Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Robot Jox’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

I've seen a lot of movies in my day. I have Friday nights to thank for that. I've made mention of it before here on Nerds That Geek how during my youth my family and I would head over to the video store after my dad got off of work and we'd load up on movies and games.  

We would pick the family movie for Friday night first, and then my siblings and I would go hog wild and pick whatever we could find. My brother and I usually made our way to the Science Fiction or Horror section and put our hands on whatever looked awesome at the time. We would usually base our decision on the awesomeness of the cover of the movie, and we learned that and sometimes the cover is a lie, and the movie is terrible, sometimes it’s as good as advertised and sometimes the cover helps you discover a film so wild and out there that you simply have to rent it again and again to appreciate it’s outlandish awesomeness, as was the case when we stumbled upon one of the most incredible B movies I’ve ever seen… Robot Jox. 

Years in the future, the planet is putting the pieces back together after World War III. Following the spoils of this ugly war, mankind has discovered a new way to handle its disputes. War has been outlawed, instead two men settle it all, including the control of territories, by way of a good old fashioned fist fight, orchestrated within the confines of giant robots. These Robot Jox are heroes to their people and following an ugly battle for Alaska that ends in a draw, one of the finest fighters in the sport, Achilles, steps away from the matches by announcing his retirement. But with his arch nemesis Alexander preparing to destroy a new generation of fighters that are simply not ready, Achilles is forced to step into the robot ring... one more time.  

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​If that seems like a pretty convoluted plot, well it is. For there are many themes and sub plots that pour through Robot Jox because it is one wild B movie. Granted, the action is indeed epic, but all of that is overshadowed by well... the cheese. Because the acting is rough, the film is filled to the brim with horrendous stereotypes that you leave you shaking your head in surprise and the special effects go from awesome to straight up silly at times. But while one would think that such issues would make this movie damn near unwatchable, that’s simply not the case, because this film magically sucks you in.

It accomplishes that, in part by way of the acting believe it or not. Sure, the performances are often over the top and laughable but here's the thing, every single actor in this film plays it straight to the best of their abilities and that strange authenticity lends a sense of gravitas to the film, and immediately captures your attention, and your curiosity is only further enhanced by that jam packed plot. Because you're suddenly dying to learn more about this world and the people that inhabit it and the next thing you know, you're on the edge of your seat, rooting for Achilles to save the day and beat Alexander, which brings us to the final reason this movie manages to captivate you... the robots.  

Because all things aside, the title and the poster promise the audience one particular thing... giant robots kicking the crap out of one another and baby, this movie is like Dominos, it delivers. Cheesy special effects here and there are easily forgiven when it comes to the fact that you get giant robots kicking ass and taking names and those thrilling moments alone are worth the price of admission. Either way, this is just a fun film through and through and its one that quite frankly you need to see if you haven't yet simply because of the fact it's a great way to simply escape with a bowl of popcorn for an hour and a half and it's so wild and off the wall that it stays with you long after the credits have faded to black, due to the fact you'll be talking about and recommending this one to friends and family for quite some time.

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