Robot Jox
| Robot Jox | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Stuart Gordon |
| Screenplay by | Joe Haldeman |
| Story by | Stuart Gordon |
| Produced by | Albert Band Charles Band |
| Starring | Gary Graham Anne-Marie Johnson Paul Koslo |
| Cinematography | Mac Ahlberg |
| Edited by | Lori Ball Ted Nicolaou |
| Music by | Frédéric Talgorn |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Trans World Entertainment (Theatrical) Columbia Pictures (Canada) MGM/UA Home Entertainment (Home media) |
Release date |
|
Running time | 85 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $10 million[1] |
| Box office | $1,272,977[2] |
Robot Jox is a 1990 science fiction film directed by Stuart Gordon, and starring Gary Graham, Anne-Marie Johnson, and Paul Koslo.
Plot
Fifty years after a nuclear holocaust, open war is forbidden by the surviving nations, which have merged into two opposing super-nations: the American-influenced Western Market and the Russian Confederation. To resolve conflicts, the Market and Confederation hold gladiator-style matches between giant robots, piloted by "robot jox".
Market jox Achilles (Gary Graham) is supported by robot designer "Doc" Matsumoto (Danny Kamekona) and strategist Tex Conway (Michael Alldredge)the only jox to win all ten of his contract fights. Achilles' tenth fight is against the Confederation's Alexander (Paul Koslo), a bitter rival of Achilles. The battle ends immediately when Achilles' robot collapses upon the bleachers of the nearby spectators, in an attempt to intercept a wayward weapon launched by Alexander. As a result, hundreds of spectators were killed. In the post-match conference, both sides reason that their respective fighter was the victor. However, the referees decide that the match is inconclusive and a rematch is established. Achilles, shaken by the accident and the deaths of the spectators, insists the fight was his contractual tenth match and retires, much to the disapproval of his fans. The genetically engineered "gen jox" Athena (Anne-Marie Johnson) is soon chosen to replace Achilles. Concerned that she may not win, Achilles agrees to fight Alexander again, which infuriates Athena.
Doc confronts Conway with his discovery that Conway's fights were rigged. This is extrapolated by reviewing Conway's last fight, revealing that his "lucky" laser hit that won him the fight against a clearly superior opponent was in fact deliberately aimed and fired to make it appear that he won. He accuses Conway of being a spy who has leaked Market robot information to the Confederation, especiallyo since the Confederation was too prepared to counter the Market's supposed secret weapons in the recent battle between Achilles and Alexander. Conway confesses and murders Doc, unaware that Doc has recorded the conversation. Conway tells Commissioner Jameson (Robert Sampson) that Doc was the spy, and that he committed suicide upon being figured out.
On the morning of the fight, Athena sedates and imprisons Achilles in his apartment, forcefully taking his robot to the field. Achilles decides to help her and plays the instructional video Doc had prepared for the new weapons installed in the robot. However, when the video cuts to footage of Conway's confession and murdering of Doc, Conway leaps down a maintenance shaft to his death. On the field, Alexander overpowers Athena and Achilles rushes to get her out of the robot's cockpit. The referees order Alexander to stop fighting or be disqualified, but Alexander destroys the referees' float platform and continues the attack. Achilles takes control of the Market robot and ignores Commissioner Jameson's instruction to stop the match due to Alexander's disqualification. The two jox continue their fight, with both robots eventually being crippled and destroyed. Facing each other without their machines and using wreckage as weapons, they fight in a brutal melee. Achilles convinces Alexander that a match does not necessarily have to end with the death of a jox. Alexander throws down his weapon, and they salute each other with newfound respect.
Cast
- Gary Graham – Achilles/Jim
- Anne-Marie Johnson – Athena
- Paul Koslo – Alexander
- Robert Sampson – Commissioner Jameson (sic)
- Danny Kamekona – Dr. "Doc" Matsumoto
- Hilary Mason – Professor Laplace
- Michael Alldredge – Tex Conway
- Jeffrey Combs – Spectator/Prole #1
- Michael Saad – Spectator/Prole #2
- Ian Patrick Williams – Phillip
- Jason Marsden – Tommy
- Carolyn Purdy-Gordon – Kate
- Thyme Lewis – Sargon
- Gary Houston – Sportscaster
- Russel Case – Hercules
- Stuart Gordon (uncredited) – Bartender
Production
Famed science-fiction author Joe Haldeman wrote the screenplay for the film and co-wrote the story with director Stuart Gordon. Haldeman claimed his and Gordon's visions for the film clashed: The former wanted a dramatic, serious science fiction film while the latter wanted a more audience-friendly special effects-driven action film with stereotypical characters and stylilized pseudo-science. In Haldeman's words, "I would try to change the science into something reasonable; Stuart would change it back to Saturday morning cartoon stuff. I tried to make believable, reasonable characters, and Stuart would insist on throwing in clichés and caricatures. It was especially annoying because it was a story about soldiers, and I was the only person around who'd ever been one." Several times, Haldeman feared that this clash would lead to him being dropped from the project, but producers of the film in pre-production sided with Haldeman. Haldeman says Gordon later recognized that Haldeman was "writing a movie for adults that children can enjoy" while Gordon had been "directing a movie for children that adults can enjoy."[3]
Release
Shot in 1988, the film's release was delayed until 1990 when Empire International Pictures went bankrupt during production.[4] Triumph Films eventually released the film to theaters on November 21, 1990. By that time, the film's Cold War themes had become less relevant to United States audiences, and the popularity of Transformers, which the filmmakers had attempted to capitalize on, had diminished.[1] In its opening weekend, the film grossed $464,441 in 333 theaters, averaging $1,394 per theater. It later gained a domestic total gross of $1,272,977.[2]
Home media
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released the film on VHS and Laserdisc formats. In October 2005, MGM Home Entertainment released the film on DVD. Although its cover features the film's original PG rating, it includes instances of violence not previously released to North American audiences. After Achilles' robot falls on the spectators, there are more shots of both Achilles' bloody face and of the dead bodies in the stands. A news broadcast immediately following now opens with a badly burned man screaming in pain. Additionally, when Conway shoots Doc in the head, the new version includes a shot of blood spraying on the wall. The MPAA database indicates that Robot Jox was originally rated PG–13, but trimmed to obtain PG.[5]
Sequels
The 1990 film Crash and Burn (AKA Robot Jox 2: Crash and Burn) was produced and marketed in some countries as a sequel, but despite the title, same opening theme, involvement of Charles Band, and reused cover art, the plots of Crash and Burn and Robot Jox are completely unrelated. Robot Wars, released in 1993, was also marketed in several markets as a sequel, but like Crash and Burn, it was unrelated story-wise.
Trivia
Industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails sampled and looped a scene in the film where Achilles looks upon the spectators following his failed heroic attempt to save them from Alexander's attack[6][7]. The band used this sample in their song "The Becoming," from their album The Downward Spiral.
References
- ^ a b Fitch, Alex (2010). "Directors: Stuart Gordon". In Berra, John (ed.). Directory of World Cinema. Vol. 2. Bristol: Intellect Books. pp. 336–35. ISBN 9781841503684. OCLC 762158992. Retrieved 2012-06-14.
- ^ a b Robot Jox at Box Office Mojo
- ^ Haldeman, Joe. "Interim Report – An Autobiographical Ramble". Archived from the original on 2011-05-14. Retrieved 2012-06-14.
- ^ Bamford, Paul (2002). "Stuart Gordon". In Allon, Yoram; Cullen, Del; Patterson, Hannah (eds.). Contemporary North American Film Directors: A Wallflower Critical Guide (2nd ed.). London: Wallflower Press. pp. 206–207. ISBN 9781903364529. OCLC 51480273. Retrieved 2012-06-14.
- ^ "Robot Jox". Motion Picture Association of America.
- ^ Kushner, Nick. "Films, Samples and Influences". The Nachtkabarett. Nick Kushner. Retrieved Oct. 18, 2012.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ "NIN - Robot Jox - The Becoming scream sample". Retrieved Oct. 18, 2012.
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