Review of Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970) by 3Guys 1 — 16 Mar 2012

You know I love to seek out the weird ones and I have unearthed a good one for you this time. Made in 1970, this movie a precursor to movies like The Terminator and WarGames.

Eric Braeden plays Dr. Charles Forbin a computer genius who has just created a computer defense system called Colossus that will remove man from the equation. It functions completely autonomously and is set up in an impenetrable fortress in the rocky mountains. Colossus is given free reign to handle all defense of the US. Sound like a recipe for disaster? It sure is.

It turns out that the Russians were also working on their own super computer. Once it goes live, Colossus demands to be able to communicate with it.

Not long after the two computers start talking, the two countries realize that the computers are up to no good. They are handing military secrets back and forth to each other. The two computers quickly come to the realization that man is incapable of running anything and they decide that they need to take over running the world. Now Dr. Forbin is in a race against time to try and figure out a way to stop the computers before they take over.

The plot of this movie probably sounds similar to a lot of movies that you have seen but this movie was made back in 1970. It is pretty groundbreaking for it's time. Of course a lot this will looked dated and goofy to most people today. We walk around with cell phones that are more powerful than anything they could have created in 1970. That said, this is still a pretty entertaining watch.

Unlike WarGames that was made about 13 years later, Colossus is very dark and edgy. When the computers take over they are as brutal as any fascist dictator. People who try stop the computers are executed, Dr. Forbin is placed under house arrest, and Colossus is not afraid to use nuclear weapons to get his way.