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   August 7, 2006
 14 out of 16 found this review helpful

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   February 26, 2006
 8 out of 11 found this review helpful

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"   April 13, 1999
 6 out of 6 found this review helpful

"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   September 13, 2001
 6 out of 9 found this review helpful

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."