6 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
In a future world where war has been outlawed, international disputes are settled in a single winner-takes-all fight between two of the ultimate killing machines. Massive, menacing and made-to-destroy, these human-piloted combat 'bots square off to determine global supremacy. But when tragedy strikes during a crucial battle and treacherous espionage raises the stakes, will veteran robowarrior Achilles walk away from the game for good… or take his revenge against his rival pilot, the homicidal Alexander?
Starring: Gary Graham, Anne-Marie Johnson, Paul Koslo, Robert Sampson, Danny KamekonaSci-Fi | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: DTS 2.0
English, English SDH
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Anime lovers have their pick of so-called mecha outings, shows and standalone entries like Mobile Suit Gundam 00: the Movie - A Wakening of the Trailblazer, Evangelion: 1.11 You Are (Not) Alone, Eureka Seven: Part One (and its more or less reboot Eureka Seven AO), Gurren Lagann Vol. 1, Full Metal Panic!: Season 1, and Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles. The fact that this is only a very abbreviated list perhaps indicates how popular this niche in Asian animation has been, something that makes its relative lack of prevalence in American productions all the more remarkable. About the closest thing that those on this side of the pond can claim as their home grown mecha would be franchises like Transformers, most especially with regard to The Transformers, the mid-eighties animated effort whose popularity was reportedly at least partially responsible for sparking the live action Robot Jox, a film which received a rather limited theatrical release in 1990 after having been finished in 1987 but then finding itself shelved with the bankruptcy of its studio, the little remembered Empire Pictures.
Robot Jox is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Scream Factory, an imprint of Shout! Factory, with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. This is a film that utilizes an unusually large amount of opticals and special effects, and the results here often offer a somewhat inconsistent viewing experience in terms of sharpness, clarity, and grain structure. The opening credits sequence for example has baked in dirt and grain that is so ubiquitous as to seem virtually stationary. Later elements, especially the stop motion sequences, offer variances in sharpness and grain structure that are probably largely unavoidable. Some of the green screen and matte moments in this film can look fairly ragged, with the increased resolution of the Blu-ray easily pointing out the veritable seams involved. However, when moving away from stop motion, opticals and other special effects sequences, things look rather good, with accurate and nicely suffused colors and nice detail, especially in close-ups. Contrast and black levels are both solid in these moments as well, and while black levels stay fairly consistent throughout this presentation, contrast is another element that shows certain variabilities in the stop motion moments. All in all taken with an understanding of the filming techniques involved, this is a solid if occasionally problematic presentation which should easily satisfy this film's coterie of fans.
Robot Jox features a nice sounding lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mix which capably supports the film's sometimes silly dialogue as well as the glut of effects during the mecha battles. An above average score by Frédéric Talgorn is also rendered without any issues and provides a nice boost to several key sequences. Fidelity is excellent and dynamic range wide in this problem free track.
- Director Stuart Gordon (1080i; 7:27)
- Pyrotechnic Supervisor Joe Viskocil (1080i; 7:57)
- Associate Effects Director Paul Gentry (1080i; 7:14)
- Stop Motion Animator Paul Jessel (1080i; 7:48)
- Animation & Visual Effects Chris Endicott and Mark McGee (1080i; 9:29)
- Theatrical (1080i; 1:25)
- TV Spot (1080i; 00:31)
- On Location (1080p; 7:00)
- Illustrations (1080p; 3:40)
Robot Jox is just good, old fashioned, lo-fi fun and should be enjoyed by kids of all ages who like basic storylines featuring good versus evil, not to mention outsized rock 'em sock 'em robots battling to the death. The film is undeniably silly some (most?) of the time, but that's part of its retro allure. Technical merits are generally very good to excellent and as usual Shout! has assembled a very commendable selection of supplements. Recommended.
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