Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Lack of good storyline.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Director Mark Lester's follow-up to Class of 1984 takes place fifteen years in the future. In the previous film, the focus was on a teacher fighting back against the violent students at his high school. This time, the schools have become so overrun by (predominately white) gangs that the city of Seattle decides to try a new tactic -- using humanoid military robots as teachers. They place three android teachers in the school and they certainly do a good job of controlling the violence. That is, until their disciplinary efforts start going too far and they declare war on the gangs.A cheesy gem made at the end of the '80s; one of the many wonderful "B" movies that decade produced. It's all pretty silly stuff. From Stacy Keach's ridiculous appearance to the laughable idea that diminutive whitebread Bradley Gregg could be a tough gangbanger, the movie never really has a chance to be taken seriously (though it seems like it wants to be). The android teachers are played by the great Pam Grier, Patrick Kilpatrick, and John P Ryan. They're the best part of this, having a lot of fun hamming it up as the villains. Malcolm McDowell is the ineffectual principal. One of moviedom's all-time weirdos, Joshua John Miller, plays Gregg's buddy. Another unlikely gangbanger. All of the computer stuff, like the sound effects and the way the words are typed across the screen word processor-style, is dated greatness. The loud clothes and "futuristic" cars are goofy fun, as well. The special effects are...less than special.The movie's ultimate message is confusing. We're expected to sympathize with the teenagers but I really didn't, even though I was closer to their age when I first saw this. The best teens here are recklessly irresponsible lawbreakers and the worst are shown to be murderers and rapists. I had to laugh when the principal complained the students were being beaten for "mild infractions at best." Yeah, like when the one that was high pointed a loaded gun at a teacher or when another tried to rape your daughter? So mild. The movie starts with a premise that the reason this school had to resort to using these robots was because things had gotten so bad there was no other alternative, then expects us to feel bad that the criminal youth are being dealt with. It doesn't work. As a social commentary, it's a dud. But as a cheeseball B sci-fi action thriller it's pretty entertaining.

I've got a soft spot for sci-fi films that have already passed their sell-by-date—those movies set in a year that is now history to you and I (even more-so if the year forms part of the film's title, like this one): I just love seeing how these cinematic predictions of the future differ from reality.Class of 1999 is a classic example: according to this film, by the year 1999 gang culture will have reached such a level in the U.S. that certain areas—known as Free Fire Zones—will no longer be protected by the police. Kennedy High School, situated in one such lawless zone, becomes the testing ground for three experimental robot teachers (played by Patrick Kilpatrick, Pam Grier, and John P. Ryan), adapted from military battle droids by unscrupulous MegaTech head honcho Bob Forrest (Stacy Keach).Recently released from prison, gang-banger Cody Culp (Bradley Gregg) intends to give up his criminal lifestyle, but when the droid teachers begin to revert back to their military programming, dealing with their unruly students using extreme force, he and his gang, the Blackhearts, join forces with their rivals, the Razorheads, to try and stop the killing.According to director Mark L. Lester (who also directed the superior Class of 1984), late '90s fashion hasn't moved on much from the decade before, the film's youths sporting some truly nasty attire (worst offender being Joshua Jackson as Cody's brother Angel, who wears yellow leggings and matching tunic and has the cheek to tell Cody "Man, you got to think about your image"). Also exhibiting zero sign of taste: Stacy Keach as freaky albino Forrest, whose hairstyle is a cross between a mullet and a rattail, and who wears zombie contact lenses for no apparent reason (I thought he was an albino at first, but his 'tache is black).This version of 1999 also sees the art of robotics advanced to a level where machines can pass for human, something clearly inspired by James Cameron's The Terminator. As the droid teachers battle Cody and his pals, they shed their skin to reveal powerful weapons, which takes the violence up a notch and allows for some pretty impressive animatronic effects and gloopy cyborg gore, Grier opening up her chest (complete with prosthetic tits), Ryan having his cranium blown off, and Kilpatrick's head reduced to half human, half robot (before having his noggin separated from his body via forklift truck!).Gloriously daft, a little cheesy at times, a lot cheesy at others, and packed with cartoonish violence, Class of 1999 is great entertainment for fans of exploitative '80s schlock. The fact that its vision of the near future is so wrong is just the icing on the cake.7.5 out of 10, rounded up to 8 for IMDb.

Bright fluorescent bandannas, tough talk, rival gang wars, guns, guns, guns, and a rocket launcher. Several major cities have such massive gang activity that they have been deemed "free-fire zones" where the authority just threw their hands up and said "screw it, they can just have it, we are outa here!". Yet the gang bangers are required to go to school. I mean, think of it. You can shoot people, start fires, crank on as many drugs as you want. However if you skip class, you're in big trouble mister.Regardless, for a movie of its time it was really well put together. We cannot compare this type of movie to modern cinema. There is no cgi. It's makeup and animatronics. Cheesy as it is today, I feel that this class of 1999 makes for a great spot in anyone's movie library.

1999. The bleak near future. Youth gang violence is so bad and out of control at Kennedy High School that earnest principal Miles Langford (nicely played by Malcom McDowell) has evil albino robotics expert Dr. Bob Forrest (a gloriously hammy Stacy Keach) bring in three special and lethal automated battle droid teachers - history teacher Mr. Hardin (a wonderfully sly and spirited portrayal by John P. Ryan), sultry chemistry teacher Mrs. Connors (the always great Pam Grier), and tough gym teacher Mr. Bryles (a perfectly cast Lincoln Lilpatrick) -- to restore order. Problems arise when the teachers revert back to their military programming and start killing off the students. Director Mark L. Lester, working from a colorful and outrageous script by C. Courtney Joyner, really goes to town on the entertainingly campy and ridiculous premise: the constant brisk pace rarely lets up for a minute, the exciting action set pieces are staged with rip-snorting gusto, there are loads of amusingly cheesy one-liners and several moments of pleasingly grisly gore, and Lester completely pulls out all the stops for the delightfully over-the-top explosive climax. The cast likewise have a field day with the blithely absurd material: Bradley Gregg makes for an appealingly brooding hero as surly gang leader Cody Culp, the ravishing Traci Lin gives a charming performance as the sweet Christie Langford, Grier, Kilpatrick, and especially Ryan are all in top form as the deadly terminator teachers, plus there are neat turns by Joshua Miller as Cody's snotty, but loyal younger brother Angel, Darren E. Burrows as twitchy drug addict Sonny, James Medina as nasty rival gang leader Hector, and Jill Gatsy as the scrappy Dawn. Mark Irwin's glossy cinematography gives the picture an impressively polished look. Michael Hoenig's robust, rattling score and the trashy'n'thrashy rock soundtrack both hit the rousing spot. Granted, this film is pretty silly and doesn't possess the raw gritty power of Lester's earlier "Class of 1984," but it's still a great deal of funky-punky comic book fun just the same.