What's with all the swords? [closed]

When I think "Knight", I kinda think "Sword". Plus, the Transformers story is supposed to be intertwined with the King Arthur legend.

And if you watched Wonder Woman, you know that the sword came from the Gods, and that whole Greek mythology thing predates the Crimean Wars.

Not sure about Cars 3, though. ;o)

Sword are impractical once you have cartridge ammunition and multi-round capabilities with firearms (revolvers, magazines, etc.) That said, soldiers still carry short blades as a backup, and are trained in their use.

In all of the examples you list, there are in-universe rules that make swords feasible. For instance, Wonder Woman can block bullets with her bracelets, and has a bullet-proof shield.

Swords have a unique property in that they can sever, which is a highly effective form of neutralization of threat. You might be able to shoot a transformers arm off, but you can definitely chop it off. So if you can close with the opponent without being shot down, the sword is useful.

But mainly:

• Swords are cool, and have symbolic and aesthetic value.

QT does an interesting thing in Kill Bill, where the only scene that has a mushy, "romantic" feeling is when Hanz? brings Beatrix up to the attic to see all of his swords. The way she approaches them is almost a parody of the idea of the wonder of first love.

You omitted the great auteur Del Toro's Pacific Rim, which makes a good case that with Kaiju, you sometimes have to "duke it out", and in that scenario, swords are very effective. Doesn't mean the giant robot isn't going to pump some plasma rounds through the Kaiju's thoracic cavity if the operators get the chance, but the cannon, though powerful, in this case takes time to charge and has a lot of moving parts.

• Swords are simple and reliable

You may also be interested in the 1995 film Screamers, based on a short story by Philip K. Dick, the visionary behind Blade Runner, Total Recall, Minority Report, and Scanner Darkly. The plot of Screamers involves "Autonomous Mobile Swords" (AMS) which are intelligent, self-replicating machines that hunt down human soldiers.

In Dick's take, guns aren't particularly effective against the AMS, which are compact, and can travel underground.