Stream it:
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Own it:
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With: Gary Graham, Anne-Marie Johnson, Paul Koslo, Robert Sampson, Danny Kamekona, Hilary Mason, Michael Alldredge, Jeffrey Combs, Michael Saad, Ian Patrick Williams, Jason Marsden, Carolyn Purdy-Gordon, Thyme Lewis, Gary Houston, Russel Case
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Written by: Joe Haldeman, based on a story by Stuart Gordon
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Directed by: Stuart Gordon
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MPAA Rating: PG
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Running Time: 85
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Date: 10/01/1989
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Mech It Out
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
In Robot Jox, it's a post-apocalyptic future, and two superpowers
(essentially the U.S.A. and Russian) agree to forego all wars and
instead settle disputes with giant robot fights! The good guy, Achilles
(Gary Graham), a robot pilot, is under contract to fight ten fights, and
he has fought nine of them. His next one is against the Russian champion
Alexander (Paul Koslo), with the territory of Alaska at stake. Their
fight goes horribly awry when Achilles tries to protect a nearby crowd
from a missile, but winds up falling and crushing them. Achilles decides
that his contract has been honored and retires, angering just about
everyone.
There's a subplot about a spy leaking information to the
enemy, and robot jox that are genetically engineered, including the
pretty Athena (Anne-Marie Johnson). And of course, there's a mighty
rematch/showdown between Achilles and Alexander. Director Stuart Gordon supplies many
little touches that elevate the movie well past "Z"-grade level, and the
stop-motion animation is admittedly quite cool for the low budget.
Sci-fi author Joe Haldeman (The Forever War) wrote the screenplay. (I
wonder if Guillermo Del Toro saw this before he made Pacific Rim?)
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