Short Circuit

Short Circuit

66% Liked It
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Short Circuit

Ally Sheedy, Steve Guttenberg, Fisher Stevens, Austin Pendleton, G.W. Bailey

Number 5, one of a group of experimental military robots, undergoes a sudden transformation after being struck by lightning. He develops self-awareness, consciousness, and a fear of the reprogramming ...( read more  read more... )that awaits him back at the factory. With the help of a young woman, Number 5 tries to evade capture and convince his creator that he has truly become alive.

Id: 9361550

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Recent Reviews


  • November 3, 2009
    Now this was unique in the day, the robot used here was actually really decent and it was real!! no crappy effects it was a full blown full size prop and that made the film a classic and cult. Everyone knew of Johnny 5 haha he was huge at the time and so was this film.

    It is a t...( read more)ypical kiddie flick with baddies in black, beautiful ladies that need saving, cheesey comedy lines and tags, dumb pratfalls, robots getting hammered to pieces making the kids cry, robots coming back and beating baddies up LOL and on top of all that you have the king of the 80's Steve Guttenberg ^_^

    Its now VERY dated and poor to be honest but there is still that 80's charm that always wins the day.
  • September 21, 2009
    Welcome to the glorious 80?s when every film had Steve Guttenberg and a talking robot in it!
  • September 8, 2008
    Directed by: John Badham.
    Starring: Ally Sheedy, Steve Guttenberg, Fisher Stevens, Tim Blaney.

    << "Not a malfunction Stephanie, Number 5...is alive!" >>

    The story follows a company called Nova who manufacture a group of sophisticated robots as...( read more) weapons for future warfare, not the original intention of the actual creator. When a bolt of lightning strikes with the 5th model still attached to the generator, it begins to have a mind of its own and escapes into the real world.

    Its been too long...I remember growing up with this film and now, being 20, I think I was around 10 or so the last time I saw it. I think many need to re-watch this classic, because it still has all the magic intact.

    The film hasn't aged a day and the fact that the film is supposedly being remade is a disgrace. Whats amazing for it being made in 1986 is the superb physical robot effects without the use of CGI. There's a shot in the beginning which acts as a aerial type wide shot to show the garbage truck with Number 5 on it leaving Nova, you can clearly see him moving and ducking to avoid being seen. There's so much incredible attention to detail on this characters physical structure, it's damn near flawless, an amazing achievement that has been looked past.

    The character setup is quite amazing. Sure, some of the sub-characters are reduced to generic cut-outs, but the ones who matter are focused on...Stephanie, the 'slightly dumber than normal' woman with a big heart who accepts Number 5 as a real person. Her sweet, slightly eccentric personality and Ally Sheedy's caring performance make it all the worth while. And then of course, there's Number 5. Nowadays its Pixar who are paving the way for animals and robots to be seen as human, but many forget that Short Circuit is where it all started. The first brilliant choice made was to have him voiced by a person and not computer generated and Tim Blaney's balance between the two shows the characters changes throughout the film well. Number 5 is instantly likable, with his adolescent curiosity and funny views on those things around him, you fall in love from the first moment and he easily adapts to anyone willing to take him in, no matter what age...and I got to credit Fisher Stevens for his extremely hilarious performance as an Indian, I was surprised to also see how inoffensive he made it as well.

    I think that's the thing this film will never lose, its power. Sure, some may forget about it over the years thanks to countless new ways of trying to generate animation for the new generations, but once you see the film again, you'll remember why it was such a big part of anyone's childhood and how it still remains magical. Its definitely a movie I'd keep and show to my kids someday.
  • May 16, 2008
    E.T. as a robot. Who doesn't love robots with hearts of gold & oil.
  • May 2, 2008
    fabulous movie so cute and also funny.
  • December 28, 2009
    Hey hey.. it's number five! arguably the predecessor and inspiration to movies like Wall-E, short circuit tells the story of a robot's determination to prove that it's alive. Rather interesting movie to watch..
  • December 26, 2009
    Good film when i was little but other than that i wont say it is an amazing film now because looking at it today it is incredibly flawed
  • December 15, 2009
    It's been years but it left an impression
  • November 28, 2009
    I took my kids to see this when they were little. We all enjoyed it!
  • November 26, 2009
    I forgot how funny this damn flick is. It has lots of great throw-away lines that had me in stitches and Number 5 is so damn lovable.

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