There's no point in decrying the film's risible politics, especially when it's just an enjoyable relic of Reagan-era paranoia and generational hostility.

An allegory in which the subtext out-bullhorns the text itself.

Class of 1984 is not a great movie but it works with quiet, strong efficiency to achieve more or less what we expect from a movie with such a title. It is violent, funny, scary, contains boldly outlined characters, and gets us involved.

Lesters film is all about shock, but ends up being exploitation of the worst sort