Nishitha Dutta
Netflix’s ‘Outside the Wire’ manages to evoke curiosity in the hearts of audiences. It is military-themed, with scope for unrestricted action and thrill. What gives the story its edge is the “technology-meets-human” officer Leo (Anthony Mackie). He teams up with Lt. Thomas Harp (Damson Idris) to find a weapon that could potentially destroy the world. The movie kicks off with Thomas releasing a missile that kills two men and ends up saving 38.
But death is undoubtedly more controversial than life. Hence, he is banished to a demilitarized zone called McDaniel Camp. Together, the two protagonists learn more about the true meaning of life, death, and everything in between. With so many movies adopting futuristic tropes to tell their stories, we have curated a list of movies with similar themes. You can watch some of these movies like ‘Outside the Wire’ on Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime.
6. Westworld (1973)
‘Westworld’ kicks off with a scientific breakthrough achieved through the inception of an android based amusement park. The park is created for humans to excavate, entertain, and enjoy. But a code in the system goes haywire, and the androids gradually rise to power, challenging the survival of humans. ‘Westworld’ is a universe where humans and androids co-exist, although not peacefully. ‘Outside the Wire’ delineates a similar theme, with scores of robots working for a military establishment.
5. Lucy (2014)
‘Lucy‘ is a slow-burning tale of the titular protagonist’s (Scarlett Johansson) gradual transformation into a mutant. She slowly finds herself divorced from the physical world and what it means to be human. Lucy also experiences a lack of empathy as she becomes tougher and meaner. With a more nuanced outlook on the characteristics of a mutant, it slightly deviates from ‘Outside the Wire’s collective robot display. But Leo’s more pronounced disposition as an android can be compared to Lucy’s singlehanded endeavor as a mutant in serving her purpose.
4. I, Robot (2004)
Set in 2035, the world is protected and preserved by a steeled army of robots. A homicide detective, Del Spooner (Will Smith), starts to despise their existence after an encounter with one of these humanoids. However, his hatred might be justified. There is hence more to it than what meets the eye. Wherever there is technology, there is bound to be destruction. Both ‘I, Robot’ and ‘Outside the Wire’ highlight that. The latter takes place in a world whose survival depends upon a doomsday device schemed to destroy everything. There are robots rampantly causing destruction too, regardless of which side of morality they support.
3. The Terminator (1984)
James Cameron’s directorial breakthrough, ‘The Terminator,’ is about a mysterious cyborg (Arnold Schwarzenegger) that drops on the face of the Earth to kill a hoard of women named Sarah Connor. In time, it is revealed to be a part of Skynet, an artificial intelligence network that plans to initiate nuclear warfare. The only aspect that limits the human body’s seamless potential to achieve everything is physical strength. That’s precisely why computers are molded into humanoids, subsequently sent to cause destruction. ‘The Terminator’ and ‘Outside the Wire’ carry the same idea behind their respective stories.
2. Transformers (2007)
The world is (figuratively) split into two as the Autobots and Decepticons indulge in a war against each other. These robot races are in search of the Allspark, a gateway to infinite power. A Decepticon named Blackout attacks a United States military base in Qatar to search for the Allspark. The coordinates to its whereabouts eventually end up with a high school student Sam (Shia LaBeouf), who then decides to team up with the Autobots.
Everyone knows that ‘Transformers‘ features robots that shapeshift into cars. With stylish graphics and jaw-dropping action sequences, humans and robots engage in a severe exhibition of power. ‘Outside the Wire’ showcases the same elements, but with humans as the more centralized breed.
1. Blade Runner (1982)
Directed by Ridley Scott, ‘Blade Runner‘ is about a group of humanoids called replicants that land on earth to find their creator. Known as a blade runner, Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) is assigned to remove these four uninvited entities with the help of a test that distinguishes humans from replicants. In his quest to terminate them, he is haunted by the mission’s questionable moral aspects and resorts to finding answers.
‘Blade Runner’ is, at its core, a profound and philosophical outlook on the human psyche. Why did humans engineer a despicable breed of humanoids if they only meant to wage war against them? It is also replete with striking visuals that are lauded for their timeless appeal. One of the best things about ‘Outside the Wire’ is its military raids that are brilliantly represented against unmatched Hungarian aesthetics.
Read More: Outside the Wire Ending, Explained
