Nikki (RedTrinity) The first time I watched this movie was in year 5 at school, and it left a permanent mark on me as one of my all-time favourite flicks. I enjoy it today just as much as I did when I was a child.The storyline is very touching, and delivers a powerful message about how humans have continued to exploit animals in the name of 'scientific research'. Viewers are taken on a moving journey from start to end, as the film visits scenes which are heartfelt, humorous and horrific. You can't help but get that fuzzy feeling inside as you are introduced to the chimps on a more personal basis (and each one has its own unique little personality - from the aggressive attitude of Goliath, to the raw cheekiness of Goofy) and then shed a tear or two when both you, and Jimmy Garrett - Matthew Broderick's leading character - realise what the true intent of all the flying training actually is.All the actors do a great job in this movie, including Matthew Broderick who is just as entertaining to watch in a serious role as he is in a comedic one. A young Helen Hunt also does a fantastic job as Virgil's loving trainer. Even William Sadler, who plays the sturdy-faced Dr. Carroll, undoubtedly depicts himself as the "bad guy" of the story, and does it well - even if in the movie's reality, he is a man who simply holds a difficult job... one which he intends to do well at all costs.Of course the chimpanzees steal the spotlight of this movie, they are just amazing to watch, and their acting skills and behaviours are very believable all the way through. You almost forget that they are only acting in the same sense as their human co-stars.The orchestral soundtrack by James Horner, to sum up in a single word, is beautiful. Viewers are taken on an emotional roller-coaster which effectively tugs at the heartstrings. I challenge anybody who cares about animals to sit through this entire movie without shedding a single tear! In fact it's one of the best movie soundtracks I have ever sat through, everything from harmonica to African wind pipes are utilised to put the finishing touches on all the scenes. Some of these scenes in this movie can be disturbing, especially for a younger audience. Initially seeing this for the first time a a child, I found the two flight chamber 'radiation' scenes so powerful, I dare admit that they actually have haunted me in nightmares occasionally over the years. Today, I STILL find it difficult to sit through them, and prefer to reach for the fast forward button whenever they are fast approaching. The method in which these scenes are filmed - slow motion effect, eery sound effects over background silence, in-depth depictions of sadness/shock on the chimps faces, the look of horror on Broderick's face as he witnesses the fate of the chimps first hand - can come as a pure disturbance for any animal lover to watch... especially knowing that the movie is/was based on real life experiments. Alas, that is the true nature of animal experimentation, and the movie does such a good job depicting it from an in-depth point of view - how the subjects of the fatal tests come to grasp with their impending doom, their 'fight to survive', and how that in turn effects their human trainers, who can't help but bond with them. And of course it has a climax happy ending that we're left hanging for.... the irony of the humans unknowingly training the chimps toward their freedom, as well as for the fateful project.I love this movie and think its an absolute 80's classic, one of the best. Definitely a gem that has, in my opinion, been horribly underrated. They certainly don't make movies like these anymore, which is a shame.

drystyx The eighties have to be considered part of the modern movie era. And already, this is a hidden gem.The plot is about a government project which uses chimpanzees as guinea pigs in dangerous experiments, and about a man's change from bureaucrat to caring individual.The plot could have been mundane and mushy, but instead was well crafted.The film is expertly directed and written. We feel the pains and struggles. It is very moving, and sure to create a tear among the hardest hearts in places.

tim-935 This is a happy tale about the nasty Government trying to cancel research and the animals that helped in the project. Matthew Broderick is a young Air Force pilot seconded to the project who does his best to understand the animals and bonds with the chimpanzees.The chimps are being taught to fly planes, and the project seems to be about using "expendable" chimps instead of flesh and blood humans on dangerous missions. It's not surprising that the project leaders can't see the injustice of cancelling the animals with the project as there were always intended to be disposable. Shame on them. And there is the set up for the build of tension and the eventual chase sequence.Please will everyone note that chimps are NOT monkeys, they are apes. Monkeys have tails, apes do not.The humans are slaves to the system, and there is too much smoking. Naughty.

Elswet Matthew Broderick, Helen Hunt. An Air Force pilot rescues smart chimps from lab experiments at a strategic-weapons research center, but then has to figure out what to do with them.This film will break your heart, if you have a love for animals. You are introduced to the chimps (they're given CHARACTER development, if you can dig it), then you are shown what happens TO the chimps in this research center, and then you are shown what happens because of this treatment. Once you are emotionally invested in the premise, the tension of the surrounding atmosphere begins to build until the climactic crescendo.This is actually not as bad as I remembered, but not as good as I hoped, watching from a more mature perspective. The performances are typical of the time, perhaps a tad better, but this work is horribly dated, as is practically everything from that era. I wouldn't say it rates a remaking, as it's fine as it is, but someone will in order to carry a "fresh" message that what goes on in these laboratories is wrong. Eventually, we'll see posters and ad blurbs for Project NeXt or something like that.All in all, it's good for a rainy Sunday, but don't set your hopes real high, and ... in spite of the levity , heartwarming moments, and the kid-friendly ratings, this is NOT for younger (or tender) children, who could be traumatized for years by the treatment these chimps receive. It rates a 6.8/10 from...the Fiend :.