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Poster for The Manhattan Project

The Manhattan Project

1986 · 118 min

A clever, earnest teen caper that slowly tightens into a tense countdown, mixing science-fair wonder with Cold War dread and a warm human core.

Genres
Science fiction, Thriller
Tagline
Paul Stevens' high school science project has gotten a little out of hand. He just built an atomic bomb. Now he's got 11 hours to make sure it doesn't work.
Overview
A gifted high school student steals plutonium from the secret nuclear weapons facility in his home town in order to construct his own nuclear bomb, win a national science fair, and expose the government's secrets.

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Genres
Science fiction, Thriller
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How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • tensestrength 2 of 3
  • earneststrength 2 of 3
  • satiricalstrength 1 of 3
  • warmstrength 1 of 3
Pacing
measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • science
  • rebellion
  • coming-of-age
  • power
  • deception
Places
  • small town
  • big city
  • workplace
Era
contemporary
Audience
teen
Form
  • twist ending
Content intensity
  • Gore none
  • Language mild
  • Violence mild
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action4
Horror1
Humour4
Realism6
Romance3
Tension6
Darkness4
Complexity4
Emotional weight5

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Cast

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