Customer Reviews
The patron S.A.I.N.T. of robot movies - By: T. Taylor, 17 Sep 2008 
I must have been eleven years old when I first saw this film, & right from its oddly quirky (and gorgeous) opening music I was hooked.
The idea is not new, nor original. An experimental military robot goes wrong & escapes the institute at which it was built. The institute must then send personell to capture it before it causes any harm. Except that it's not going to cause any harm.
Strategic Artificiallly Intelligent Nuclear Transport (SAINT) No. 5 is inquisitive, thoughtful & totallly unaware that it is a weapon. It thirsts desperately for knowledge, or 'input', & has a penchant for television re-runs, soon befriending Stephanie, a struggling young woman with a rampant habit of taking in stray animals.
The simple turning on its head of the 'rogue robot' storyline in which the escaped mechanism is the hero, rather than the villain, is what makes Short Circuit such compulsive viewing. The film raises, with comedic subtlety a variety of difficult questions. Bringing into focus how we define life, how we define free will & meeting with the reality of death.
This is a film that kids love for its broad, exciting adventure & which adults will adore for its depth. Unfortunatley Tim Blaney's portrayal of No. 5 is often irritating & over the top. Far better would have been the use of the text-to-speech system that voices every other robot.
NO DISSASEMBLE! - By: A. Hearnden, 05 Jun 2008 
My kids are little. This film is still BIG1
They loved it (and so did we). All the cast got into the acting in such a realistic way & as for our asian chum - he made the film!
classic, great, watchable for ever & a day.
"Input, Input..."! - By: b4-its-2-l8, 10 Feb 2008 Just to be very clear & to ensure there's no confusion from the start; if you've already seen the Short Circuit 2 - IGNORE IT, it's one of the most cringe-making sequels ever to be produced (and if you haven't seen it, don't bother) - this film is vastly superior in nearly every way.
The premise is: One of a series of high-tech military robots gets struck by lightning whilst on arms sales manoeuvres & comes to 'life'. Through a series of coincidences, robot No.5, finds itself free of Nova Robotics' R&D compound & so begins Johnny Five's comic quest for knowledge & freedom - set against the backdrop of Nova Robotics' attempts to regain control of it.
This is a lightweight sci-fi caper which is highly entertaining especiallly for kids, but adults will be able to enjoy the witty scripting & solid performances of the main characters (this is one of Guttenberg's best movies). The quality of the animatronics is excellent & ahead of its time.
There are some genuinely funny scenes (which older audiences will appreciate more as certain references won't mean much to children now - unless they have a taste for old movies), nonetheless it's peppered with good dialogue too that will raise a smile from anyone.
Okay, so it's not Shakespeare, & some of the anti-war, life affirming sentiments can seem a wee bit corny to some - but look passed its simplicity & you'll see a family movie about humour, of which it has in an abundance. It's a mini classic of its genre & well worth the watching time, I'm sure you'll save it to watch again.
It'll Entertain the Kids - By: R. LONG, 11 Sep 2007 
The kids do enjoy this - particularly trousers fallling down gags. The funny asian accent gag is a bit worn & beware, parents, the word: "a..hole" is delivered at least once. From a parents point of view I found it disappointing for reasons such as these, its general datedness. If ET gets only 5 stars - this only deserves 2. It just doesn't compare with the greats.
Considering its computer theme, its aged well! - By: T. Clarke, 11 Aug 2007 Short Circuit was originallly just a cheap buy from my local Blockbuster when I was very young. Ahhh, the 90's! What a great era! I can even remember being off school sick, & my mum coming back with this video, its prevous home being in the ex-rentals section. I don't think I stopped playing it for years!
I'm 18 now, & after coming across this trip down memory lane, I can honestly say its aged pretty well! The plot? engaging enough for any young lad who loves robots & technology. Cut long story short, an army-funded weapons centre has developed a group of self-aware robots. When I say self-aware, I mean they speak, think, plan, you name it! And a demonstration at the start of the film shows our (sorry... USA's!) robots in a mock-up situation. So, where does the turn around come in? One of the robots, Number 5, is struck by lightening, & no longer just runs programs... he thinks he's human!
And so, our confused litle Number 5 is out & about, away from the base, & is soon united with a young lady at her house, where he attempts to gain "input" (computer terminology for learning!) & from here on, the film is a blast, as he not only becomes a help, but at the same time, a pain!
This is what I now consider, a typical 80's film - 'that' sort of music, ambitious ideas, & love themes. But admist alll this, their is a definate moral that comes out of this which cannot age, & the soundtrack is lovely. Even the effects pass in my books, as they are pre-computer (thankfully) meaning no silly, crazy ideas - just brilliant props. And when looking at it, the realise more & more just how well planned, designed, & shot these lifelike robots are!
If your not sure whether to buy this, its actuallly a regular on Channel 5! But I can't see anything negative about it, its just a great, imaginative film, thats heart-warming, action packed, humerous, & sometimes.. cheesey!
