Lovesusti
The Worst Film Ever
GamerTab
That was an excellent one.
ShangLuda
Admirable film.
FuzzyTagz
If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.
John
The first thing I ever heard about this movie was the soundtrack. That first thirty seconds is one of the most triumphant themes I think I've ever heard in movies. The rest of the soundtrack (for the most part) never really lives up to those first few moments. It's never bad, but never that memorable again. The movie itself is really enjoyable, with cheesy dialog and giant robot fights that look like stop motion. The film itself takes place in the future where all conflicts are decided by giant robot battles, and it follows the story of a character named Achilles who fights in these battles. The ongoing conflict between Achilles and the main villain of the movie, Alexander, seems to symbolize or represent the conflict between the Soviet Union and the United States during the Cold War. There's nothing in the movie that is really bad film-making, but it's obviously not a masterpiece. The movie seems to know what it is and if you go into it with the right mindset then you'll probably enjoy yourself. If you're a fan of giant futuristic robot fights with cold-war type undertones, then this is the movie for you.
udar55
In the future all national battles are settled on the robotic battlefield by ten story robots commanded by human robot jox. The battle is on for Alaska's resources and it is up to USA's Achilles (Gary Graham) to take it to the evil Russian rep and dirty fighter Alexander (Paul Koslo). This was Stuart Gordon's fourth film for Charles Band's Empire and the most expensive (rumored to be $10 million) in the company's short history. Was it the film that broke Band's bank? Possibly. It was filmed in 1987 but didn't get released until 1990 (via Triumph theatrically and RCA/Columbia on video) after Empire had gone bankrupt in 1988. Regardless, it is still a pretty entertaining film and - even though I've never seen a single second of Michael Bay's TRANSFORMERS films - I know it is a better film. The screenplay by sci-fi author Joe Haldeman touches on some good stuff, like genetic engineering and the gladiator mindset. Sure, there is some really cheesy stuff ("we can live"), but the cast is all game and you have to love Koslo's villain. The stop motion effects by David Allen are the real showstopper and they hold up pretty well. The miniatures are great too. Look for Stuart Gordon in a cameo as a bartender and Jeffrey Combs as an overly excited bystander. Crash and burn, my friends, crash and burn.
whattorso
They're called Robot Jox ? why ? why would you name a movie Robot Jox ? I understand the connection with JOX and JOCKS (possibly) but what's even worse is that the movie centers around maybe two or three people who control these mechanized warrior-bots in order to keep Alaska an American state ? who the hell thought of this ? OK, OK, it's post WWIII and war has been outlawed, but come on ! ALASKA ???? Don't get me wrong, there's a lot of good things about Alaska...but don't you think that California, or New York might have been a better state to fight for ? Either that, or the winner of the ROBOT BATTLES could have won control over the totality of the North-American Continent ? This movie seems to have premiered at a bad time, especially when America was becoming sick of Robotech and Voltron in the 1980s. Maybe that's why the studio went bankrupt on it. . .I honestly think this movie could trigger a bi-polar disorder in anyone who decides to watch it. Although the special effects were limited at the time the movie was made, it doesn't make up for how insignificant they make the situations and the characters seem. There is literally nothing to stimulate the viewer whatsoever in this film and I think that carries on into the emotions of the audience greatly. . .meaning that movies like this are usually on in the background when someone commits suicide in their house. . .in front of the TV. Whether or not the movie causes people to to put an end to their existence is not proved, but it appears to be highly suspect.I swear, the movie is devoid of stimuli. . .I sincerely hope someone edits out all the robot battles and replaces them with muted scenes of angry rottweilers.I've actually heard that the movie itself in VHS/DVD format smells like festering haunches. . .really ! It may be the only film EVER in physical form to give off an odor similar to stew meat. That's the real Sci-Fi feel of this movie, not that it has stimulating content, but rather, it has a stench of unknown origin that may baffle even the most modern scientist.If you've seen this film within the last three years, I'm guessing you're still scraping the the pizza rolls out of your favorite tank-top. Lay off the pizza rolls, lay off the movie.
Scourgeofomnius
OK this movie had a terrible premise. Be serious according to the movie they had just been through an apocalyptic war yet they have money to buy huge robots and pit them against each other. Each country decides instead of investing into rebuilding their country they would rather fight with robots no one could afford. Here's a better idea, lets rely on our most inept resource,jocks, to fight our battles. Everyone says what about the director, what about him. He makes a good movie, he makes a bad movie. There is no reason to give this movie some credit just because of the director, maybe he was asleep? I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, because it was so cheesy and ridiculous I had to laugh. I actually had a good time watching it, well except for the cowboy mentor who turns out to be an assassin(trust me no one would see this guy as an assassin, so it is a surprise, however lame) What kind of training exercise is a jungle jim anyway. I was sad to see Mst3k had not done this one. I am giving a two star rating however because nothing could be as bad as "manos the hands of fate."The budget does not matter either, I have seen plenty of reasonable movies that had nothing for budgets like cube. The storyline was not even plausible and I have seen better acting in school plays. Surly they could have afforded an eleven year old from any middle school play.Anyway pick it up, it is a fun movie to watch.
