Short Circuit (Special Edition) Reviews

• Loved Number 5 - And Your Family Will Too!

  
  By A2W00XKTTF1G0Z on 2002-07-19
  Short Circuit is one of those movies that when it came out in 1985 I remembered walking out thinking what a fun film that was. Alley Sheedy and Steve Guttenberg were a great screen team. And fresh of Saturday Night Fever ad Wargames, director John Badham really showed the compassionate side of humanity. This is a warm and friendly family film for everyone.

  The plot is simple - aren't they all? The military develops a device meant for war and `first strike' and decides to take it to the officials of the government for funding. Five very unique and laser-powered robots are built. Something happens to one of them, "Number 5", during the demonstration where an electrical storm creates an electrical surge and super jolts Number 5. Guess what? He comes alive! Complete with a personality and a small amount charm. He escapes (accidentally) and befriends an animal activist Stephanie (Sheedy) while Newton (Guttenberg) is assigned to chase him down and get him back.

  Now add the adversary of the military trying to destroy him and you've got a great chase movie. Filled with laughs, bits, gags and a few scene stealing lines, this movie makes you believe that Number 5 IS alive! Some great supporting character roles and a lot of technically puppetry that would make even George Lucas jealous - the energy in this movie is great.

  The DVD extras include a commentary with the director and writers as well as the original 1985 interviews with cast and crew. This is definitely a fun family film and something everyone who likes science fiction and fantasy mixed together will enjoy this a lot!
  
  

• Five Alive

  
  By AK61LQI92GTCH on 2006-08-07
  What would you do if your $11 million killer robot suffered a serious power surge, escaped, and now, rather than blowing up tanks and troops and stuff, was out chasing butterflies and convincing animal loving Ally Sheedy that a) he's not a martian, and b) he's alive? Why, you'd send out the military/goon types to bring him back so you could disassemble him and find out what went wrong. Right?
  
  Well, disassembling a robot is an awful lot like dissecting an animal, and it doesn't take long for that ingratiating buckets of bolts who calls himself Five ("Five alive!") to figure any of that out. With the resourceful Ally on board Five is soon learning about life and eluding his bumbling pursuers. Among those in pursuit is Five's creator, Steve Guttenberg, and his vaguely Indian or Pakastani assistant Fisher Stevens. The movie indicates that there's an urgency to finding the errant robot before the guys with the guns do, but it's hard to tell - the actor Guttenberg doesn't do `urgency' terribly well, and Fisher Stevens seems an over-caffienated bundle of energy. While in most movies either character would be too much (or too little,) in SHORT CIRCUIT the two rather neatly cancel each other out.
  
  SHORT CIRCUIT is one of those movies you like despite yourself. It's corny and obvious and seemed aimed at non-discriminating 10-year-olds. Guttenberg is a cinderblock of an actor, and while I bought Five's breathless declaration - "Five alive!" - if I heard Guttenberg say it I'd probably ask for proof. Whatever humor you can milk from ineptly gung-ho military types is milked dry long before they put away their guns. Still, this one seems safe and relatively acceptable to all age groups. Sheedy's a marvel, and her scenes with Five contain whatever magic this story holds. Probably not a classic, but touching in spots. Medium strong recommendation.
  
  
  

• Cute and funny

  
  By A1VA170GUYGTB on 2006-02-26
  My eight-year-old really liked this film. It is cute and funny. Amazing how clunky the computers in the movie look today!
  
  

• "Circuit Breaks Out With Laughter"

  
  By on 1999-04-13
  "Short Circuit" is one of those motion pictures that I enjoy viewing so much about a Nova Robotics Robot named Number 5, struck by a power surge of lightning and giving him life. He suddenly escapes with a malfunction and searches for "imput". Later, he befriends a young woman named Stephanie Speck (Ally Sheedy) who gives him imput about life including animals, laughter from the Three Stooges on TV and even death (or in Number 5's case, "disassembled.") He then learns that Nova and the team want Number 5 destroyed and makes a break for it through the roads of Oregon. Steve Guttenberg plays a creator of the Nova robots when he and his friend Ben Jabituya (Fisher Stevens) look for the robot first before Howard (Austin Pendleton) and Skroeder (G.W. Bailey) does and destroy him. The show stealer is Number 5 (voiced by Tim Blaney.) The comedy Number 5 shows in "Short Circuit" will please kids as well as adults with hilarious and touching moments at times. Look for outstanding filming throughout Oregon that in my opinion is almost like driving through Arizona. TriStar Pictures, Inc./PSO Presentations, 1986, Rated PG for language and some violence.
  
  

• No. 5 is the coolest robot ever

  
  By A2QRB6L1MCJ53G on 2001-09-13
  A company called Nova has just made five military robots who can do some serious damage to bad people or anything that they need to get out of their way. However, something happens to No. 5 and he literally becomes intelligent and believe it or not, alive. No. 5 accidentally ends up at the home of a charismatic animal lover, Stephanie (Ally Sheedy). Luckily for No. 5, Stephanie grows attached to the unbelievably smart robot, and her friendship will come in handy after No. 5 finds out that a group of people want to 'disassemble' him.

  "Short Circuit" is without a doubt one of the best movies of its type from the 80's, if not of all time. It's a great comedy movie and even a better family movie. "Short Circuit" is a GREAT movie for kids to watch, but anybody of any age can enjoy it.

  "Short Circuit" is VERY original, parts of it such as when No. 5 (remember that he's a robot) watches "Saturday Night Fever" on TV and tries to dance, and several other parts, are funny. But best of all, No. 5 makes the movie more than interesting enough to watch over and over again.

  If you like comedy movies and especially if you need a great family movie that the whole family can sit down, watch, and enjoy, I recommend getting "Short Circuit." If you like this movie, I also recommend getting the sequel that is humbly named "Short Circuit 2."
  
  

• Number 5 Should Be Dead
  By on 2004-06-01
  I almost did not finish the film because Fisher Stevens' East Indian character Ben Jabituya was very annoying (It brings to mind such annoyances as Chris Tucker in THE FIFTH ELEMENT...and Jar Jar Binks doesn't seem so bad after all!). SHORT CIRCUIT is another attempt of filmakers in the 80's trying to do Disney type family films due to the success of E.T. An experimental robot is struck by lightning at an electronics lab dealing in artificial intelligence/robotics. It then takes on a life and personality of its own taking on the name "Number 5" (it's actual numerical name from a bunch of experimental robots of its class). Then (surprise!) the military gets wind of it and wants to destroy it (how many movies have we seen this plot device!). Then the race is on to save it..him. If Steven's/Jabituya character is annoying, the Robot is even more annoying once it starts talking and sprouting pop culture quips fed to it by humans thinking he's an alien. Overall, a film that has a couple of laughs with a fish-out-of-water theme along with some pathos to make the audience take out their hankerchiefs. However, in the end we really don't care about anyone in this film.
  
  
• Short Circuit - Blu-ray Info
  By AHABFECTNE15I on 2008-09-03
  Version: U.S.A / Region-A
  Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
  MPEG-4 AVC 1080i59.94
  Running time: 1:38:34
  Movie size: 17,528,340,480 bytes
  Disc size: 21,390,890,600 bytes
  Average video bit rate: 19.00 Mbps
  DTS-HD Master 5.1 2438Kbps (48kHz/16-bit) English
  DD AC3 5.1 640Kbps
  Subtitles: English SDH / Spanish
  
  #Audio Commentary
  #Cast Interviews (SD, 59 minutes)
  #The Creation of Number-5 (SD, 7 minutes)
  #Isolated Music and Effects
  #Behind-the-Scenes Featurette (SD, 3 minutes)
  #Press Kit (SD)
  
  
• A Classic Memory ... "Short Circuit"
  By A3TT4PJI6X3C95 on 2000-07-19
  "Short Circuit" is classic memory in my mind. The film is all about the funny cute robot known as, Johnny 5. Also known as #5, the film takes place with #5 getting hit by lightning and escaping a military show of new army robotics. While #5 stumbles on the homely Stephanie (Ally Sheedy) she believes he is a alien, but when she see's his trademark on his back she calls the company, then everything breaks loose as this top-secret military machine with a lovable personality may be Public Enemy #1. Also Starring - Steve Guttenburg and Fisher Stevens. Conatins - Some Violence and Language.
  
  
• Don't even bother....
  By A2TC8DVTA99GLN on 2000-09-26
  wasting your time on this lump of corn-fed ... matter. It's sooooo bad
  I thought that it might've ruined Steve Guttenberg and Ally Sheedy's
  careers....wait a minute! It did ruin their careers! Do the world a
  favor and ignore it! Let it fade away into "The Hell Of Bad
  Family Movie Ideas" like Police Academy: Mission to Moscow and
  The Wizard
  
  
  
• A personal favorite from the 80s
  By A15CVSPLQ52LC1 on 2002-11-20
  A feature with a feel I consider to be slightly different than others. This movie bases itself around a piece of machinery that becomes much more. Like many movies out there it explores concepts of AI, but further more artificial emotions. Expressed in what I feel is a highly entertaining and humorous manor, it is definately worth a viewing, and perhaps owning.
  Of course there is the draw back, of the fact the DVD is letterbox widescreen, meaning that if you have, or plan to get a widescreen TV the quality will be short of that of an anamorphic version which appears not to exist at the time, it is the sole reason for 4 versus 5 stars.
  
  
• Not one bit of creativity or fun in this awful movie
  By A1JH5J1KQAUBMP on 2002-12-07
  Struck by lightning, a powerful battle robot achieves consciousness and escapes from its creator. Pursued by the military, Number 5, as it is called, is befriended by a sweet-natured animal-loving numbskull (Ally Sheedy), the robot's reclusive inventor (Steve Guttenberg), and an offensive East Indian stereotype (Fisher Stevens). This is a very bad movie. Unlike so many other reviewers on this page, I found it to be dull and mechanical, a by-the-numbers production with a clunky and unappealing robot at its center, filled with stock characters that do and say exactly what you think they will because you've seen it all a million times before. Boo. I was shocked that the screenwriters, Brent Maddock and S.S. Wilson, are the same people who would go on to write the B-movie classic, "Tremors." They obviously improved over time.
  
  
• Image should be ashamed of this edition
  By on 2004-03-26
  Not including extras is one thing but releasing this edition without the close captioning just shows contempt for the hard of hearing.
  
  
• something for everybody
  By A358XP3X4U0X45 on 2005-03-02
  This movie can be viewed on a basic level: action, explosions, gunfire! On a "higher" level, there are the characters: Ally Sheedy's naive, ditsy lover of disadvantaged creatures, who takes in stray animals. Her wide-eyed confidence, "I KNEW you'd pick me!", when she thinks the robot is an alien visiting earth, is typical of her endearing character. The relationship to the robot is very credible. The gestures of the robot are better than E.T.'s and must have been designed by an actor.
  
  On another level, there are the political and economic implications: weapons research, the tension between congress and the military, etc.
  
  On another level, there is the wit: the Indian character's slight alterations of American cliches forces us to hear those cliches for the first time and to see how silly some of them are.
  
  Finally, for the contemplative, there is the metaphysical level: what does it mean to be alive? what is the difference between being alive and merely being functional?
  
  It would be surprising if there were anyone who couldn't find something to enjoy in this movie.
  
  
  
• Tooth-Rotting Syrup
  By on 1999-09-25
  Predictably cute and so sweet it will rot your teeth at 20 paces. Children will love it, but schedule a trip to the dentist immediately thereafter.
  
  
• Johnny 5 short circuited my heart
  By AZSGVOKYDERL5 on 2005-01-02
  I bestow this epic Johnny-5 out of 5 stars.
  
  Not since "Police Academy 4 - Citizens on Patrol" has Steve Guttenberg given us such a stunning performance. Mr. Guttenberg doesn't tell the story he lets the story tell itself. The cast of supporting actors shine as well. Keeping up nicely with the high mark Mr. Guttenberg has set. It's a shame that they weren't the recipients of the 1986 Academy Award. Johnny 5 the most lovable of the bunch looks similar to what you would have if you were to take a box cutter and slowly skin away the latex covering on E.T. to reveal just the animatronic puppet beneath. Even with the aforementioned statement Johnny still makes for a very deep and inspirational character. In fact he inspired me to pursue my love for Jamie Lyons, and just for the record ,Jamie, it doesn't say anywhere in the restraining order that I can't mention you in a online movie review of Short Circuit on Amazon.com so just lay off b1tch, God I love you!!
  
  The story starts with Johnny 5 as a killing machine made for Military uses. After getting struck by lightning in a demo for the Military Johnny receives feelings and the ability to tell bad jokes. Funny because a friend of mine Keith Ko, was struck by lightning and all he received was 10 minutes of unconsciousness and a soiled pair of tighty whiteies to boot. After Johnny gets his new found talents he takes us all on a journey that we will not soon forget. It's up to you if you will take this journey with him. Buy this DVD and for the next 2 hours you can leave all yours woes, transgressions and that DUI behind you and just enjoy the trip.
  
  
  
• Still Makes Me Smile 20 Years Later
  By A1J6B00Z1D6PS4 on 2006-02-12
  My wife and I just got finished watching "Short Circuit" again today and we were thrilled to see such a wholesome movie, a stark contrast to the morass of movies that we get spoon-fed from Hollywood these days!
  
  While the special effects are indeed from the 80's (as they should be since this film came out in 1985), the story of love, compassion, and believing that Number 5 really is allive is what makes this classic film worth watching time and time again.
  
  If you've got kids, then you need to show 'em this movie. There's more to life than SpongeBob, Dora the Explorer, and the like. Good, wholesome, family comedy-adventure movies are hard to come by, but this one fits to the bill.
  
  It still makes me smile 20 years later!
  
  
• Very poor transfer from VHS
  By A8E12RYF292QZ on 2007-02-03
  I have the VHS tape of this movie, I really like it.
  I decided to buy the DVD version for better image quality and
  some bonus features. But I found that the image quality is not
  better than VHS version. And there is absolutely no single
  bonus feature. You can only choose, "play main feature".
  Even worse, it does not even have any caption or subtitle.
  At least the VHS had closed caption.
  This DVD is sort of "just watch once and throw it to the garbage can"
  quality. If so, why don't you buy a better featured VHS ?
  
  
• Not so SPECIAL Edition
  By AT2BYFEVLVITT on 2000-09-30
  First off, this movie has been a favorite of mine since I was young and I still laugh at the jokes in this movie. "Hey, Laser lips, your momma was a snow blower" :) Anyways, I thought that this DVD being a special edition and all would have some really great features; well, I was disappointed. The featurettes are extremely old, which were filmed around the same time the film was made. The only thing new is the commentary track. Regardless, if you like this movie, buy the disc. The video and sound are great.
  
  
• A childhood favorite now in widescreen
  By A169I83JL8QJGN on 2002-02-26
  Beautiful widescreen, better see! As a child I loved Short Circuit, and it's not so successful sequel. The expolits of the robot # 5 who thought that he was a living breathing thinking individual with feelings was a rather entertaining movie with a lot of the stuff that kids find cool in it. A crazy funny robot with some classic tag lines, lazers, and explosions, and a movie that's in general silly.
  Until this DVD was released I never got to see this movie in widescreen, and now that I have I am shocked as to how much of the picture was actually missing. The more widescreen movies that I watch the less I can stand Pan & Scam. Short Circuit was a movie that really suffered when it was transfered to pan & Scam. The movie has a decent transfer, not the best, but this is certainly the best presentation of the movie I have ever seen, and it also features decent sound. It's a little lacking in the special features, but would be a good buy for those wanting to relive a childhood memory from the 80s. Unlike Bill & Ted, this movie actually holds up against the test of time, not as well as other 80s classics, but from a decade of [bad] movies, this one's still pretty funny.
  
  
• Nice movie - some bad language
  By A10RTOM8RU2TZ4 on 2004-12-23
  I remembered watching this movie as a child, so when I noticed it at our video store and it was PG I checked it out. My 7 year old son enjoyed it very much - watched it two days in a row. My only qualifer is that for a PG movie, it had more bad language than I would like - and certainly more than I like my son to hear.
  
  
  
  
• John Badham Does It Again!
  By A1YB29BIDULEYE on 2005-10-08
  'Saturday Night Fever' (1977) will probably always be director John Badham's most famous movie. My personal favorite will probably always be his 'Dracula' (1979). But his 'Short Circuit' (1986) is top notch as well. On the surface it may look like a silly movie about a robot that comes to life when it is struck by lightning. But as in his 'Saturday Night Fever' and 'Dracula,' Director John Badham takes the movie to a much deeper level than we expected. The robot (# 5) was originally built for the purpose of killing, and when he comes to life, he can not accept that. While # 5 is undoubtedly the star of this movie, there is an excellent supporting cast. Stephanie is wonderful as the benevolent woman who by chance crosses his path and accidentally becomes responsible for # 5's most famous line: 'NO DISASSEMBLE!' Newton does a good job of the scientist who can not (at least for awhile) bring himself to believe what we as the audience have seen. Ben is hilarious as the Indian who works with Newton. (I.E. When # 5 gets angry and the driver of the truck asks what to do, Ben replies: 'I don't know about you, but I am planning to scream and run.') Howard is memorable as the scientist who has started to become more concerned with business, but his former values of science start to reemerge. What makes this movie so wonderful is that while it is filled with suspense and comedy, it also offers important questions and issues. (How far will science go to kill people? Should important scientific values start giving way to business? Is it easier to destroy than to analyze? We are always looking for new life, but when we find it will we be likely to destroy it?) This is an excellent movie that not only maintains it comical tones, but it offers us suspense and some things to think about. This is certainly worth giving a chance to. If you like this, be sure to check out John Badham's 'Saturday Night Fever'(1977) and 'Dracula' (1979). Thanks again for the great finished product John!
  
  
• John 5, give me 5
  By A5WMBIOGE8Q6N on 2006-11-21
  The open scene starts with the Saint 5, laser defense robots defeating a simulated infantry war exercise assault by ground troops and armored vehicles, and tanks. The adaptive communication networks and complex electronic social network gives the Saint 5 robots instantaneous data feeds making possible satellite-like triangulation and millisecond coordination and chess like tactical responses that destroying all enemy targets. The Saint 5 robots have visual processing systems, voice recognition capabilities, 3D map terrains navigation, social hierarchical command coordination and organization, human behavioral response states (facial expressions) and gestures, and autonomous locomotion throughout the base.
  
  Saint 5 idealizes the dream robot of the 80s: self-programmable, machines building machines, visual recognition systems capable of independent symbol recognition duplicating WABOT robot hand on the piano. Dr. Crosby (in the likeness of Brooks) does not want to "Hob nose with the big wigs" and he would rather remain in the laboratory working and interacting with the MIT robotic hand. Cog #5 is shocked by a massive electric shock from static lighting bolt that traverses nearby power lines and traverses the lines too the generator connected to #5 and sparks loudly as the power enters the robot. The technicians examine #5 and access that everything checks out on the $16 million machine, "an ultimate solider, never ask questions". #5 higher level control systems seem to be destroyed allowing #5 to roam. #5 roams off the base and when Dr Crosby types in the return code, nothing happens. #5 keeps responds back to Dr. Crosby, "need input-triangulation position". People start becoming afraid but Dr. Crosby reminds the group, "robots just run programs; they are not alive". Cpt. Schroader alarms the group when he discovers from Crosby the laser is still live, telling the group, "what if it melts down a bus load of nuns?"
  
  #5 lands on the roof of Stephanies (Kismet) food mobile called Stephanies Snack Shack. Stephanie attention activates #5 learning algorithms. Stephanie calls #5 a "cute robot" and her endearing affection classify Stephanie as a "friendly" by #5. Stephanie thinks #5 is an alien robot and murmurs out loud, "I knew they would pick me" reference alien abductions. #5 like Kismet can make and respond with facial gestures. Stephanie has a difficult time getting #5 to respond until she shouts the word, "forward".
  
  #5 robotic brain needs input. #5 downloads all reading material that Stephanie has in her home. #5 then watches countless hours of TV. Kurzweil like futuristic potentials were implied such as the complete download of the internet into #5, if it were possible; and space exploration to distant worlds. #5 has a problem solver algorithm. #5 breaks a dish set and observes, "numerous fragments, some large, some small", "reassemble, no resemble is dead", "dead is forever", "dissemble is dead", and "Nova robotics wants to dissemble #5". #5 starts his fear and anger algorithms. #5 changes wire diagramming allowing for greater expression in internal algorithms and becomes self-aware, "#5 is alive". #5 has disco dance algorithms (Honda and Qrio), "dancing fool". Crosby tells Stephanie, "It's a machine" and Stephanie replies, "He is scared". Nova has issued a 25k reward for the return of #5.
  
  #5 manages design a strategy where Stephanie is to meet Crosby at the Black Lion Inn. #5 defeats the other Saint 5 robots, breaks through the security encryption protection the robots programming and reprograms the robots to enact a scene from the three stooges.
  
  Stephanie argues that humans are machines and that the neural circuitry can be all simulated mechanically. Humans and tin men are only different in time to develop the mechanical equivalences: "life is not a malfunction" and "we are a machine". Stephanie idolizes the brain download potential replacing man with machine. #5 learns the language and reprograms the robots in 10 minutes. #5 expresses the irony of bio/mechanical paradox by telling one of the Saint 5 robots, "your mammas was a snow blower". #5 has learned to evaluate other machines exclaiming, "cars are dumb machines", and cars should be locomotion robots. #5 address the dilemma of the human condition by telling Crosby, "it is wrong to kill", "I told you". Crosby tells #5 a joke and #5 starts to laugh, spontaneous emotional response.
  
  #5 survives entrapment, by creating a decoy duplicate of himself, which the army destroys. Crosby, Stephanie, and #5 go to Montana to live.
  
  
  
• Don't worry little lady, I'll fix their wagon.
  By A319SKSB556033 on 2007-03-04
  Short Circuit is one of those films I rented as a kid back in the precious 80s when we got so many good family movies that just wouldn't see the light of day in these awful times. A Short Circuit made in 2007 would be mind-numbingly PC with bullet-time effects and a CGI Johnny voiced by a hip-hop 'artist'. It's a grim time for this genre indeed. But back in 1986 I had nothing to complain about as most of the family movies from that decade are fondly remembered as classics.
  
  I loved this movie as a kid and it's been a long, long time since I watched it from start to finish. Plus the VHS I rented back then was in horrid pan and scan with half the picture chopped-off. Which is a real shame since John Badham shot it brilliantly-framed Panavision. So I've never really seen the FULL movie until now. How does it hold-up 21 years later? Well, I guess you could say Johnny Five is kinda dated but not so much as all the rest of the 'ground-breaking' technology at the Nova factory. Number Five is a robot made for Military Stealth purposes and armed with a laser beam. But designer Newton Crosby (Steve Guttenberg) and his partner Ben Jabituya (a non-Indian and very funny Fisher Stevens) originally designed him as a marital aid, apparently. They are unhappy with the way Nova has marketed the robot but after a demonstration to the Military, Five is struck by lightning and assumes consciousness. Needing input and desperate to learn more about his surroundings, he escapes the factory and journey's across Oregon, soaking up knowledge and the idiosyncrasies of modern human culture. As a reflection of today's 'zany' society, Five is full of spirit, personality and random pop-culture references.
  
  The Military are kinda annoyed at a potential lethal weapon (not the Mel Gibson kind) running loose about America, so it's their new mission to find him and destroy him. Five, who has been taken in by animal-lover (not in THAT way) Stephanie Speck (a gorgeous Ally Sheedy) does everything he can to stay out of harm's way. But they are persistent and won't let him live because they don't believe he is truly alive.
  
  It's not totally original since some of it feels inspired by the works of Issac Asamov and I doubt a film like this would have been green-lighted had E.T. not been so successful. But it is very enjoyable and funny and Johnny Five is a great character despite being nothing more than a puppet. Short Circuit is definitely a film for any kid born in the 80s. The video-game obsessed kids of today might to be so interested but its charming simplicity and good-natured story will never really date despite the old-fashioned 'cutting-edge' technology featured in the film.
  
  This DVD from Image Entertainment contains a NON-anamorphic 2.35:1 transfer with Dolby 5.1 sound and a commentary among a few other extras. I believe it also comes in a crappy snapper case. The UK DVD from Cinema Club however IS anamorphic but drops the commentary and has Dolby 2.0 sound. The rest of the extras remain. I'll take superior picture over the rest any day.
  
  
• Too much profanity for a comedy!
  By A11OMFV9UQON50 on 2007-05-26
  While the basic plot is fine and the robot is charming, the acting is weak and the addition of sexual jokes and swear words does nothing to enhance the movie. Skip this one and jump to Short Circuit 2, which is a much more entertaining movie, and the acting is better too.
  
  
• Pick the best of the bunch, Number 5!
  By A2R4XG0L7Z01V8 on 2008-04-11
  When at loss for a movie, pick a comedy I say. It always cheers you up, unless it's a particularly bad comedy. But starting to watch Short Circuit, I wasn't sure what to expect. I didn't know anything apart from what the blurb said on the back. I knew Ally Sheedy from some of the 80s high school movies, and Fisher Stevens was apparently playing Apu from The Simpsons. OK then.
  
  Short Circuit is one of those sweet little movies, where the blurb just simply does not do it justice. Reading the blurb, I was not thrilled about watching it - it totally gives the wrong idea about the movie. Rather than a movie about robots (zzzzzz), it's a movie about a robot, who gets human feelings after being struck by lightning. Number 5, or Johnny 5 as he (it?) becomes later known at the end of the movie, is a hilarious little robot, who can mimic anything, and do anything, not believing he's a robot. He's alive!
  
  The plot's not THAT terrific. A previously killer robot gets struck by lightning, somehow gets human feelings, learns to drive, reads everything in sight for "input", watches TV for input, and even gets a female friend in Ally Sheedy. There are two guys chasing him, the only two who seemingly know how to reprogram him to become a killing machine again, when they originally designed him as a marital aid. (How?) There are several funny scenes, one of the stand out scenes for me being dancing to Saturday Night Fever (still a god awful film but never mind), and saying "input" constantly.
  
  Ally Sheedy, Fisher Stevens and the rest of the cast do brilliantly with what little they have to work with - what you'll normally find when an actor has to work opposite something CGI/puppet/animal, and the money's gone on the special effects rather than the script. The special effects were good, considering if Short Circuit was ever remade (heaven forbid) it would be full of CGI and not realistic at all. The way it has been done is good, and believable. Who says robots don't have feelings?
  
  Short Circuit was amazing, although having never heard of it before, I was happy to watch it and surprised when it was quite good. Johnny 5 is one of the sweetest robots you will watch in this time, when it has not been touched by CGI or any celebrity voice behind the robot. Genius.
  
  
• Not really widescreen
  By A1H5QU5IX4RRPH on 2008-07-26
  I really like this movie, but was disappointed with the DVD. It claims a widescreen aspect ratio, but it is actually a 4:3 presentation with black bars at the top and bottom which simulates widescreen. My TV can compensate for this somewhat but the producers of the DVD really missed the mark.
  
  
• One Of The Best Movies I Ever Saw!
  By on 1999-05-17
  Short Circuit is one of the best movies I ever saw! Nova robot Number 5 gives lots of laughs and stuns you with the impressive robotic technology he has. I'd recommend this film to anyone who loves high-tech, likes to laugh, and loves to watch action-packed movies!
  
  
• This Movie Rules!
  By ABRX5PJC3RHC9 on 2000-08-23
  This movie is by far the ultimate classic 80's movie. It haspretty good effects, a good story line, and who can forget Ally Sheedy.... I recommend buying the movie. If you don't buy it for yourself, buy it for your kids.
  
  
• Great movie for thinkers
  By A1QD42ZNXN3R5M on 2003-02-28
  A fun movie for thinkers, kids, and computer nerds. Some profanity, but not enough to seriously damage the story line. A robot who becomes "alive" courtesy of a bolt of lightning, makes you think about what it means to be "alive." Clearly defined "good guys" and "bad guys" makes it easy to see whom to root for. Happy ending makes the wait worthwhile. The sequel takes the story a lot farther, for more thinking, and more exciting fun.
  
  
• The Recipe to Make MILLIONS In Hollywood!!!
  By A2TAPSNKK9AFSQ on 2005-06-07
  Afer watching this movie I finally found a sure fire way to make millions at the Box Office.All you gotta do is make a kid's movie that will apeal to adults. It worked with Shrek, Star Wars, Finding Nemo,Monsters Inc and a host of other recent movies. Now all I gotta do is write a good script. Anyway back to this movie. Number 5 is a robot build by the Military. He is hit by a lightning strike and then decides that he is alive!!!The rest of the movie involves people trying to figure out if he is alive and how come he likes watching so much T.V? Ally Sheedy is cute and funny in this movie and is well supported by Steve Guttenberg. This is a movie that adults and children will both enjoy.
  
  

• Short Circuit 2
• *Batteries Not Included
• Flight of the Navigator
• National Treasure 2 - Book of Secrets (Widescreen)
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