CLASS OF 1999 - REVIEW


In the dark, unfriendly future of... 1999, school has become a crime-infested madhouse so the only solution to keep students on the right track, surely, has to be the introduction of unpredictable killer robots into the classroom, right?

...right?

Well, Malcolm McDowell thought so.

That'll teach him to trust a clearly evil dude who looks like a killer robot himself and put him in charge of the dumbest plan since those aliens invaded Earth in Signs. We follow three kids: NOT Edward Furlong (who looks about 40), NOT James Franco and NOT Corey Feldman, as they clash with the system and eventually bring it down Terminator-style. The film is completely derivative of every other sci-fi film at the time from Mad Max to RoboCop but uses a non-budget to non-impressive effect as most of its practical effects end up coming off as more lol-tastic than actually good. I guess I can't complain about that since they're the most entertaining part of this otherwise mostly dull and forgettable movie.

The film has a decent-enough core premise and could have been somewhat enjoyable had it been less concerned with telling a boring, predictable story and had instead been more about just having mindless fun. Yes, Class Of 1999 has its so-bad-they're-fun moments but the film itself is so dull that they won't exactly make the movie for you. I'll admit, robot Pam Grier is pretty great and, in fact, the three robot teachers who eventually go nuts are having a ball throughout. It's just a shame everything around them is so unimaginative and lifeless. The film takes way too long to have them go haywire, by the end you won't really care one way or the other. Plus the leads are really not all that interesting and the tacked-on love interest delivers her lines like she's reading the fine print at the back of a cereal box.

Overall, definitely not essential viewing, by any standards. Class Of 1999 is silly enough that a handful of random moments will keep you entertained (just about) but don't expect a laugh riot. As far as bad movies go, this one doesn't really stand out: its third act is adequately goofy but I can't promise you'll make it that far, unfortunately.

Class dismissed.

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