C.C. : Short Circuit 2

Is this sequel worth it? Keep your wires crossed!

Short Circuit (1988)

Directed by: Kenneth Johnson

Starring: Fisher Stevens, Michael McKean, Cynthia Gibb, Jack Weston, David Hemblen, Don Lake

and
Tim Blaney
as "Johnny Number 5"

Number 5 is alive...and chillin' out!

Well, Number 5 is back for some more antics and so am I! If you already read my article on the first film, you'll recall that it was a really great film for kids and adults with light-weight humour and a very appealing robot.

When the first film was originally released in 1986, not only did it surprisingly became a box-office success(grossing nearly $40 million!), it would eventually become a huge hit in video rentals. Not bad for a E.T. rip-off, eh?

Greetings from "Insert city name here"-Ville!

Because of this money-making dillema, Tristar Pictures decided to greenlight, what else? A Sequel!

Not only did they get two of the original actors from the first one (Number 5 and Ben), they got the two original screenwriters from the first one! So this should be as good as the first one, right? Only way to find out is to dive right in!

WHAT'S IT ABOUT?

The sweet-natured robot now called "Johnny 5" (Blaney) is shipped in a crate to the big city to help his friend Ben (Stevens) create a line of robot toys for a toy company.

Which is odd, seeing how the last time Johnny 5 and Ben met in the first one was when Johnny 5 threatened Ben to get out of the truck Newton Crosby was in, but never mind.

Meanwhile, the plucky robot is in danger of falling into the greedy hands of a businessman (Weston), who wants to use Johnny 5 to steal a priceless jewel.

"Input! GLORIOUS INPUT!"

WHAT'S BAD ABOUT IT?

The film is a bit more mean-spirited than the first one. Everyone taunted, rejected, and even took advantage of Johnny 5 in this film. Even the city church kicked him out, even when the robot asked for help!

There's also the infamous scene when the villian and his henchmen just beat the living oil out of him. How could they? HE'S JUST A ROBOT! WHO'S ALIVE!

WHAT'S GOOD ABOUT IT?

Everything else.

The film is actually longer than the first one, so it gives the characters more emotions and dialogue to work with.

We also get more of the stereotypical character Ben (wheee....), but he's actually more of a likable character as Stephanie was in the first one. He's still considered a comic relief, but has more emotions than Steve Guttenberg ever will.

The film is also given more laughs than ever. Some of the best laughs come from Number 5 at the largest bookstore ever or when Ben is trying to ask out an employee of the toy company.

"INPUT? YA GOT INPUT? AH, COME ON, HELP A ROBOT OUT,WILL YA? COME ON, INPUT!"

"...And there's Jason filming Friday The 13th: Part 8."

"Lucky stiff. Here I am, selling Howard The Duck watches while HE sells merchandise from a BETTER movie!"

So that was Short Circuit 1 and 2. They're not the best films ever, thanks to a handful of mean-spirited moments in each movie. But they're saved by some really funny parts and the likable personalities of characters like Number 5, Ben, and Stephanie.

So what happened with good ol' Johnny 5 after #2? Funny you should ask that, because in 1990, he made his last appearance in a short educational film known as Hot Cars, Cold Facts, which talked about car theft prevention, which is odd, seeing how Johnny 5 was tricked into stealing car radios in the second one. I haven't seen this one yet (though I will check), and I don't know if I'll review it, due to the extreme obscurity.

"Hey, I can't talk now! I'm stalking this chick now!"

The next thing up for Johnny 5 is (gasp!) a remake! That's right. Dimension Films will release the remake in 2011, and it will involve Johnny 5 befriending a boy from a broken family (Great, now Johnny 5's a babysitter, now). It will be written by Dan Milano and be directed by Steve Carr.

Yeah, cause he made some REAL good ones:

Will the film be a classic or will it blow like the new Nightmare On Elm Street? Who knows? Whether it will be good or not, we'll always have these two great films for years to come.

Oh, and I give Short Circuit 24 out of 5.

See ya!

Comments

The only reason I really loved Short Circuit 2 so much is because it takes place in Toronto, just a hop, skip, & jump away from me (living in the Buffalo region, it's just a mere 90 minute drive including border crossing)... so I'm all-too familiar with a lot of the places that it was filmed in. Then when I saw the film recently, and also took a more recent trip to Toronto, I realized how much Toronto has changed... although Worlds Largest Book Store is still essentially the same, there are just sooo many more buildings and the city is just so much larger and taller that it represents NYC even more-so than ever. There are areas that look a lot like Times Square, Central Park, and so forth.

I still don't know why they would think the producers would think for a moment that the general audience would think it was filmed in the USA when all over the place it was obvious it was in Canada with the mentions of LaBatts for the brand of beer, the filming inside of the Eaton's Centre, and even along the Harbour Front, there are the Canadian misspellings you can read in the background as well as some distant Canadian flags... and you can even see the CN Tower VERY briefly when Johnny-5 is thrown from the building and puts on his little glider.

I must have seen that movie at LEAST 30 times when it was newer back in the late 80's into the early 90's. I knew it almost line-for-line.

4 out of 5? You hand out stars to bad movies like a child predator hands out candy on a playground. Make it rain!

Los Locos, and the 80s Boat chase Montage were teh best of this movie. Fact.

Los Locos kick your ass.............Los Locos kick your face...........Los Locos kick your butt into outer space

Haha, I watched one review of this movie that flamed it hardcore for having a white actor performing as a stereotypical hindu

Was the subtitle of the film actually the same as the poster? Would that make the official name of the movie: "Short Circuit 2: More Input?" Weird.

Good article, though.

How can you use "Nightmare On Elm Street" as an example of a BAD remake? There are much worse. I think the Nightmare on Elm Street series was the greatest horror series of them all - and I still think the Remake was great. They made Freddy Krueger less cartoony and more creepy. What was not to like? I think too many people are jumping on a bandwagon to dismiss this film just because of the way other remakes have come out. If you watch it without your torches out and mob ready - you'll realize that in some ways, it actually has some parts that are better than the original.

Yes, I really like this sequel a lot. Even Siskel & Ebert gave it "Two Thumbs Up!". Plus, Fisher Stevens as "Ben" actually gets more screen time than in the first film.

It sucks there's is going to be a ....'cough' remake 'cough', although it does sounds like a sequel. I can't believe it going be from the same director that gave us turds like "Are We Done Yet", "Daddy Day Care", and "Paul Blart: Mall Cop".

this was just...ok

Since moviebuff18 reviewed these not too long ago I don;t have much more to add. Los Locos, 'nuff said.

awesome! I like Short Circuit 2. I actually think it's better than the first one, because of the scenes where Johnny 5 is rejected and even beat up because it gave more emotion for the character and something for him to fight against and not just spew catch phrases like in the first one. Also, I'm not looking foward to the remake.

I myself also wrote an article about both movies and also talked about Hot Cars, Cold Facts and boy do I have good news for you. I actually have a copy of this program on my computer and can e-mail it to you if you like. Send me a PM with your e-mail address and I'll give you more details.