The first film is surprisingly good family fun, I remember seeing this sequel maybe once, and rating it rather low, so I decided to see it a second time to make sure that should still be the case. Basically Ben Jahrvi (Fisher Stevens), who co-invented Number Five, the robot struck by lightning and given a personality, is now living in New York selling small toy versions of his invention. With the help of con artist Fred Ritter (Michael McKean), Ben strikes a deal with a big toy company to produce 1,000 units of his toy with store buyer Sandy Banatoni (Cynthia Gibb), and Fred gets some loaned money for a warehouse, temporary workers and equipment. The workers vacate the premises due to some robbers, so Ben and Fred think it is impossible to get the order ready, until a crate arrives containing Number Five, now Johnny Five, sent by Stephanie and Newton (from the previous film) to help. Johnny Five proves himself a handy attachment to making the business successful, but with his vibrant personality, wanting to see the city and a need for more "input", i.e. quickly scanning more books, the robot is easily distracted. The thieves are pressed for time to steal the diamonds from the vault which is located right next to the old warehouse, and they can't do anything about it while Johnny Five is around. But devious bank teller Oscar Baldwin (Jack Weston) sees the robot not as a threat but a likely ally, as the robot believes him to be nice, he sees no problem asking it to help him gain access to the vault. Meanwhile, the order is near completion, and Ben wants Johnny Five to help him tell Sandy how he feels about her, and he manages it. After being rejected by so many people trying to convince them that he is alive, Johnny Five does indeed unintentionally assist the diamond robbery, and the thieves badly damage him to the point of dying and leaking battery fluid. But he manages to stop the bad guys before they can get away with it, and in the he is saved, covered in gold plating and declared a real citizen. Also starring David Hemblen as Jones, Don Lake as Manic Mike, an uncredited Ally Sheedy's voice on the phone, and Tim Blaney as the voice of Johnny Five. I guess I can sort of agree with the two star rating by the critics in part, but on the other hand, this is still a good fun film, mainly because of the animatronic star. The robot still makes you laugh with his impressions, handy attachments, vibrant personality and sometimes sympathetic scenes, so for that it is worth watching, not a bad fantasy comedy. Okay!
Review of Short Circuit 2
