Class of 1999 (1990)

Simply A Masterpiece

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

I mean, things are so bad that the cope create free fire zones in which people are allowed to kill each other.And yet kids still feel that they have to go to school. I mean, why bother?, whats the point?They all show up for school on time everyday and afterwards go to their warzone homes with no adults and try to kill each other while making nonsensical wisecracks.The whole premise make no sense.The robots are pretty cool though, very life like.

"Commando" director Mark L. Lester's intriguing but schlocky melodrama "Class of 1999" looks like a cross-between of "Escape from New York" and "Blackboard Jungle." The theme of this low-budget but well-made juvenile delinquent thriller is violence in high schools. White-haired Dr. Bob Forrest (Stacy Keach of "Doc") supervises three androids masquerading secretly as teachers to control students—mostly narcotics addicts--at a gang-riddled high school run by Dr. Miles Langford (Malcolm McDowell of "A Clockwork Orange") who is reacts with surprise to this revelation. One of the androids pulls the mask that serves as his face up and flashes his robotic chassis for Langford. Nobody but natty Dr. Miles (McDowell) knows that the teachers are androids. Stacy Keach is in rare form, while McDowell is cool, calm, and civilized. The kids are wear different gang land colors and outfits. The nominal protagonist is Cody Culp (Bradley Gregg of "Fire in the Sky") who just finished a stretch in real prison and is returning to Seattle's Kennedy High School. He is warned before he leaves prison that he had better stay away from his old gang stomping grounds. Meanwhile, Cody makes friends with Dr. Miles' daughter, Christie Langford (Traci Lind of "Bugsy") and rescues her from rapist on school property. Cody sends the kid to the hospital and then suffers the wrath of one of the three teachers, Mr. Bryles (Patrick Kilpatrick of "The Zombinator"), who later subjects him to real torture in the gym. Problems erupt for everybody when the androids go berserk. Lester has a good cast, especially the three teachers: Patrick Kilpatrick, Pam Grier, and John P. Ryan. At one point, the threesome pursue Cody through the city in a car with our hero astraddle a motorcycle. Repeatedly, Mr. Bryles bumps Cody. Cody leads them on a dead-in road, and they plunge into the river. They slog out of the river looking like drowned rats and planning their next move. Not bad for a futuristic satire.

Director Mark Lester's follow-up to Class of 1984 takes place fifteen years in the future. In the previous film, the focus was on a teacher fighting back against the violent students at his high school. This time, the schools have become so overrun by (predominately white) gangs that the city of Seattle decides to try a new tactic -- using humanoid military robots as teachers. They place three android teachers in the school and they certainly do a good job of controlling the violence. That is, until their disciplinary efforts start going too far and they declare war on the gangs.A cheesy gem made at the end of the '80s; one of the many wonderful "B" movies that decade produced. It's all pretty silly stuff. From Stacy Keach's ridiculous appearance to the laughable idea that diminutive whitebread Bradley Gregg could be a tough gangbanger, the movie never really has a chance to be taken seriously (though it seems like it wants to be). The android teachers are played by the great Pam Grier, Patrick Kilpatrick, and John P Ryan. They're the best part of this, having a lot of fun hamming it up as the villains. Malcolm McDowell is the ineffectual principal. One of moviedom's all-time weirdos, Joshua John Miller, plays Gregg's buddy. Another unlikely gangbanger. All of the computer stuff, like the sound effects and the way the words are typed across the screen word processor-style, is dated greatness. The loud clothes and "futuristic" cars are goofy fun, as well. The special effects are...less than special.The movie's ultimate message is confusing. We're expected to sympathize with the teenagers but I really didn't, even though I was closer to their age when I first saw this. The best teens here are recklessly irresponsible lawbreakers and the worst are shown to be murderers and rapists. I had to laugh when the principal complained the students were being beaten for "mild infractions at best." Yeah, like when the one that was high pointed a loaded gun at a teacher or when another tried to rape your daughter? So mild. The movie starts with a premise that the reason this school had to resort to using these robots was because things had gotten so bad there was no other alternative, then expects us to feel bad that the criminal youth are being dealt with. It doesn't work. As a social commentary, it's a dud. But as a cheeseball B sci-fi action thriller it's pretty entertaining.

Robot teachers have been secretly placed in the schools where the students have run riot. The teachers do a good job of controlling the unruly youngsters, until they go too far with their punishments, and some students get suspicious.....Its proper exploitation stuff, and with a title like this has, what else were you expecting?Well I for one was expecting something that was going to be a lot more fun, and although it does have the odd moment of genius, it gets just a little too serious, and a little too Red Dawn for its own good come the end.The concept though is fantastic. We have a hilarious looking Stacy Keach, finding eighties fashion in the late nineties, and getting Jackie Brown, The Sandman from Death Warrant, and so e old bloke to work in the school as wannabe Terminators.There is a sub-plot featuring the guy returning to the school, from a ne'er do well family, who just happens to find out what is going on, who just happens to fancy the headmasters daughter, who just happens to be Malcom McDowell, who knows about everything, but seeing as he only did two days filming, let's just say he isn't in it for long.On paper, it sounds brilliant, and I love the directors other work. He provided me with Showdown In Little Tokyo, but this waste just.........well, boring really.It's all over the place, the one liners are bad, even for the eighties, and they have royally ripped off a certain Cyborg.Back in the day, I'm sure it was essential viewing for the university student, but now, 16 years after the title suggests, it feels old, and generic.