Short Circuit: Difference between revisions

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[[File:ShortCircuitMovie1.jpg|frame]]
{{quote|''"Number Five... is Alive!"''}}
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{{quote|''"Life is NOT a malfunction!"''|'''Stephanie Speck'''}}
 
''Short Circuit'' is a pair of films that were written with the intention of [[Deconstructed Trope|deconstructing]] [[AIA.I. Is a Crapshoot]]. It's a near-unique film that doesn't fall easily into any one genre, instead it takes elements of sci-fi, action, romantic comedy and slapstick.
 
In the first film (1986) NOVA robotics demonstrates five experimental robots for military use. With mobile tank treads, impressive tactile response, limited AI and a very dangerous laser weapon, they are bleeding edge advanced machines. During a storm, SAINT #5 is [[Lightning Can Do Anything|struck by lightning]], frying its circuits and causing a critical malfunction in its programming. It wanders off unnoticed, headed for the unsuspecting denizens of a small town, in particular one defenseless girl and animal lover named Stephanie Speck (Ally Sheedy). It is a race against time to recapture the wayward robot before disaster strikes - but it is already too late. Number Five is adapting... learning... and willfully ignoring commands.
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{{tropelist}}
* [[Adorkable]]: Just about everyone, admit it. Most notably: Ben, Newton and Johnny.
* [[AIA.I. Is a Crapshoot]]: Inverted. There's nothing wrong with the AI until lightning gets involved.
** Even then, the AI is incredibly amicable and nonviolent, and takes some serious pushing(a major betrayal and ''very'' serious and brutal attempt on its life) just to move it from an [[Actual Pacifist]] to a [[Technical Pacifist]].
* [[Armies Are Evil]]: Strictly speaking, the "soldiers" are NOVA's security team and not proper military, but close enough.
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* [[Become a Real Boy]]: One of the plot points of the second movie is Johnny Five's quest to be recognized as sentient.{{spoiler|He eventually is, and becomes a naturalized U.S. citizen alongside Ben at the end.}}
* [[Berserk Button]]: Do not mistreat Johnny Five's friends, and do not treat him like a mere machine. He WILL find you, and he WILL deal the most humiliating yet nonviolent punishment imaginable. Stephanie's ex-boyfriend and {{spoiler|Oscar}} both found that out '''FIRSTHAND'''.
{{quote|"You will '''not''' get away! I am '''[[IIs FeelThis AngryWhat Anger Feels Like?|really pissed off!!]]'''"}}
* [[Beware the Nice Ones]]: Johnny and Ben. You do ''not'' want to be around Ben if something's happened to Johnny on your watch. Just see [[Berserk Button]] above to see why it's an equally bad idea to take Johnny lightly.
* [[Big Stupid Doodoo Head]]: "I've got an error message for you! I'll scramble your RAM!!" Quoted by Saunders, apparently unsure of how to properly insult a robot. Johnny is understandably less than impressed.
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* [[Family-Unfriendly Violence]]: Johnny Five's {{spoiler|[[There Is No Kill Like Overkill|ridiculously graphic maiming]] at the hands of the bank robbers}}.
* [[Fantastic Racism]]: Johnny seems to believe this is the reason {{spoiler|Oscar tried to kill Johnny, but only locked Ben and Fred in a freezer. See [[Lock and Load Montage]] for the result.}}
* [[Fire-Forged Friends]]: Fred treats Johnny like he's his personal butler (partly because Ben kept him in the dark about Johnny's AI), then tries to sell him to some corporate bigwigs, prompting Johnny to unleash the white hot rage: "He is [[IIs FeelThis AngryWhat Anger Feels Like?|NOT]] my friend!" However, after Johnny is {{spoiler|nearly killed by Oscar's mooks}}, Fred [[Pet the Dog|scavenges the city]] for him and later [[I Owe You My Life|repairs]] him ''single-handedly''. By the end of the movie, they've become an [[Adventure Duo]].
* [[Foreshadowing]]:
** {{spoiler|Oscar's}} goons {{spoiler|destroying the No.5 replica}} early in the second film.
** And at the police station:
{{quote|[[William Shakespeare|...If you prick us,]] [[The Merchant of Venice|do we not bleed?]]<br />
Yeah, battery fluid maybe.}}
* [[Frickin' Laser Beams]]: All the military robots.
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* [[Ridiculously-Human Robots]]: Personality-wise, not appearance-wise.
* [[Robosexual]]: Number 5 hitting on Stephanie in the tub.
* [[Rock Beats Laser]]: Johnny outwits his evil twins by deflecting their lasers with rocks and [[A Handful for Anan Eye|blinding them with mud]]. $11 million well spent, Pentagon.
* [[Run for the Border]]: {{spoiler|Oscar}} and his cronies devise a clever plot to smuggle the jewels into South America. Each one is hidden inside a cheap, plastic toy dinosaur; "Our gift to the Brazilian National Orphanage."
* [[Running Gag]]: Skroder seems rather obsessed with food...
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** Johnny learns about death when he accidentally tramples a grasshopper.
* [[Unwitting Pawn]]: Johnny, in the second movie. ''Twice.'' In the beginning he steals just about a dozen car radios after being deceived by a gang to believe that he was helping them do their jobs as the "Department of Car Stereo Repair"; and later when {{spoiler|Oscar tricks him into digging into the bank vault, thinking it was to create a safe place for Ben.}} Don't worry, [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge|he fixes it.]]
* [[Violently Protective Girlfriend]]: Maybe not violent, but Sandy [[Took a Level Inin Badass|takes a level in badass]] when she believes Ben is in trouble, impressively decoding his voiceless-phone messages to use as directions, and demanding that the taxi driver break the law to move faster.
{{quote|'''Sandy''': "If we get a ticket, I'll pay for it!"}}
* [[Voice Changeling]]: Johnny, like most [[The Terminator|self-aware robots from the Eighties]], can mimic anyone's voice.
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:Films of the 1980s{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:Short Circuit]]
[[Category:Film]]
[[Category:ShortFilms Circuitof the 1980s]]