Sci-fi begins with robots, appearing as early as Fritz Lang’s visionary
Metropolis (1927) and its sashaying metal vixen. For the most part, movie robots are pretty intelligent: steering ships, translating alien dialects and making actors like Mark Hamill look decent. Still, some of them should be sent back to the lab for reprogramming or at least an oil change. Don’t be fooled by the blinking lights, complicated knobs and killer breakdance moves: Some robots make better scrap parts.