50 Essential Sci-Fi Films of the 21st Century (So Far)

In 2022, Jim Archer’s loveable sci-fi comedy Brian and Charles finally brought David Earle and Chris Hayward’s fictional comedy duo to the big screen after over a decade of stand-up adjacent work in character, and it delivered on all fronts.

Set in rural Wales, the film focuses on ragged inventor Brian Gittins (Earle), who lives a lonely and somewhat reclusive life making madcap machines that usually fail spectacularly - suffice to say, the flying cuckoo clock ends in flames - but after finding a mannequin head and an old washing machine, he clobbers together an AI robot that actually works for once. The rickety, lumbering robot’s name is Charles Petrescu (Hayward), and he wants nothing more than to get out of the house, explore his surroundings, and jet off to Honolulu.

Relying fully on Earle’s and Hayward’s well-drawn characters to propel it forward, Archer infuses the film with a down-to-earth Britishness that keeps every scene feeling delightfully familiar. In all, Brian and Charles is hilarious, heartwarming, and shows that you don’t need anything fancy to make a decent sci-fi flick.