Rating: 
Summary: An entertaining, yet flawed film
Review: Well, since no one out there in cyberspace has come across reviewing "The Manhattan Project", permit me the honor to be the first soul to do so! This flick is a physics freak's dream come true, even though it has a few implausibilities woven into the plot's fabric. Most notably is teen prodigy Paul Taylor's (Christopher Collet) handling of high-grade "hot" Plutonium 235 with hardly any protective gear. Also, one would think that the New York Penta hotel would have been impregnably guarded so as to prevent the boy from evading incarceration & interrogation. However, Paul and his girlfriend "easily" escape with the help of some pathetic science geeks (Please!) On a better note, John Lithgow delivers a superb performance as nuclear physicist Dr. John Matthewson who has instituted a energy research facility in Paul's town and must race against time to help retrieve the boy's demented invention before many lives could face a mushroom cloud wrath. Also notable is Jill Eikenberry as Paul's emotionally high-strung mother whose relationship with Matthewson gives Paul the keys necessary to commence his dangerously egocentric quest to build the better "atomic mousetrap" (only to have the military & the D.O.E. beat a path to his door). Now that I'm aware that director Marshall Brickman was a frequent collaborator with Woody Allen, the writing for "The Manhattan Project" parallels that of a typical Allen film. Namely, it uses a bland bunch of one-dimensional characters always trying to extemporaneously speak in hyperintelligent tongues in order to make dubious sense of Life's many situations (except Lithgow, thank God). The things I truly revere in this flick are all of the laboratory sets and the many hilariously serious anectodes/retorts delivered by Lithgow, Collet, and John Mahoney. All in all, a very entertaining action thriller.
Rating: 
Summary: John Lithgow shines in this thrill ride of a movie!
Review: When "The Manhattan Project" was first released back in 1986, I was still just a little kid back then. But now, I checked out the film at the video store and I thought that it was so entertaining that it would keep you on the edge of your seat from pulse-pounding start to breathtaking finish! As far as the direction is concerned, Marshall Brickman (screenwriter for "Intersection") directed this film with sheer intensity all the way, and that is what I like about films like this. And as far as the performances go, a lot of the credit goes to John Lithgow ("Cliffhanger"), Christopher Collet ("Prayer of the Rollerboys"), and Cynthia Nixon ("Sex and the City") for their excellent performances. The film focuses on an overachieving high school student named Paul Stephens (Collet), who decides to infiltrate a research lab facility to steal a bottle of plutonium from John Mathewson (Lithgow), a government scientist who is dating his mother (Jill Eikenberry, "Arthur"), in order to make a nuclear device for his science fair with the help of his girlfriend Jenny (Nixon). When word gets out about the plutonium being stolen, the military is being called in to investigate, and Paul is really in for the nightmare ride of his life! And, pretty much, the only person who can help Paul is Dr. Mathewson as they put both their lives on the line in order to keep the device from nuclear annihilation of everyone within a 10-mile radius. In closing, this film has it all! A great cast, superb storytelling, and suspense that doesn't let up for a minute make "The Manhattan Project" one of the absolute best and thought-provoking thrillers of 1986! I simply can't wait for the DVD of "The Manhattan Project" to be released!
Rating:
Summary: Its something extraordinary
Review: when i forst watched this movie, i was really impressed. i was in high school and i loved it. also i had a great crush on Crhistopher Collet, he's cute. now, i am in university and i saw it recently and i want to buy the movie, i still feel its good. the direction the story line is reallly interesting and in all, its great!
Rating: 
Summary: Horrible - One of the worst, most irresponsible movies ever
Review: Whiz kid steals Plutonium, makes an improvised Nuke bomb, wants to show it off at a Science fair - runs from the the authorities who are trying to neutralize the bomb, shows up the good guys / the government and we are supposed to applaud him. Bad movie! I only wished any one of the cops or snipers would have shot him to end this bad movie. It tries for an anti-nuke message but totally blows it. The ' hero ' is unsympathetic and his reasoning insane. The guy walks around w/ a functioning nuke in a population zone and the people come to his aid. Yeah right. They should have strung him up for threatening a nuclear halocaust / their mass deaths. Maybe they will make a sequel w/ another whiz kid who makes Ebola and we are supposed to cheer him on too. This is one of those really bad movies made by people who don't know what they are talking about ( nuclear weapons, weapons policy, deterrence, MAD, etc.). It is just plain bad. No message whatsoever. It is worthless.
Rating:
Summary: Horrible - One of the worst, most irresponsible movies ever
Review: Why is it unlikely? If you are holding 99.99% pure Plutonium 239 that could make 70 kiloton Nuclear bombs at a time, would you have only one guard protecting it? The movie has a lot of merits. John Lithgow is very three dimensional, as a hot-shot scientist that is looking for love. A derivative movie would have made him an egotistical nihilist with no redeeming features. But here he plays a person who you root for, even over the main protagonist at time. The protagonist is Paul Stephens, played by David Collett. While very bright, he is not shown as a social leper or a total nerd. Cute girls are even attracted to him (portrayed by Cynthia Nixon of "Sex and the City" fame). If you have a high notion of suspension of disbelief, then you can forgive the idea of a person learning to build a working Atom bomb from reading a few books. And that two kids could easily break into a highly classified research lab. And that scientists could mistake joy dishwater soap for Plutonium for so long. However, I liked the prepubscent X-files type of conspiracy theme, especially at the Science Fair. Also, the last 20 minutes, where they have to defuse the bomb has surprising intelligence. Even though this movie is dated (1980's fashion and looks...I can't see this phase making a comeback...And I was a teen through that era!) it is more intelligent and smarter than what Hollywood makes today. While not as good as my favorite smart teen movie (Real Genius), the Manhattan Project does a good job....Rating: B-
Rating: 
Summary: Unlikely scenario, but good movie.
Review: Why is it unlikely? If you are holding 99.99% pure Plutonium 239 that could make 70 kiloton Nuclear bombs at a time, would you have only one guard protecting it? The movie has a lot of merits. John Lithgow is very three dimensional, as a hot-shot scientist that is looking for love. A derivative movie would have made him an egotistical nihilist with no redeeming features. But here he plays a person who you root for, even over the main protagonist at time. The protagonist is Paul Stephens, played by David Collett. While very bright, he is not shown as a social leper or a total nerd. Cute girls are even attracted to him (portrayed by Cynthia Nixon of "Sex and the City" fame). If you have a high notion of suspension of disbelief, then you can forgive the idea of a person learning to build a working Atom bomb from reading a few books. And that two kids could easily break into a highly classified research lab. And that scientists could mistake joy dishwater soap for Plutonium for so long. However, I liked the prepubscent X-files type of conspiracy theme, especially at the Science Fair. Also, the last 20 minutes, where they have to defuse the bomb has surprising intelligence. Even though this movie is dated (1980's fashion and looks...I can't see this phase making a comeback...And I was a teen through that era!) it is more intelligent and smarter than what Hollywood makes today. While not as good as my favorite smart teen movie (Real Genius), the Manhattan Project does a good job....Rating: B-
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