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

Were it not for the salty dialogue, I'd be surprised that Disney's brand isn't attached to "Short Circuit". It amuses me that such grown-up science fiction themes - sentience and identity - are couched in a silly kid's movie with a cute robot. Regardless, it did its job on me as a kid, and I've loved it ever since. I've always been a sucker for that old computerized robot voice you hear in this movie, and I'm kinda surprised it didn't leave me with a zen for vodka tonics as well.But it's also got plenty in the amusing department: Ally Sheedy's comical overacting, a guy in brownface, happy-go-lucky Steve Guttenberg, and most importantly, the cool robot with the funny voice and distinctive look.And a laser.A lot of fun, this movie.8/10

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!

Easy to confuse the first with the second if you haven't seen either in a while, the second is the more fun of the two and the one set in New York. The first is the totally boring one, half set in the military base with Steve Guttenberg and half set in Ally Sheedy's house.J-5 is accidentally carted off from the base and winds up at Sheedy's home searching for "input!", wherein he learns the meaning of "disassemble!" (death) and tries to hide from the military who are trying to destroy him for being a malfunctioning war weapon. Lots of to-ing and fro-ing, very repetitive and disappointingly dull.