Short Circuit (1986)

A relic of the mid-1980s, complete with cheesy dialogue, childish comedy, on-the-nose moral messaging, and a deep distrust of the military. John Badham’s films often carry a subtle dystopian undercurrent, and Short Circuit, like his WarGames, roots its story in the fear of runaway technology, a theme James Cameron would later explore with far more seriousness and sophistication.

The dialogue is painfully weak, even for Johnny 5. Steve Guttenberg had a solid run in the ’80s as the snarky, rebellious, semi-handsome leading man, but there’s not much depth there. The actor was lucky to crank out a few hits when he did.

That said, the core idea of the cute, rogue robot discovering humanity has undeniable charm. It’s easy to see how this archetype would later be repurposed in films like WALL·E a generation later.