CLASS OF 1999 (1990)
I must claim ignorance. I haven't seen the punk-centric Class of 1984. As far as I can tell, it doesn't have anything to do with battle droids, so I'm okay with missing out on it. I'm sure it's a dandy picture, but this is Random Robot Month. Priorities and all that. Class of 1999 is an amalgamation of The Terminator and Higher Learning. We're in the future again. Public schools have become infested with rival gangs and all of the violence associated with rival gangs. To stem the tide, the government issues cyborg teachers to America's most turbulent high schools unbeknownst to the students. We settle on Seattle's Kennedy High, which is flagged as a "free-fire zone." Essentially, cops are taken out of the equation. Three bots are sent to restore order, two of them being Pam Grier and John Ryan (the father from It's Alive, of all people). Our warring factions are The Razorheads and The Blackhearts, but of course, both sides find a common foe in the new faculty members.
Bradley Gregg is acceptable as the main character, I guess. He's supposed to be the tough guy. I don't know. I mean, I could probably take him. Joshua John Miller plays his little brother, and if you're looking for a random bit of trivia, he wrote 2015's The Final Girls (an awesome slasher, that). At the end of the day, the antagonists are more interesting than the protagonists. Case in point, Stacy Keach has loads of fun as an albino mad scientist with a killer mullet. He deserves a spinoff sequel. This flick is never brilliant, but it's never boring either. The third act is brimming with explosions and sweet robot gore. I have no problem recommending Class of 1999 to fans of the films I already mentioned. And mechanical pencils. Don't forget mechanical pencils. Class of 1999 II: The Substitute came out in 1994. It stars Sasha Mitchell (a.k.a. Cody from Step by Step). I'm putting it on my list of movies to check out...at some point. Maybe.
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