Well, if nobody else has anything to say on this I’ll give my own thoughts.
This is another film I love more every time I see it. Some wonderful performances from all the cast - and from Number Five! The bonus features on the DVD talk about all the various duplicate robots they made for this, some whole figures, some just heads or arms for specific functions, and the number of spares they had ensured they didn’t lose any filming time. The initial instruction given to the designers was “it mustn’t look like there’s a person inside”, which was fair enough.
The characters are likeable - even Skroeder! After all, he is only doing his job. He may be trigger happy, but he is only going after the robot because he fears it could be a danger to the public. Howard as the boss is a little odd, a former scientist turned businessman, he doesn’t really have the nerves to be in charge really, but his neuroses fuel some great comedy, and at the end, when the robot gets destroyed, he is feeling the sense of loss - although exactly why is uncertain, because even if Numbers 1, 2 and 3 can’t be reprogrammed back, they still have one working model left, Number 4 was untouched!
As for the good guys, Fisher Stevens as Ben is absolutely crazy, why they had the idea of making him Indian I don’t know, it was probably inspired by Peter Sellers in Goodness Gracious Me. Steve Guttenberg as Newton Crosby has the most interesting character transformation, he’s a good guy who just struggles with the idea that something he created has actually come to life. That’s the only reason he’s not a fully-fledged good guy until near the end.
Ally Sheedy is pitch perfect as Stephanie, the eccentric who initially believes Number Five is an alien. She doesn’t overplay the part, which is crucial. Too many parts have been ruined by over-acting.
The other thing that gets me every time is the music. The song “Come And Follow Me” which is the end credits music occurs all over the incidental music. We hear it in the bar scene where Newton and Stephanie start to connect, but it also figures in different instrumental arrangements throughout the film, much like Bryan Adams’ “Everything I Do” in “Robin Hood Prince Of Thieves” just five years later.
But of course the real star of this movie is Number Five himself. Tim Blaney’s voice work for the character is spot on, with all the crazy ideas the character comes up with - and indeed the not so crazy ones, like when he refuses to “disassemble” any living being.
Which reminds me. The crucial scene in this movie is when Number Five learns about death, less than a minute after finding out that Nova want to disassemble him. While his reaction is extremely comical and guaranteed to make kids laugh, it’s actually poignant, and you can’t blame him for having a slight panic attack at the concept. How would you feel if you didn’t know what death was, and then less than a minute after finding out, also learned that people were planning to kill you?
The other scene that I have to talk about, one I’ve already mentioned, is when Number Five has to go up against his fellow robots - his “older brothers” if you like, when Numbers 1, 2 and 3 attack him. They might have stood a better chance if they’d attacked all at once, but they still didn’t have the ability to think like a living being. Number Five could still have got between them and dodged their lasers just in time . . . but I’m hypothesising. His tactics against their individual attacks are a joy to watch, as is his Elmer Fudd impression, and his reprogramming them into acting like the Three Stooges.
And of course the ultimate irony of these robots. Showcased as the ultimate war machine, what is the acronym given to them? SAINT!
I love this movie more every time I watch it.
