Android

This may be low budget... but so was Dark Star!

I have to say that I strangely enjoyed this low budget attempt at a sci-fi movie. Despite its constraints it had plenty of great ideas and one thing I like: A weird atmosphere!

If you don't mind low budgetness and like weird movies (like me) then I strongly suggest this... It could easily be a cult movie!

Very much a "mixed bag". The special effects and set design are terribly cheesy, with lots of random flashing lights and odd geometric shapes for no reason (why a trapezoidal water jug? because it's THE FUTURE!) and a defense system based on the classic Vectrex video game system. But the cinematography is generally decent (although typically overlit) and I rather liked the synth score, by Mother of Invention Don Preston. As far as the cast is concerned, Klaus Kinski is of course always a delight, but he's really not in it all that much and it's a rather subdued role for him. Don Keith Opper (credited only under his android name) plays the title character as a rebellious nerd, which is an interesting take but doesn't always work. Brie Howard and Norbert Weisser are barely passable, and Crofton Hardesser is downright awful. The script has some horribly clunky lines in it, but the story is pretty intriguing once you get into it, a kind of BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (or METROPOLIS, which Max 404 actually watches at one point) tale with BLADE RUNNER style commentary on what it is to be human. It doesn't run very deep, but there are some nice angles to it, and a neat ending. If you can overlook a lot of flaws and keep your Kinski expectations low, it's really not a bad watch.

1st watched 12/20/2009 - 6 out of 10(Dir-Aaron Lipstadt): Surprisingly interesting yet cheaply made early 80's sci-fi film. This is far from being a perfect film and I still can't believe I ended up liking it, but it appealed to me by the time the movie ended. The story is about an android project in the near future being done in space and being terminated due to a funds issue and the failure of a similar project on Earth that turned into a disaster. The scientist played by Klaus Kinski receives the news but is overheard by his creation Max 404(which the movie never reveals who acts this part--which is definitely strange). Some wanted space criminals then arrive on the scene and Max lets them board the ship and then plans to escape with them back to Earth to avoid his termination. Things don't work out the way he expects them to and I won't give away the ending but it's definitely surprising. Max's replacement is suppose to be a female Android named Claudia, since the scientist really doesn't want the project ending either -- he just wants a different android to play with. The androids in this movie have obvious human feelings that get in the way very often which makes the movie interesting and sways their decisions consistently. There is some titillation added to the movie which doesn't really fit, especially in a PG-rated movie(how it got this rating I'll never know) and it's obviously a low-budget film and for these reasons this is definitely one of my few guilty pleasures. By the end of the movie, I was hoping for a sequel -- which hasn't happened and probably wont but that's how it affected me. So, despite the many reasons I shouldn't like this movie, I did --- I guess you never know, huh?

One of my favourites! The film has a haunting quirkiness about it. Klaus Kinski is the perfect mad scientist. The MAX404 android really projects his confusion about and desire to understand his emotions. Loved the soundtrack. This movie is not for those who only like those big Hollywood "sci-fi" films. It will appeal to those who enjoy REAL sci-fi though.

I love eighties films, and I love science fiction. This film is a good example of both, but I have to say it was a bit 'darker' than it felt like it should have been.

The music is classic analog synthesized fun, and the setting is very cool-looking, typical of any early eighties sci-fi movie but with a certain complexity and detail that makes it seem solid and believable.

The acting is absolutely phenomenal. I generally complain a lot about bad, hard-to-believe acting in movies but in this case I have no complaints; there was nothing to distract me from the story. I half-believed that Max was played by a real android (he is credited as "Himself". lol)! The acting was overall believable and appropriately restrained.

The story could have used some work... it was a bit slow-moving and somewhat uninteresting, and the resolution wasn't entirely satisfying due to certain characters who were insufficiently developed. Also I felt that there should have been some slight comic relief, and I think the drama of the situations was not emphasized enough. But, to the story's credit, it did have a couple of nice twists and I think I like the ending.

Overall I think it was worth seeing: much better than most of the junk that comes on at 2 AM!