Robot Jox

Robot Jox (1989)

Runtime: 85 minutes

Directed by: Stuart Gordon

Starring: Gary Graham, Anne-Marie Johnson, Paul Koslo, Robert Sampson, Michael Alldredge

From: Empire Pictures

I figured it was most appropriate to watch this tonight. You see, since people found out what Pacific Rim was all about (people controlling giant robots... techically controlling giant mechs but you get the point... vs. kaiju monsters like what Godzilla fought in the past), they compared it to this low-budget movie, where giant mechs fight against each other in what is otherwise a cheesy but wildly entertaining motion picture. I've seen this before but watching it again for a proper review was the prudent thing to do. By the end of the weekend I will have seen Pacific Rim and I am hoping it's as awesome as it looks.

As for this movie, here's the plot, “borrowed” from the IMDb: “It is post-World War III. War is outlawed. In its place, are matches between large Robots called Robot Jox. These matches take place between two large superpowers over disputed territories. The main character Achilles is a pilot in one of the large Robots. The plot revolves around him and a match for the state of Alaska.”

I already mentioned how it's pretty much a standard fighting film like the boxing pictures of old, where a guy trains against a big bad guy for a giant fight and hopefully the hero can defeat evil. Here, it's the same thing except that people fight with giant mechs. Otherwise, there's what you may expect, such as infighting amongst the camp, campy villains (the Soviets; yeah, it wasn't too long after this came out that it became dated), a woman being in the ranks and there being resentment about it, and so on and so forth. The phrase “crash & burn” gets used often, which I believe is original to this movie.

There's the character known as Tex (Alldredge), a guy who handles tactics among the team that assists the people controlling the mechs, and he is awesome. He wears a cowboy hat and needless to say he is totally stereotypical. Sure, many stereotypes are present here but Tex is the biggest one. He's a chubby dude and he shoots his mouth off; he is crude and sexist and he has issues with his co-worker, apparently because he's Japanese. That is probably not the type of character you see today because it's “not politically correct” or what have you. There are other silly characters, including one played by cult actor Jeffrey Combs.

While this was from a low-budget studio it apparently cost 10 million bucks in late 80's money (there's stop motion animation; you don't see a whole lot of fighting, at least not until the final act  but it's never boring) and Empire Pictures went bankrupt while making it and then went out of business.

Sure, this is cliché all the way but it is SO wacky and entertaining... if you go with it then you'll likely enjoy this slice of cheese from the past; we don't get movies like this anymore, that is for damn sure.

I'll be back Friday night.