Manhattan Project (Widescreen/Full Screen)

A generic recipe for any decent movie might run along these lines: Take some interesting and/or sympathetic characters, put them in a situation that challenges them and their attitudes, and see what they do. Here we have the light-hearted high school genius (who stumbles upon a secret nuclear weapons lab in his town, and wonders what to do about it); his socially-conscious political-activist girlfriend; and a government scientist for whom ultra-purification of Plutonium is an abstract, intellectual challenge (until he finds himself in a situation where the end product might kill actual people that he knows).

People who dislike this movie generally have a complaint either with its plausibility, or its tone. OK, plausibility first. The weapons lab is "hidden in plain sight." An obvious high security presence would call unwanted attention to it; instead, it is disguised as a medical facility. (When I was in high school, my band teacher had some tape recorders that he used for students to record and listen to themselves in the practice room, etc. He kept these thrown in a big cardboard box, right out in the open, and each unit had scrawled on it: BROKEN. Not a single one was ever stolen. Same strategy here.) And the techniques that our young student hero uses to break into the lab are all well-established earlier in the film, including the fact that he can throw a mean Frisbee.

Yes, it requires some suspension of disbelief, but no more so than most other movies. At least an attempt is made to explain the events and make them seem logical. (My one minor peeve: Every time I see this film, I keep telling our young hero on the screen not to hold that unshielded weapons-grade Plutonium so close to his HEAD, but he never listens to me! Oh well.)

As far as tone goes, it has been said that this film is too light and cheerful, given its plot elements. One musician friend of mine commented, as we watched young Paul build his device, that "This [cheery underscoring music] doesn't sound like Music To Build A Nuclear Bomb By." My response to my friend was: The music is not for the bomb, it is for young Paul! He is having fun building a complex gadget, without any evil or underhanded purpose, and the character of the music represents his frame of mind very nicely. (I should add here that I like the musical score of this film overall, especially the just-mentioned building-the-bomb sequence, and the opening title music, which has just the right undertone of suspense in it.)

It seems that even the movie studio is confused by this film's tone. The Laserdisc release had, very cheezily pasted onto the film, a subtitle, making the name "The Manhattan Project: The Deadly Game", presumably to make the film sound darker and scarier. It didn't work. Nor does this film need to be dark and scary to do what it is trying to do. I was very happy to see that the DVD no longer has this lame subtitle.

What it comes down to: This film is not about the bomb, it is about the characters and how they react to the unfolding situation. The bomb is merely The Crisis that motivates the film's action. I for one like the characters, and I like the actors portraying them. (In particular, it is refreshing to see John Lithgow playing a friendly character for once, rather than a psychotic wacko, as he does in Cliffhanger, for example.)

I also appreciate that young Paul is not portrayed as a geeky, outcast nerd. He is charming, athletic, and not afraid of girls. This sets up some humorous moments when he meets some actual nerds later in the film. (Favorite quote: "Why are you helping us?" "Because life, my dear, is more than freezing toads.")

I for one recommend The Manhattan Project. It may not be in the Top Ten Films Of All Time, but I think it deserves a solid four stars.

DVD transfer quality seems decent, and is definitely at least as good as the laserdisc version. No extra disc features to speak of, really, just a theatrical trailer. Still worthwhile!