We are already dead. We are Robot Jox!

December 9, 2010 1:37 PM

Robot vs Robot, Human vs Alien, '90 vs '89, Robot Jox vs Arena...

Robot Jox 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Arena 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Real Steel looks likely to revive the spirit...

posted by fearfulsymmetry (20 comments total)

What the helll? I was just reading about Real Steel on AVClub, where they had a reference to Robot Jox, which I had never heard of. I truck over to IMDB and read the synopsis on Robot Jox. Then I refresh mefi and here we are. Some days, I feel like everyone is reading the same sites as I.
posted by Edgewise at 1:39 PM on December 9, 2010

Robot Jox marked a turning point in my adolescence. It was the first movie that really made me understand what it meant to want one's money back.
posted by circular at 1:41 PM on December 9, 2010 [5 favorites]

You've.... never seen Robot Jox?

!!!
posted by Artw at 1:43 PM on December 9, 2010

You can buy Robot Jox just for the pleasure of Ms. Crampton's company, but I believe you may only have such a rare experience if you purchase one of the Charles Band box sets. I did just that for Dark Angel: The Ascent (I like that movie, okay?) and Doctor Mordrid ("That's the Fuck You buzzer").
posted by adipocere at 1:46 PM on December 9, 2010

For reasons that remain unclear to me, I bought a bootlegged copy of Robot Jox on VHS at a Star Trek convention. Really, one of the dumber decisions I've ever made.
posted by iwhitney at 1:51 PM on December 9, 2010

Arena and Robot Jox producer Charles Band has an active blog.
posted by Chinese Jet Pilot at 1:51 PM on December 9, 2010

I went to the IMDB link for Robot Jox to see if it was the movie that I thought it was. I glanced down at the cast and thought the first name was Gary Oldman. I need my heart medicine now.

And yes, it was the movie I recall.
posted by Splunge at 1:53 PM on December 9, 2010

Directed by Stuart "Reanimator" Gordon, folks.
posted by Artw at 1:58 PM on December 9, 2010

Every time I remember Robot Jox, I think it's just the product of a fever dream when I was 8. But then I remember, nope, it's totally real.

Or has the past 20 years of my life all been a dream?

*cue Inception soundtrack*
posted by kmz at 2:00 PM on December 9, 2010

Arena is also available on Netflix streaming (I know this because I just added it to my queue yesterday), just in case you want to watch it in slightly better rez on your slightly bigger screen on your slightly more comfortable couch.

I remember watching Robot Jox during a collegiate 24-hour bad-movie binge with some friends, and being surprised by how not-as-bad-as-I-thought it ended up being. Of course, the day-long caffeine/sugar high I was on could explain my perception of its overall quality, as could the fact that we had just watched the Star Wars Holiday Special and Fist of Fear, Touch of Death immediately beforehand.
posted by Strange Interlude at 2:04 PM on December 9, 2010

Robot Jox is the most awesome, because they're fighting over the state of Alaska. I DON'T SEE ANYONE FIGHTING OVER YOUR PIDDLY STATE DO I.

Probably helps if you were actually living in Alaska when this movie came out (as I was).
posted by ErikaB at 2:57 PM on December 9, 2010

Didn't Evangeline Lilly say she was gonna quit acting and go back to humanitarian/missionary work after Lost was done?
posted by Mister Moofoo at 3:06 PM on December 9, 2010

Aw, what's not to love about Robot Jox? A story by Joe Haldeman about mecha-suit fighting? Sure it's cheesy as all hell and has the production values of a made for TV movie. That just makes it work all the better.
posted by charlie don't surf at 3:22 PM on December 9, 2010 [1 favorite]

I was at a scifi convention with Sparx when we were just little nerdlings and Joe Haldeman was the guest. He is an accomplished raconteur, and the stories he told about RJ were fucking hilarious.
posted by Sebmojo at 3:33 PM on December 9, 2010

How about Robot Jox's sequel Robot Wars? I envision the producers having a conversation like this:

"What is the *best* part of Robot Jox?"

"Why, the robot fight at the end, of course!"

"Well that obviously has to go."
posted by Wink Ricketts at 4:03 PM on December 9, 2010 [1 favorite]

Monkey vs. Robot
posted by cyphill at 5:34 PM on December 9, 2010

Robot Jox marked a turning point in my adolescence. It was the first movie that really made me understand what it meant to want to be a giant robot pilot.
posted by cthuljew at 5:41 PM on December 9, 2010

Robotjox! My first favorite bad move.

Here is a love letter I wrote to it
posted by Jezztek at 9:12 PM on December 9, 2010

Here is a love letter I wrote to it

That #6 - I Love That The Test To Become A Robot Jock Is Exactly How My 12 Year Old Self Pictured The Process Of A Sperm Impregnating An Egg. of yours... Tell us the truth... That's where Michael Bay learned cinematography!
posted by mikelieman at 5:45 AM on December 10, 2010

*cue Inception soundtrack*

Holy shit the inception soundtrack is just the love theme from Robot Jox played at 10% speed whoaoaaaaoaoaoaaaaaaa
posted by FatherDagon at 2:36 PM on December 10, 2010