Watching old movies can give us a snapshot not just of the era, but also of what old films considered innovative and modern. While dated clothing is always a lark, old tech has a certain charm. If you’re a geek and, I mean, look at the website you’re on, you’re probably fascinated anytime a CRT monitor or DOS-style prompt populates an older movie, whether you lived through that era or not.

Old tech in classic movies can have both an amusement for the nostalgia and the insight into the limitations of visual effects and filmmaking ideas of different eras. There’s as much history as there is hilarity in films with tech we wouldn’t even dream of using in the 2020s for anything more than historical purposes. These are the films with tech so dated they’re kinda cute in all their speculative glory.

In this sequel to the Stanley Kubrick sci-fi classic, 2010: The Year We Make Contact finds a space crew investigating what happened on the Discovery One mission. Their adventure takes them to Jupiter, where they’ll encounter the murderous computer HAL 9000 and many more of the mysterious black monoliths. With any luck, some answers will be found and a peace reached between the Americans and Soviets.

Despite being made over a decade after Kubrick’s masterpiece, the nine years skipped ahead in this film didn’t bring much technological innovation. The spaceships still look like they’re from the 1960s instead of the 1980s, although their CRT monitors boast some more advanced graphics, by ‘80s standards at least. Given the advancements in both science fiction and science fact since 2001: A Space Odyssey, this sequel didn’t carry as much luster, where even HAL feels like a dusty old computer nemesis.

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2010: The Year We Make Contact depicts the events following 2001 as a new crew of space explorers aims to uncover the mysteries of the universe in our solar system.

9

Runaway

In a rare case of a film written and directed by Michael Crichton, Runaway takes place in a future where runaway robots are a danger to society. Tom Selleck plays Sgt. Jack Ramsay, tasked with tracking down these robots alongside his new partner, Karen Thompson (Cynthia Rhodes). While the robots they target are thought to be malfunctioning, it turns out they’re being reprogrammed by some sinister force seeking to carry out murder.

Even though the film is meant to take place in the near future of 1991, Runaway comes off as a 1980s setting trying too hard to look futuristic in the cheapest ways. The costumes, props, and advanced tech of this future are so ridiculous that even Doctor Who would blush at the ridiculous staging. Despite some surprising roles by Gene Simmons and Kirstie Alley, it’s hard to look at this dated sci-fi film as anything more than Dollar Store Blade Runner.

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Runaway depicts a future where cops track down malfunctioning robots.

8

Alien

Space truckers of the future find themselves coming across a strange alien ship. After encountering the alien eggs, the crew of the Nostromo become victims of a vicious alien with acid for blood and able to procreate through human bodies. The crew fight to survive in this vicious scenario where there’s no escape aboard an en route spaceship.

Alien still holds up as a sci-fi horror classic, but while its frights and effects have stood the test of time, the dated 1970s technology definitely brings a smirk to the face. Although there’s clearly a rustic quality to this sci-fi tale, there’s also some hilarity for a future where starships are still using dated systems that look like a cross between an Atari console and DOS-style operating system. For being so dated, it’s a charm that remains, where the recent Alien prequel series, Alien: Earth, reflected this technology.

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Alien finds a space cargo crew targeted by a strange alien threatening their survival aboard a starship.

7

Strange Days

Strange Days is an underrated sci-fi thriller from director Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker). The movie takes place in the near-future where memories are recorded and can be shared through a tech advancement known as SQUID (Superconducting QUantum Interference Device). But SQUID dealer Lenny Nero (Ralph Fiennes) has happened upon a murder, forcing him to solve the case as the millennium nears on New Year’s Eve.

Strange Days isn’t too far-fetched for imagining a world where everything is recorded, reflecting the usage of our smartphones and bodycams by police officers. What is dated is the ridiculous device for viewing these memories (an attachment to the forehead) and the way these memories are sold, more like bootleg tapes out of somebody’s van. Bigelow’s film is rather amusing because it half-guessed the future, even if it didn’t arrive in 1999, as this film speculates.

6

Hackers

Dade Murphy has been a sacker since his tweens and was banned from computers throughout his teen years. After turning 18, he dives straight back into the wild world of hackers, where he befriends fellow teen hackers Acid Burn (Angelina Jolie), Lord Nikon (Laurence Mason), and Cereal Killer (Matthew Lillard). Together, they’ll shake up the world and defy authorities by hacking into the toughest systems on the planet to accomplish their battle cry of “Hack the planet!”

Hackers is such a goofy film with how hard it tries to make being a hacker seem like the most stylish punk movement. From big-screen arcade games to trippy CGI depictions of data centers, this film was so bombastic in making hackers cool. A major credit to the film is that even when realizing computer hacking will never be this awesome, it’s still a fun film for the prospect that it might’ve been, where hacking would make you a rocking rebel.

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Hackers is a thrilling depiction of 1990s rebel hackers trying to hack back against the world that has left them behind.

5

Total Recall

Based on the short story by Philip K. Dick, Total Recall envisions a future where vacations can be taken in the form of an implanted memory. Douglas Quaid (Arnold Schwarzenegger) goes to the Recall program for a chance to experience the fantasy of being a secret agent. But his mind becomes distorted as he is thrown into a conspiracy where he’s not sure if he’s really on a mission to Mars or experiencing a simulated scenario.

While Total Recall has some high-concept ideas about reality and identity, it’s futuristic details are rather silly. There’s some impractical devices like TV windows and a lifelike mask that explodes for some reason. But the greatest absurdity comes in the form of Johnny Cab, an automated taxi service piloted by a chatty and annoying driver. Given that Johnny ultimately attempts murder when he malfunctions, those self-driving cars don’t seem as anxiety inducing on a social level.

4

Back to the Future II

While Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) might’ve safely escaped 1955 Hill Valley, he faces a new threat when his pal Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) informs him of a danger that lies in 2015. Traveling further in time, Brown reveals a problem with Marty’s family that needs to be resolved. Unfortunately, Marty’s amazement with the future alters his future, where his nemesis, Biff, has taken over in a big way.

Back to the Future II boasts even more eye-popping visual effects than the first film for its wild depiction of the future. But in this bonkers imagining of 2015, there’s some ridiculously dated tech involving printed newspapers, multiscreen televisions, a 1980s-style dinner with moving CRT monitors, and a holographic movie advertisement for yet another Jaws sequel. That said, I’d still like a proper hoverboard and dehydrated food that cooks in a massive Pizza Hut pizza in seconds.

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Back to the Future Part II features Marty trying to save the future and his present from the evil bully Biff, who could mess up his timeline.

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Johnny Mnemonic

Before Keanu Reeves was diving into The Matrix, he was a data delivery boy in Johnny Mnemonic. As the titular protagonist, Keanu’s character is tasked with holding valuable data inside his head to transport secretly. But the latest batch of data could be fatal if he doesn’t find vital passwords. He’ll need to rely on the help of the bodyguard Jane (Dina Meyer) to avoid the assassins who want the data inside Johnny’s head.

Johnny Mnemonic has a hilarious data concept, considering we have far better alternatives for data transfer. Sending information through the cloud or small USB drives seems far less headache-inducing than storing it inside a neural implant. It’s amusing to imagine a future where transferring files essentially requires a weird futuristic version of FedEx.

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Johnny Mnemonic follows the adventures of a data delivery man who has valuable digital data stored in an implant inside his mind.

2

The Lawnmower Man

Virtual reality might be the key to improving intelligence in The Lawnmower Man. That’s what scientist Lawrence Angelo (Pierce Brosnan) is hoping for when he decides to test out this experiment on the disabled gardener, Jobe (Jeff Fahey). What Lawrence does count on is Jobe becoming a sentient figure that will transcend the mortal and digital realm.

I’ll admit that the CGI of The Lawnmower Man initially frightened me as a kid for Jobe’s furious face on a digital being bound for dominating cyberspace. Looking back on it now, Jobe’s low-polygon world looks rather silly, even with the dark premise of killing people through his cyberspace powers. There’s also the clunky virtual reality hardware and the strangest moment of Jobe killing a woman through low-poly virtual sex.

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The Lawnmower Man is a cyber thriller about a man with low intelligence who has his intelligence improved by virtual reality, transforming him into a digital monster.

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Blade Runner

The Los Angeles of 2019 is a darker, grimier place with towering skyscrapers and constant rain. Lurking in the rain are escaped Replicants, engineered beings with lifespans that are searching for more time. Detective Rick Deckard of the Blade Runner unit is trying to stop these killers. But his investigation into stopping these fugitive Replicants leads him to question his own perceptions of identity.

While director Ridley Scott put incredible detail into his futuristic world of Blade Runner, some of the future tech still seems silly compared to what we have in 2019. Pay phones still exist in a video format, video evidence is still presented on bulky CRT monitors, and the only way to zoom in on photos is with a big, noisy voice-operated device. Humans might’ve mastered the creation of artificial beings with a limited lifespan, but high-definition television still looks like a few years off in this world that can make massive video billboards.

Some films may be dated in their ideas, but dated tech always has a place. Its presence reminds us of the aspirations born from creative minds and highlights how far we’ve evolved with filmmaking. You can get an education and a laugh from these old films with old technology.