Evolver

The plot has been done many times. AI gaming robot with a secret military subroutine. Hmm? I could start a list. You could do a lot with that with CGI and real actors. Here, there's no CGI (yet), so we have toys and stop motion and bad acting, and unfinished characters, and a primitive Robby the Robot concept from the 50s. The whole movie looks 1980s, not 1995. It almost looks like a high school comedy, but turned dark. I couldn't empathize with any of the characters, and kinda wished all of them had been done in. It's also in 4:3 format. I had my fingers on the FF.

Kyle Baxter (Ethan Randall) is a teenager who plays very well a video game called `Evolver'. This game was developed by Dr. Russell Bennett (John de Lancie). He wins a competition of Evolver where the prize was a robot similar to the game. What nobody knows is that Evolver indeed is a war machine with artificial intelligence. Therefore, the friends of Kyle are playing against a dangerous weapon. Although being a very predictable and forgettable movie, Evolver really entertains. It has some good special effects and a reasonable thriller. My vote is five.

A teen game wizard, Kyle (Ethan Embry) cheats in order to win a contest. His prize is the A. I. robot of the title.

At first, EVOLVER is a "cute" novelty, playing games with Kyle and his friends. Of course, if it stayed like this we'd have another SHORT CIRCUIT on our hands. So, EVOLVER soon becomes a stealthy -if clunky- killing machine!

Terror and death ensue.

If you enjoy killer robot movies like CHOPPING MALL, then this should be a thrill. The cheeeze factor is through the roof, making it a terabyte's worth of fun!

Co-stars John de Lancie as the robot's creator...

Mark Rosman's best movie is this highly guilty pleasure from the mid-nineties. True it's a pretty insubstantial horror film with crappy special effects & highly predictable story, but seriously how can you hate a film that features Q creating a murderous robot with the voice of the Shameless William H Macy? And the family that 'wins' it in a contest. This one has a few very quotable lines as well. It's MUCH better than the similarly-themed "Brainscan" at least. But one note: This movie goes better with alcohol

Eye Candy: 2 extras are topless when evolver goes on a spy run in a locker room

Although a little nasty in some scenes, Mark Rosman's "Evolver" is mostly a fun romp. It focuses on a computer whiz (Ethan Embry) who wins a robot with whom to play laser tag, only to find that this particular robot got designed for an army program, and is therefore intended as a killing machine. Specifically, one that never loses. There were a few scenes that I think that they could have done without, but otherwise the movie is pretty enjoyable. Maybe a little predictable, but no one expects much else from one of these movies, right? Also starring Cindy Pickett (the mom in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off") and William H. Macy as the voice of Evolver.