Karry
Best movie of this year hands down!
Vashirdfel
Simply A Masterpiece
InformationRap
This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.
Eric Stevenson
This movie tells the story of a robot known as Johnny 5 who gains emotions upon being hit by lightning. Actually, they don't say his name until the very end. The visuals are rather nice. It is kind of awkward to watch this because it's hard to tell which parts are supposed to be funny. A lot of it is really goofy and it's difficult to even determine which parts of the movie are supposed to be serious. We do get some pretty talented actors here. I will say that I'm annoyed by this one Indian guy. From what I heard, that's not a real Indian playing him so it does come off as pretty offensive.I can understand why a lot of people like this film. For me, it's just meh. The special effects hold up fairly well. It's pretty easy to think that this character's design inspired the title character from "Wall-E". Yeah, that's a much better movie. Most of the story doesn't make much sense and it does get kind of repetitive. It doesn't really have anything that unique and that is something that I look for in the sheer number of movies I've seen. It's pretty fine for what it is. **1/2
Gracie Lou Who
In simplistic terms, kid movies are cute; they can make people of all ages laugh (occasionally cry even) and they evoke a feeling of happiness deep inside that can stir up the inner-kid voice in any individuals' heart. In 1986, "Short Circuit" was released. It is the tale of a robot strictly made for military purposes who happens to get struck by lightning and afterwards develops human-like characteristics. As he becomes self-aware, the robot (named Number Five) escapes the NOVA laboratory compound, now on the run from the scientists he fears will capture and "kill" him. "Short Circuit" certainly captured my heart and it should be recommended to everyone looking for an enjoyable movie filled with many opportunities for a good laugh. Alas, besides being a "cutesy" movie, "Short Circuit" doesn't contain much depth or intricacy after that; the three main supporting characters are simple, with only a single defining characteristic to their personalities and the plot follows a very basic structural outline.Stephanie, Newton, and Skroeder are the three main supporting characters that were mentioned above; more or less, they are flat, 2-D characters. Stephanie is an animal pacifist; her only role is to show Number Five some compassion and protect him from harm. Newton is a scientist, so his character role is to track down Number Five, study him, and make sense of these human-characteristics. And finally, Skroeder is the ultimate brawn behind the capture mission so his only role is to annihilate Number Five. Each character represents a single idea and solely keeps to that lone idea throughout the entire film; thus there are no other significant characteristic differences between the characters. Likewise, the plot is quite similar: it is not overly complex by any means and really only follows an easy, skeletal outline. There's an initial event that takes place in the beginning and that event is followed by a cat-chase-mouse action sequence which lasts nearly the entire movie. It's very similar to the television cartoon, "Tom and Jerry." The cartoon is based upon a cat, Tom, chasing a mouse, Jerry; likewise, Skroeder and Newton chase after Stephanie and Number Five. Then, at the very end of the movie, there is (of course) a happily ever after resolution causing the film to leave a warm and pleasant feeling in the watchers' heart. "Short Circuit" is a simple story of the "good guys vs. the bad guys," with the moral of the story being: all life is important and it's erroneous to kill. If you happen to be searching for a movie with an overly deep plot and complex characters, you'll want to look elsewhere. "Short Circuit" is a humorous, lovable, simplistic kids' movie. Should anything more than that be expected of it?
danielbloome
This is a great classic comedy. I know, I know, it's not like it's a brilliant work of cinematic history or anything, and Steve Guttenberg is hardly the greatest actor of his generation, but if you are looking for just a fun movie with some cheap laughs that won't make you think too much, this is a great pick. Especially if it's for the whole family, because Short Circuit is definitely family friendly (for the most part).One thing we didn't appreciate was that Fisher Stevens was playing a silly comic-relief character, a nerdy scientist from India who talks with a stereotypical old Indian accent and just doesn't understand things and is super socially awkward. But I guess that was okay in the eighties.Fun times!
utgard14
A robot made self-aware after being struck by lightning runs away from the military weapons testing facility where it is set to be disassembled. The robot, called Number 5, meets a woman (Ally Sheedy), who befriends it and tries to help it. As the military hunt for the escaped robot, two scientists (Steve Guttenberg, Fisher Stevens) try to find it first.A heartfelt sci-fi comedy that's funny, positive, and extremely entertaining. How cool was that robot? Old school effects are remarkable. People built these things by hand, you know? There's just something so much more effective and impressive about that than CGI effects. The cast is really good. Sheedy and Guttenberg are both likable leads. Fisher Steven is a lot of fun. Guttenberg's Police Academy co-star G.W. Bailey plays to type as he did so often in the '80s. Such a fun movie. I had a big goofy grin on my face the whole time I was watching this.I recently read a review of this movie that trashed it. The reviewer's main reasons for doing so were based on how unrealistic it was. He went on and on about how robots aren't capable of this and that. It made me very sad for him because I know he must not have any friends. If you are reading this and you view Short Circuit the same way that reviewer does, please do yourself a favor -- go out, meet some people, have some adventures, enjoy life. Then come back and watch Short Circuit and see if the stick up your ass is gone yet.
