Virtual reality platforms are the future of human interactions. And while the actual technology is still quite far in the unforeseeable future, our species created a ton of movies that try to capture its essence. For over more than two decades, directors have created movies in such fictional worlds that might be our future in the coming centuries. These adventurous movies call out to audiences at a large scale because who doesn’t want to experience virtual realities? Even though it is only for a little time. Here are 10 of the best virtual reality movies including The Matrix and Inception:
10. SPACE JAM: A NEW LEGACY
Space Jam: A New Legacy was a reboot of the classic Space Jam and it was a worthy one. The movie brought together the best characters from the world of cartoons in a single virtual reality. The movie may not have done that great with the critics but cartoon fans loved it. Space Jam: A New Legacy fulfilled the fans’ dreams to the fullest.
9. TRON: LEGACY
The visually fantastic sequel to the original Tron film, Tron: Legacy, successfully portrayed the original movie in virtual reality. The 2010 movie tackled a major issue for humanity in the case of virtual reality worlds becoming a reality. Critics may have disliked the movie but its outlook on the virtual world of Tron was quite intriguing.
8. ENDER’S GAME
The 2013 movie gives its viewers a moment of thinking as it goes through the dark impacts of technology on humanity’s future. The movie focuses on the path we are going on as we make breakthroughs after breakthroughs in virtual realities. It explains how we are on a downward spiral to a tech war.
7. WRECK-IT RALPH
The second of the animated entries in this list, Wreck-It Ralph gave its viewers an experience of a lifetime. The movie revolves around Ralph, a bad but beloved guy, who embarks on a journey to become one of the good ones. The 2012 movie showed us how it feels to be in a video game with details that caused many film creators to attempt to recreate this experience.
6. READY PLAYER ONE
When many movies try to focus on the bad aspects of virtual realities, Ready Player One defies them. The movie portrayed virtual reality-based video games as a way to escape from the evils of society. Don’t get me wrong, the movie does explain certain bad effects of VR, while also explaining how we can stay away from them and focus on the good parts.
5. JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE
The 2017 movie entirely changes the concept of its predecessor by bringing the real characters into a virtual world with new bodies and abilities. While Jumanji was appealing to a lot of people looking for adventure, this movie appealed to those who saw video games as an escape from reality.
4. TOTAL RECALL
The oldest entry in this list, Total Recall (1990), attempted to create a virtual world when it wasn’t cool. The movie presented the lead characters with a dilemma of guessing what’s real and what’s not. Like many movies on the list, this Schwarzenegger-starring is filled with action and fight sequences. This movie is known for laying the groundwork for future movies based on VR. There was even a reboot for this successful movie in 2024 but it didn’t quite land like the original one.
3. FREE GUY
The Ryan Reynolds-starrer 2021 movie, Free Guy, was a constant laugh-fest, as it was expected to be with Reynolds. The movie picked up an age-old plot of self-sustaining NPCs in virtual reality and presented it positively. The movie had a survival-based theme where an NPC had to complete his adventure to save his virtual world. Free Guy, despite being released during the pandemic, did very well among critics and audiences, alike.
2. THE MATRIX
One of the most well-known virtual reality movies, The Matrix, can put its viewers in a deep existential crisis. The movie makes you wonder whether the world you are living in is real or just a computer program created by an advanced species. The movie owes its success to the ahead-of-its-time story and some awesome visual effects. The fourth part in this franchise just hit the theatres. However, its failure in the box office can be related to its unnecessary additions to the main story.
1. INCEPTION
Sitting at number, Christopher Nolan-directed, Inception, deserves the love it gets. The movie breaks the norm that only video games can give us virtual reality. Even our dreams are a virtual reality on their own. Dreams are whatever the dreamer wants them to be, but Nolan tries to alter them in this awesome movie.
So these are the best virtual reality movies we’ve witnessed so far. Which of them is your favorite? Let us know in the comments.
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