates the website, spending the most of his days coding it from the ground up. That is, when he isn’t out having fun.

In the film, the Winklevoss twins’ idea for Facebook grows from a seed to a social networking site with more than 500 million users. In addition, with more than three billion people already using the social networking website, fans are eagerly anticipating The Social Network 2.

8. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2011) – 7.8

Director David Fincher is behind both The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and The Social Network, as the glossy visuals and similarly frosty score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross make abundantly clear. The main characters of both stories are computer programmers, which is the only other thing they have in common.

Lisbeth Salander is a computer hacker who works with Mikael to solve a murder mystery. Lisbeth’s vengeance on her assailant is fulfilling, even though seeing her struggle to accomplish it is difficult at times.

9. The Imitation Game (2014) – 8.0

The Imitation Game (2014)

There would be no programmers today if it weren’t for Alan Turing, who did everything but build the computer.

In spite of the disapproval of certain critics, The Imitation Game’s depiction of a real-life Nazi scientist’s pivotal involvement in World War II is one of the best films of the year.

As a gay man in the 1950s, Turing’s personal life is also depicted in The Imitation Game, as he was forced to undergo chemical castration for his sexual orientation. As in the film, his life ended tragically even though he was the man who invented the computer.

10. The Matrix (1999) – 8.7

The Matrix, with its leather jackets and sunglasses, is a fantastic illustration of cyberpunk.

Anderson used to be a computer programmer by the name of Thomas, but what follows is a groundbreaking high-concept about a virtual world full of spectacular action.

The Matrix Resurrections, the fourth film in the series, will be released in the second half of 2021. Neo appears to have lost his memory of The Matrix in the teaser, so it’s possible he’s back to being a programmer.