Movie Review: Real Genius

Genre:  Action/Comedy

With: Val Kilmer, (Mitch) Gabe Jarrett, (Chris) William Atherton, (Doctor Hathaway) and Patti  D’Arbanville (Jordan) and directed by: Martha Coolidge.

Some common characteristics of this action/comedy movie are: boy and girl relationships, good guys’ verses bad guys, insurmountable moral dilemmas solved and funny dorm room antics.

Real Genius is a movie about pride, power and concealed manipulation. The government (CIA and Military) is secretly working to develop a new state of the art laser weapons system.  They recruit the help of a prestigious college professor named Doctor Hathaway, who in turn uses several of his genius students (including Chris and Mitch) to assist with the project. The two have no idea of the CIA’s/ Military or of the professor’s pack.  But when they do find out they ultimately get their much deserved revenge.

The beginning of the movie is set in space. An advanced space ship is flying and deploying a new laser weapons system. The beam steams to earth and vaporizes it target, a man sitting drinking tea with his friend. But it’s just a created illusion, one that the government has generated with their concept design team.  The camera zooms away from the space ship shown on the wall, back into a room filled with government agents. They are all so excited about the concept they want the laser up and ready for action in months, of course for the good of the people.

Mitch is 15, and a genius. He’s so smart his mother and father enroll him in a prestigious college where he’s been recruited by Professor Hathaway. Professor tells him he’ll be working with other brilliant minds. But the professor has an undisclosed agenda. Professor Hathaway has been receiving grants from the federal government for research but they have vowed to stop all funding of projects if he doesn’t help them invent the new laser weapons system. Mitch has no idea but soon the evil plan will be discovered.

Chris is another genius Doc. Hathaway recruited and also working on the laser weapons system. Chris and Mitch become roommates and have a clash between their brilliant minds but when Mitch is ready to leave collage because he’s hazed, Chris defends him and they become loyal friends. 

Mitch meets a girl named Jordan in the dorm and they hit it off. She’s a beauty and a brain but doesn’t flaunt it and Mitch likes this. It seems like they are always to busy to get together. Finally, Mitch realizes college has more meaning with Jordan by his side and involved in the plot until the end.

The dorm is full of brilliant minds and advanced technical concepts. New technology is the norm and students in laboratories and class rooms work diligently to create and explore new ideas. Groups and individuals are always involved in research. It’s why they chose this prestigious brainy university.

Once again, Doctor Hathaway is being threatened by the government to perform, and gives Chris an ultimatum, invent the laser or fail as a senior. Chris decides he can never complete the project but when Mitch finds out he encourages Chris to stick it out. Finally they complete the project together and by the way, it is a real (laser) blast.

Well, I can’t give the end of the story away, so you’ll just have to see the rest on your own. You may like the movie more than I did since I would only give it a 7 out of 10 overall.  With that said, I do feel like the director did a good job structuring cleverly devised action filled scenes to create an interesting  movie. In conclusion, as far as Action genre’s go, the movie Real Genius fits the bill but in my opinion still is not as good as Indiana Jones  or a movie like ‘Diamonds are Forever’ with James Bond. Also, the comedy is more childish and not as funny as Planes, Trains and Automobiles.
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