If you dig steampunk and all its mechanical goodness, then check out this sweet list of movies you should be checking out.

Hugo

Hugo is an adventure film produced in 2011. It centers around a 12-year-old boy in 1930s Paris.

At first, he and his father are attempting to fix an automaton in a museum that can draw. But when his father dies in a fire, he is forced to live with his alcoholic uncle.

His uncle, responsible for fixing railway clocks, goes missing, forcing Hugo to take over or else be discovered.

As he continues attempting to fix the automaton using the notes he and his father collected, he is caught stealing parts from a toy maker.

It almost feels like Oliver Twist with a face lift.

The visuals on this film are incredible. The attention to detail? Definitely not lacking. And it certainly has the right taste of steampunk noir.

The fact that it has clocks, heart-shaped keys, trains, and explores dreams vs. reality, you cannot pass this up.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

This is the second film in the Robert Downey Jr. Holmes franchise, produced in 2011.

The first time I saw Robert Downey Jr. portraying Sherlock Holmes, I was highly skeptical. In fact, ANYONE not of the UK attempting this role would make me pause. By the end, not only was I pulled into the story, I wanted more.

And here it is. This second Holmesian mystery does NOT disappoint. The same witty, sassy, and visceral film style is brought to screen.

On top of that, this franchise includes an aspect of Sherlock Holmes I had never seen before–fighting. Bare knuckle fist fighting. I almost thought it a violation. Until I researched and discovered Sir Arthur Conan Doyle had included that in his novels! I guess it was deemed too guttural in past productions.

With Jude Law providing an incredible performance as Watson (and borderline stealing the show from RDJr), and Jared Harris playing Professor Moriarty, the cast is complete. You’re in for a delight.

This brutal depiction of London with all its true grit creates the perfect canvas for Holmes to solve his latest caper. Check it out!

City of Ember

Produced in 2008, City of Ember has a fascinating premise.

A society goes into hiding in an underground city to escape some immediate danger. They are given a device set to open 200 years later with key instructions. However, the device is lost and so when it opens, no one receives the message.

Several decades later and everything is beginning to fail. All their supplies are close to gone.

Centered upon two pre-teens, they discover that the mayor is hoarding food and using things to his own benefit.

Their attempt to report this turns them into fugitives who must now escape or else!

This adventurous movie (with Bill Murray and Martin Landau!) based on the middle grade novel of the same name is perfect to introduce your kids to the world of steampunk. Or…to introduce yourself!

Wild Wild West

You can’t talk about steampunk movies and ignore this little gem of fun and fantasy made way back in 1999.

Kevin Kline and Will Smith bring to the screen all the acting charm and humor you would expect.

Kevin Kline, who can really portray just about anything, puts forth his techno-enthused, matter-of-fact portrayal of U.S. Marshall Gordon.

Will Smith deftly portrays the shoot-first-and-ask-questions-later Army Captain West.

After uncovering a treasonous plot in motion against President Ulysses S. Grant, these two must do whatever they can to foil the villain’s plot.

Being a reimagining of the famous TV show of the same name from the 1960s, they take what was a much more serious “James Bond on horseback” show and dial it up as fun, witty, and humorous. You can tell everyone had fun making it.

Maybe it carries a twinge of camp, but frankly, I wouldn’t pass this one up.