Take a trip down memory lane without the now overused C.G.I. The stop motion robots may seem crude, but their crunching and bashing is more believable than the cartoon-like computer generated images. Think of "Robot Jox" as sort of a cross between professional wrestling, and "Rockem Sockem Robots". The idea of settling wars with giant robot battles is a good one, and the rivalry between genetically engineered fighters and normal men is interesting. There is even an attempt at character development, as relates to the major combatants. So what you get is a sci-fi storyline that works, along with the battle visuals, which are totally acceptable for what they are. - MERK

Had to register on IMDb just so i could review this:Robo Jox is a film i came by by accident, brought in by a friend who got it as a laugh; Before i go on with the review, i should say that, if you are "normal", you will have a hard time liking this film as much as i have; this is a film for audiences who fall outside of the modern norm. Robo Jox is a Sci-Fi flic, its story turning on fights between large Mechs similar to those in the Battletech/early Macross universe; Having war been outlawed, political decisions are fought between "champions" aboard the giant robots, with the pilots held as national heroes: as the two main characters begin the film facing off to fight for supremacy over Alaska, the conflict extends beyond the fight, and the storyline is laid down. Robo Jox is not a blockbuster film: technically, it would be classed as a *B* film, with low budget and actors you have never seen before, and that is not a bad thing; No "CGI was good but wooden acting reviews here" - the acting is superb (if a little unconventional) and the direction is flawless. Of course we know both of those are free, and there is plenty that is very expensive when you make a feature-length movie, and Robo Jox has a LOT of special effects. From 1979. But nonetheless, everything that had to be built, is fantastic. Let me make this clear: i loved the movie. I absolutely loved it, and some things i loved more than other: i loved the beginning, i loved the end, and i loved that stuff in the between. I loved the sets. I loved the costumes, the scale backdrops, the whole hurtfully-good, suspense-inducing minimalism and the way everything is bound together to create a truly believable future; It felt more real than even Children of Men did.This film takes suspension of disbelief to a whole new level, and in a good way(not talking Plan 9 here); and as for creative innovation, Robo Jox singlehandedly beats down anything StarTrek TOS has ever done. If you think Transformers 2 was horrible, if you dream ( or have dreamed) of giant robots slugging it out outside the earth's atmosphere, this is the film for you; and having done away with the pathetic washed-out Hollywood actors who can't ever pretend they can do anything except step out of a hair stylist's or a Lamborghing, a solid shot of collective, joyous over-the-top character acting (a-la theatre, perhaps? or more like Bruce Willis in Die Hard?) is exactly what the doctor orders to dispel 30 years of bloody awful science fiction films.In conclusion, Robo Jox goes on my "awesome" shelf : together with Triangle (2009), The Man form Earth (2007). and a few more that i cant really remember now( although Seymour Phil Hoffman's role in Charlie Wilson's War did take the "best of" spot for a while, that film is a lil bit too serious in some parts). Truly recommended , 10/10. best of 2009

Empire Pictures is best known for their many low budget horror films of the 1980's, later to become Full Moon pictures around the early 90's with the perfect storm of A) the death of Albert Band, B) the crumbling of the Italian film industry, and C) this financial disaster. At $10 million, this film is and certainly feels like a cheap B-movie, but at the same time was a touch too ambitious and ridiculous to attract the audience necessary to breathe any life into the dying studio.Oddly enough, if you talk to most people who saw it, they actually look back fondly upon ROBOT JOX. Like with most Empire pictures, it's not so much a good movie as one which engenders good memories of itself years later. Sure, it has colorful cinematography, lots of delicious overacting and cornball dialog, and of course some impressive David Allen stop-motion effects, so its easy to see what makes this innocuous little film so attractive.Unfortunately when looked at closely, the film is severely hampered by its low budget on numerous occasions; there are only about 5 sets used in the film (notice how they keep coming back to that same bar they used in ARENA). The show-stopping effects are also in dangerously short supply. Much like in PUPPETMASTER or other films Allen supervised, the stop motion is only used as a last resort when the effects can often be achieved much more easily by manipulating the models off-camera. This makes the highlighted robot fights feel pretty stiff as they often just stand around completely immobile, and a special effects movie can't be marketed if its effects are cheesy and didn't even hold up the year it was made in. This is disappointing to me as I could just watch stop-motion robots stomp around all day, especially when they're given that magical "David Allen touch", but you get more stop motion's worth in CRASH AND BURN and (the otherwise quite abysmal) ROBOT WARS.However this film is a lot of fun owing to Stuart Gordon's fun childlike approach to the campy material. All the players act their parts with tongue firmly in cheek with a lot of fun cameos by low budget Italian genre film staples like Al Yamanouchi, Alex Vitale, Larry Dolgin, Geoffrey Copleston, and even Jeffrey Combs in an odd throwaway bit part. It's edited quite cleanly and the music vaguely echoes Basil Poledouris's work on ROBOCOP.One of those flicks that just has to "hit you" in the right way when you're in the right mood. Otherwise you might just laugh it off the screen. Gordon came back to similar territory with the just-as-silly but much darker and more 'adult' FORTRESS a couple years later.

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.