The story follows (Matthew Broderick), a young Air Force pilot assigned to a secret project as punishment for a minor infraction. He is tasked with overseeing a group of chimpanzees being trained on flight simulators. Jimmy bonds with a chimp named Virgil , who was previously taught sign language by graduate student Teri MacDonald (Helen Hunt).
: The film received generally favorable reviews, holding a 74% score on Rotten Tomatoes . Critics praised the performances of the chimpanzees, particularly "Willie" as Virgil. Project X(1987)
When Jimmy discovers the "Bavarian Room"—where chimps are exposed to lethal doses of radiation to simulate pilot performance in a nuclear war—he realizes the military's plan is to kill the animals. He enlists Teri's help to rescue Virgil and the other chimps from the facility. The story follows (Matthew Broderick), a young Air