Two Men! Two Machines! Too Wild! Robot Jox Battling Again on a Scream Factory Blu-ray
Foywonder
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Though not exactly horror, Stuart Gordon originally directed this 1989 rock ’em sock ’em robots flick for Charles Band’s Empire Pictures before they went bankrupt during the production. Two years later, the world was finally gifted with Robot Jox. Twenty-six years later, here comes a Scream Factory Blu-ray.
Set in a post-WW3 world in which war is outlawed, nations settle their disputes by way of giant robot combat piloted by hotshot pilots with appropriate nicknames. Gary Graham is Achilles, the American pilot set to duke it out with Alexander, the undefeated Russian robot jox pilot, in an all-out battle to decide which nation owns Alaska once and for all.
Another quirk of the film being delayed for two years was that by the time this slice of Eighties Cold War era sci-fi came out, the Cold War had pretty much ended, causing the film to already feel dated.
You can make a date with the Robot Jox Blu-ray next summer when Scream Factory gives the Re-Animator helmer’s old school (F/X wise) giant robot flick the hi-def makeover it so richly deserves. Seriously, this movie deserves better than the barebones DVD release it got a few years ago. A retrospective documentary could prove quite fascinating.
I’ve been saying for years if there’s a b-movie from the past that’s just screaming for a remake, it would be Blood Beach. But Robot Jox comes a close second. Though I suppose Pacific Rim already has that ground covered.
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