Robot Jox

Robot Jox is a 1990 post-apocalyptic science fiction film directed by Stuart Gordon and starring Gary Graham, Anne-Marie Johnson, and Paul Koslo. The film was co-written by science fiction author Joe Haldeman. The film's plot follows Achilles, one of the "robot jox" who pilot giant machines that fight international battles to settle territorial disputes in a dystopian, post-apocalyptic world.

After producer Charles Band approved Gordon's initial concept, the director approached Haldeman to write the script. Gordon and Haldeman clashed frequently over the film's tone and intended audience. Principal photography finished in Rome in 1987, but the bankruptcy of Band's Empire Pictures delayed the film's release in theaters until 1990. It earned $1,272,977 in domestic gross, failing to earn its production cost in theaters. Robot Jox received negative critical response and little audience attention upon its first theatrical run, but it has recently attracted some critical praise. The film has been released on various home video formats, most recently on Blu-ray in July 2015.

Plot

Fifty years after a nuclear holocaust, open war is forbidden by the surviving nations, which have merged into two opposing factions: the western-influenced Market and the Russian-themed Confederation. To resolve territorial disputes, the two sides hold gladiator-style matches between giant robots piloted by "robot jox". Following a contest in which Confederation fighter Alexander (Paul Koslo) defeats and kills the Market's Hercules, it becomes clear that the Confederation is receiving information about new weaponry and designs from spies within the Market, resulting in the loss of critical matches and the deaths of several of the Market's best pilots.

Market jock Achilles (Gary Graham) is supported by robot designer "Doc" Matsumoto (Danny Kamekona) and strategist Tex Conway (Michael Alldredge), the only jock to win all ten of his contract matches. He prepares for his tenth and final contracted match against Alexander, who has killed the last nine Market jocks he has faced. During the battle, Achilles attempts to intercept a wayward projectile launched by Alexander when it careens towards a civilian spectator section. His robot takes the full impact and collapses on top of the bleachers, killing over 300 spectators. In a post-match conference, both sides reason that their respective fighter was the victor; however, the referees decide that the match is an inconclusive draw, and schedule a rematch. Achilles, shaken by the incident, insists that the draw was his contractual tenth match and retires, much to the disapproval of his management and fans.

After competing for the position with other genetically engineered "gen jox", Athena (Anne-Marie Johnson) is chosen to replace Achilles. Concerned that she may not win, Achilles agrees to fight Alexander again, which infuriates Athena. Prior to the scheduled rematch, Doc confronts Conway in his office. He analyzes Conway's final match and deduces that the "lucky" laser hit that won Conway the match against a clearly superior opponent was, in fact, deliberately aimed and the match was rigged for Conway to win. He accuses Conway of being the spy who has leaked Market robot information to the Confederation. Conway confesses and murders Doc, unaware that Doc has recorded the conversation. Conway tells Commissioner Jameson (Robert Sampson) that Doc was the spy and claims he committed suicide upon being outed.

On the morning of the fight, Athena sedates Achilles in his apartment and impersonates him to gain access to the robot's cockpit, 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. When the video cuts to footage of Conway's confession and Doc's murder, Conway leaps to his death. On the field, Alexander overpowers Athena, and Achilles rushes to get her out of the robot. The referees order Alexander to stop fighting or be disqualified, but Alexander destroys the referees' floating 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 becoming crippled and destroyed. Facing each other without their machines and using wreckage as weapons, they fight in hand-to-hand combat. Achilles convinces Alexander that a match does not necessarily have to end with the death of a jock. Alexander throws down his weapon, and they salute each other with the jox's traditional "crash and burn" fist bump.^{[Note 2]}

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

Author Joe Haldeman clashed repeatedly with director Stuart Gordon.

Director Stuart Gordon stated that the initial inspiration for Robot Jox came from the Japanese Transformers toy line:

While there have been animated cartoons based on these giant robots, no one has ever attempted a live-action feature about them. It struck me that it was a natural fantasy for the big screen–and a terrific opportunity to take advantage of the special effects that are available today.^[2]

When Gordon initially approached producer Charles Band with the concept, Band said the film would be too expensive for his studio, Empire Pictures, to produce. Band changed his mind, however, and asked Gordon to create a demo reel of stop motion test footage with special effects artist David W. Allen. The footage impressed the film's potential backers, and eventually became the film's opening title sequence.^[2] Initially budgeted at $7 million, the film was to be the most expensive film Empire Pictures had ever produced.^[5]

Science-fiction author Joe Haldeman wrote the screenplay for the film and co-wrote the story with Gordon. The two met when Gordon was hired to film a four-part adaptation of Haldeman's novel The Forever War, but when funding for the project was cut, Gordon instead directed a stage adaptation of the book, which Haldeman also wrote. Two years later, Gordon asked Haldeman to work on a science fiction adaptation of the Iliad; the idea would form the basis for what eventually became Robot Jox.^[6] 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 stylized pseudo-science. In a one-and-a-half-page outline, Gordon inserted other elements into the plot, including the film's Cold War-era themes. Haldeman wanted to title the film The Mechanics, but Gordon insisted on Robojox.^{[Note 3]} According to Haldeman:

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.^[7]

Several times, Haldeman feared that this clash would lead to him being dropped from the project, but the film's producers sided with him during pre-production. Haldeman wrote that Gordon later recognized that the author was "writing a movie for adults that children can enjoy" while Gordon had been "directing a movie for children that adults can enjoy."^[7]

Principal photography on the film began in Rome in January 1987 and ended in April. During filming, the producers brought in Haldeman to work with the film's principal actors.^[7] Afterwards, Allen began to produce the film's special effects sequences. Ron Cobb helped design design the robots for these scenes. Allen chose to film these sequences at El Mirage lake bed in San Bernardino County, California due to its bright skies and unobstructed panoramic view; however, weather elements frequently delayed filming.^[8][9]

Release

Although originally scheduled for release in 1989 (a novelization, written by science fiction author Robert Thurston, was published that year,)^[10] the film's theatrical run was initially delayed until April 1990 due to Empire International Pictures' bankruptcy during production.^[11] After more delays, Triumph Films released the film to theaters on November 21, 1990. When it peaked in its second weekend at the 13th spot, it grossed $464,441 in 333 theaters, averaging $1,394 per theater; it eventually earned a domestic total gross of $1,272,977.^[3] Its limited run in theaters prompted science fiction writer Gardner Dozois to remark that "Robot Jox, a movie with a screenplay by Joe Haldeman, was supposedly released this year, but if it played through Philadelphia at all, it must have done so fast, because I never even saw a listing for it, let alone the movie itself."^[12]

Soundtrack

Frédéric Talgorn, who had previously composed the music for the 1989 horror film Edge of Sanity, wrote the orchestral film score for Robot Jox, which was performed by the Paris Philharmonic Orchestra. Since Prometheus Records reissued the soundtrack in 1993, it has received generally high acclaim. An editorial review by Filmtracks.com stated that "Talgorn's usual strong development of thematic ideas is well utilized in rather simplistic fashion in this film, perfect for the contrasting characters and their underdeveloped dimensions."^[13]

Home media

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released the film on VHS and Laserdisc formats.^{[Note 4]} In October 2005, MGM Home Entertainment released the film on DVD. Though the cover still includes the film's theatrical PG rating, the version of the film included contained violent scenes that were cut from the North American release to avoid a PG–13 rating.^[14]

In October 2014, Shout! Factory announced that the company would release the film on Blu-ray Disc in the summer of 2015.^[15] The disc included two audio commentary tracks: one featuring director Stuart Gordon and another with special effects artists Paul Gentry, Mark Rutherford, and Paul Jesel. The disc also included various behind-the-scenes featurettes, as well as trailers and archival materials. Reviewers for Blu-ray.com and Hi-Def Digest recommended the disc for fans of the film.^[16][17]

Reception

Robot Jox received little media coverage during its initial release, but the professional critics who did review it rated it poorly, noting the film's struggle to find a balance between adult and child audiences. By the time the film was released, its Cold War themes had become less relevant to United States audiences and the popularity of Transformers, which the filmmakers had intended to capitalize on, had diminished.^[1][18] The Sacramento Bee wrote that the film "spreads its dubious resources across the world, dealing with the already dated power-mad rivalry between America and the U.S.S.R. for domination."^[19] Haldeman was generally unsatisfied with the movie, later writing that "it's as if I'd had a child who started out well and then sustained brain damage."^[7] Academic criticism was somewhat more positive, with film scholar J. P. Telotte writing:

While a recent film like Robot Jox (1990) ... revels in exploring the technical complexities of its central conceit–nations warring vicariously through giant robots piloted by gladiator-type "jockies"–it repeatedly emphasizes how much of the human has been surrendered to the technological and concludes with its chief antagonists abandoning their mechanical mounts to live in peace. Robot Jox, though, is just one of a great many such films to depict the attractions and promises of science and technology as essentially fictions, dangerous illusions from which we eventually have to pull back as best we can if we are to retain our humanity.^[20]

Later response

Since its initial release, Robot Jox has attracted a minor following of devoted fans and influenced various elements of popular culture. In 1994, Industrial music artist Trent Reznor sampled and looped sounds from the film for the song titled "The Becoming", which is included on the Nine Inch Nails album, The Downward Spiral.^[21] The B-movie podcast, BMFcast, uses a rating scale of 1-5 Jox for good "bad" movies. Concept artist Robert Simons featured a series of detailed works in 2010 based on designs from the film.^[22] In February 2012, Cinema Studies Student Union showed the film at Innis College, Toronto as part of a "cult film triple bill",^[23] and in August, the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema locations in Houston and Austin held special midnight screenings of a 35 mm copy of the film.^[6] In January 2013, the website CHUD.com featured the film as its movie of the day, with reviewer Michael Monterastelli remarking that the film is "part serious science fiction, part Saturday morning cartoon and it’s one hell of a good time."^[24]

Critical reception to the film has also improved. In 2009, Isthmus film critic Mark Savlov wrote that the computer-generated imagery in Terminator Salvation "still can't hold a candle to the stop-motion and very endearing goofiness of Stuart Gordon's 1990 Robot Jox."^[25] Critic Alex Fitch praised Gordon's work in 2010, citing Robot Jox as an example of how Gordon "can mix satire with special effects to great aplomb."^[1] Writing for The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction in 2012, Kim Newman noted that Gordon's style gave the film "a pleasantly uncluttered comic-bookish look", while Haldeman's influences could be seen "in his distinctive blend of military-hardware expertise and anti-war attitudes".^[10]

After the trailer for Guillermo del Toro's film Pacific Rim was released in December 2012, online critics and bloggers began to revisit the film, noting the similarities between the two films.^[26][27] Bloomberg Businessweek writer Clarie Suddath noted that Pacific Rim was "a mash-up of the 1980s B-movie film Robojox [sic] and Godzilla on steroids".^[28] In 2014, Gordon stated that Pacific Rim was like "déjà vu", expressing that if he had done a sequel to Robot Jox, it "would have been robots fighting aliens".^[29]

Notes

References

External links

• Robot Jox at the Internet Movie Database
• Robot Jox at Box Office Mojo
• Robot Jox at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Making of Robot Jox – Includes special effects production stills