Whether it’s the relationship between a human and a machine, love between robots, or a cloned partner cheating death, science-fiction has always proved a fertile ground for out-of-this-world love stories. Futuristic technology, just on the grasp of humanity, provides the ability to reverse tragedy or replace humans altogether, creating cinematic stories steeped in impossible love and ethical dilemma.

One such film is Replicas, a new sci-fi starring Keanu Reeves and Alice Eve. Reeves stars as Will Foster, a daring neuroscientist on the verge of successfully transferring human consciousness into a robot body. When his beloved wife (Alice Eve) and three children are tragically killed in a car crash, Will can’t accept the loss and will do anything to bring them back… even if it means preserving their minds and transferring them into secretly-grown clone bodies. Offering a fresh take on the Frankenstein myth, Replicas is a sci-fi thriller about family, loss and a man who’ll stop at nothing to be with the woman he loves.

So join us on an emotional rollercoaster as we explore six of the best modern sci-fi films about futuristic love. Don’t forget to bring a tissue.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

Quirky director Michel Gondry’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind traces the relationship between Joel (Jim Carey) and Clementine (Kate Winslett), an estranged couple who have had their failed relationship erased from their memories, when they unknowingly get back together

and fall in love all over again. Gondry and screenwriter Charlie Kaufman employ a non-linear narrative which cuts between the couple’s two different timeframes with great effect and creates an experience that is both bewildering and beautiful. The film was released to wide critical acclaim and picked up an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. For a fascinating cinematic journey exploring love and loss, look no further.

WALL-E (2008)

WALL-E comes from the animation powerhouse of Disney’s Pixar Animation Studios and tells the story of WALL-E, the last surviving robot on an uninhabited Earth in the twenty-ninth century. One day his usual daily routine is interrupted when EVE, an unmanned robotic probe, is sent to survey the planet. WALL-E soon falls for EVE in an unlikely and emotional love story that spans the universe. With very little dialogue and no human main characters, WALL-E is an unconventional take on a traditional love story about two machines from very different worlds. The film was a critical and commercial hit, making over $500 million worldwide and shows us that poignant and emotional cinema doesn’t need humans to make it a success.

Clone (2010)

Clone (known as Womb in the US) tells the story of a woman who’s love dies in a tragic accident so she takes the decision to clone him, raising him from infancy to adult. The film is a German-Hungarian-France from director Benedek Fliegauf, who cast Eva Green and Matt Smith in the two central roles. Combining the sci-fi theme of human cloning with Freudian Oedipality, Clone is moving and fascinating drama that explores how far humans are willing to go for love, a theme also used to great effect in Replicas. Recommended.

Her (2013)

Spike Jonze has enjoyed critical acclaim throughout his career with successes including Being, John Malkovich and Adaptation but had his biggest hit to date with romantic sci-fi Her. In the film Jaoquin Phoenix stars as Theadore, a depressed introvert in the process of divorce from his childhood sweetheart. One day lonely Theodore purchases a new computer operating system which includes a virtual assistant containing artificial intelligence with the ability to learn and adapt. Theodore gives the assistant a female voice, names her Samantha (voiced by Scarlett Johannsson) and slowly starts to fall in love… Jonze got the idea for the story from a website he encountered in the early 2000s that allowed the user to exchange messages with an AI. Who wouldn’t fall in love with a digital ScarJo?

Ex Machina (2014)

The Beach author Alex Garland had written hit sci-fi screenplays Sunshine and 28 Days Later when he turned his hand to directing with Ex Machina. Upping the ante from Her, Ex Machina sees an AI mind developed into a full female humanoid robot in the shape of Alicia Vikander. The robots creator (Oscar Isaacs, Star Wars: The Force Awakens) invites a young programmer to his isolated home to test whether the machine’s behaviour is indistinguishable from a human. Of course, it’s not long before the guest starts to fall for his subject… Vikander made for an incredible robot with only her face appearing fully human while the body revealed the moving machine skeleton underneath thanks to some Academy Award-winning visual effects.

Passengers (2016)

Passengers is an intergalactic romance with two of Hollywood’s hottest stars Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy) and Jennifer Lawrence (The Hunger Games) falling for each other while stranded in space. The pair play a couple of adventurous travellers who agree to board a ship and enter hibernation pods to sleep through a 120-year trip through space. When Pratt’s pod malfunctions opening too early he’s stuck adrift and alone until he makes the fateful decision to open the pod of a fellow passenger who he’s fallen for… Replicas producer Stephen Hamel was one of the producers behind the film, which picked up two Academy Award nominations. A lifetime alone with Chris Pratt or J-Law? Doesn’t sound too bad!

Replicas is available on Digital Download from April 22, and Blu-ray and DVD from April 29.

Amazon DVD: https://amzn.to/2HHvqsE

Amazon Blu-ray: https://amzn.to/2HDmaFK

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