Project X

University of Wisconsin graduate student Teri MacDonald has trained Virgil the chimp to use sign language, establishing a remarkable bond and a basis for her research. This early work demonstrates Virgil's apparent intelligence and communication abilities. The success of the training sets the stage for the conflict over funding and control of Virgil.

When Teri's NSF research grant is not renewed, she is forced to sell Virgil. He is taken to an Air Force base in Lockridge, Florida, to be used in a top-secret flight-simulation project, though she is told he has been sent to the Houston Zoo. The deception hides the true nature of the project from the public and the base staff.

Airman Jimmy Garrett is assigned to the same chimpanzee project at Lockridge. He quickly bonds with Virgil and discovers that the chimpanzee has been taught sign language. This connection draws him into the ethics and implications of the project.

Jimmy learns that the chimpanzees will be exposed to a lethal radiation pulse after reaching a certain level in operating the flight simulator. The test aims to determine how long a pilot might survive after a second-strike scenario. The revelation horrifies him and reframes the project’s purpose in a grim light.

Jimmy informs Teri of the deception, and she plans to inform the NSF of what’s happening. Jimmy argues they don’t have time because Virgil’s fate is imminent. The ethical clash between science and national security becomes urgent and personal.

Some chimpanzees manage to unlock their cages and stack crates to reach a skylight, attempting an escape. The base staff and authorities enter the vivarium to confront the chaos as chimps roam freely. The escape sets off a chain of dangerous events that threaten everyone on the base.

Goliath and several other chimps reach the flight chamber, where they wreck the simulator and short the reactor’s wall control panel. The radiation reactor begins to burn out, creating a real risk of meltdown. This escalation pushes the base into a full-scale emergency.

Jimmy helps Winston and Spike escape while the chimps’ actions threaten the reactor’s integrity. A fire extinguisher left by the chimps jams the reactor’s path, buying the humans time. Goliath sacrifices himself to ensure the others can escape the impending danger.

Desperate to aid the chimpanzees, Teri and Jimmy steal a military plane, bringing the chase to a head with the military police closing in. In a dramatic turn, Virgil unexpectedly takes control of the cockpit and pilots the plane. The team now seeks a way to bring the chimps to safety.

Virgil leads the chimps away from the base as they fly toward freedom, but the plane crashes in the nearby Everglades. Jimmy and Teri avoid capture and slip into the wilderness as authorities abandon the search. The group begins a precarious life on the run.

As the manhunt wanes, Jimmy and Teri discover Virgil hiding in the brush with his chimpanzee girlfriend Ginger. Teri signs to Virgil that he and the others are now 'free,' marking a hopeful turning point. The chimps vanish into the Everglades, out of sight of the authorities.

The escape exposes the ethical gray area of using animals for dangerous military testing, highlighting the costs borne by the chimps. Goliath dies from radiation exposure, underscoring the human price of scientific ambition. The film closes with a sense of freedom for the chimps while leaving unresolved questions about science and humanity.