Robot Wars Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Robot Wars Blu-ray Movie Review

Robot Bores.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman March 24, 2018

Slow and steady might win the race, but it's not a particularly good combination for a movie, particularly one that touts itself by way of its promotional materials as one featuring giant battle robots duking it out for supremacy, or some other reason. Less Pacific Rim and more plodding chore, Director Albert Band's (father of Full Moon's Charles Band and director of films such as I Bury the Living and Ghoulies II) film is a fizzle that features boring characters, a slowly developing story, and small reward giant robot action. The film's Blu-ray release at least delivers a very enjoyable 1080p video transfer and a highly capable 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack.

In the future, some environmental cataclysm has taken place. Bands of ne'er-do-wells called "Centros" roam the landscape and attack (mostly harass) the last of the giant war robots called "MRAS-2" that can still defend itself but that has otherwise been converted into a civilian transport, i.e. a joyride vessel for tourists wanting a glimpse of the wasteland. The world is divided into two factions. The economically struggling North Hemi is hoping to build smaller robots for the Eastern Alliance. But the Eastern Alliance, the sly sons-of-guns that they are, have other plans. Can hotshot pilot Drake (Don Michael Paul) and the beautiful Leda (Barbara Crampton) save the day?

It would be one thing if an inconsequential plot yielded an otherwise great action and special effects film, but that's not the case with Robot Wars. The film features boring characters, a tedious plot, and plodding action (albeit with some decent stop motion work). It's a film that's so vacuous and inconsequential that it largely defies additional analysis, unless one just wants to inflict self-punishment by dissecting it shot for shot. The problem is that everything just screams "irrelevant." The movie makes no real effort to ensure that the audience is in invested in anything it has to offer. It does a poor job of portraying its characters, its background constructs are tired, and its central plot lacks fire, largely because the other two elements can't get in line. Robot Wars struggles to build interest and by extension it's impossible to hold interest where none exists. Actors offer little incentive for the audience to get behind them, and they unsurprisingly effort to do little with a script that offers them little to do.

There's a decently entertaining movie in here somewhere, and similar movies have impressed on an equally small budget (and, to be sure, many others have flopped with substantially more money invested). The film is often cited as some sort of companion film or follow-up to Robot Jox, a very similar film that released a few years earlier, in terms of look and feel but the two are otherwise not related outside of the Empire Pictures connection. The film is at least blessed with a very short runtime. Even at just a shade over an hour and ten minutes, however, Robot Wars nevertheless plays with a hopelessly fatigued structure that it cannot break, not even during the climactic action scene. Rather than a gloriously exciting battle between mechs in total, full visibility glory, the film instead offers mostly close-up shots of moving metal that just look like a couple of textured steel boxes or beams rubbing against one another with a few sparks flying here and there. It's bland and boring and with little sense of scale at play. At that point, however, it's simply a welcome sign that the end is drawing near.

Robot Wars Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Full Moon's Robot Wars makes for a very nice 1080p image. It's pleasantly filmic, boasting a fairly light and even grain structure, that helps accentuate the high-yield detailing seen throughout. Sharp, natural detailing is commonplace, with some very pleasing facial textures including clearly visible freckles, pores, and complexities on lips and hairs amongst the highlights. Desert environments dazzle with sharply complex rock formations and sand. Various bits of equipment are nicely complex and showcase weathering and other textures very well. Colors are bold and varied. They're well saturated across the board, and even earthy hues are very natural and accurate. Clothes are particularly intense, with some bold reds and blues and pinks leading the way. Black levels hold fairly deep and pleasing. Optical effects shots are a little shaky and there are some scattered, read very infrequent, signs of print damage. On the whole, however, this is a first-rate transfer and one of the best Full Moon has put onto Blu-ray.

Robot Wars Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Robot Wars' soundtrack is of the lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 variety, and the lack of absolute fidelity compared to lossless is obvious. Nevertheless, the track gives a good effort and proves rather enjoyable, presenting music with wide front end space and plenty of surround support integration, which includes some discrete musical cues (some of which are reminiscent of The Terminator) that fluctuate from one side to another in harmonious, complimentary fashion around the 44-minute mark. Some large robot effects amble about the stage as the heavy scorpion-like mech walks around. There's some fairly hefty but not substantial bass and good detail when handheld lasers blast in a brief shootout in the 27 minute mark (also, make sure to listen for some Han Solo blaster effects early in the film when the Centros attack the robot). Additional action scenes prove just as robust, with prominent laser blasts, blunt weapon smacks, and other details delivering impressive punch and vitality. Various bursts of integral environmental supports are nicely filling and clear. Dialogue is likewise smartly positioned, prioritized, and detailed.

Robot Wars Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Robot Wars contains a few extras.

• Videozone (480i, 28:44): Part all-inclusive behind-the-scenes look at Robot Wars, including story and special effects, and part discussion with Robert Band who talks about his music composition for Full Moon features. A few Full Moon promo reels are included.
• Wizard of Wars (1080p, 11:21): A newly constructed piece in remembrance of stop-motion artist David Allen. Charles Band shares his memories of the man who worked on this film and many others for his production company.
• Vintage Promo (480i, 5:14): A retro look at Charles Band's history in film.
• Trailers: Assorted Full Moon titles including Robot Wars (1080p, 1:23), Castle Freak, Dark Angel, Trancers 2, Puppet Master 3, Head of the Family, and Specters.

Robot Wars Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

A movie like Robot Wars always has an uphill battle to fight. With a low budget and big ambitions, a filmmaker must be careful and precise about going about the filmmaking process. This film stumbles on every front, beginning with a boring script that yields dull characters that begets bland performances that are only magnified by the dearth of quality action. This is a tedious watch at even well under 80 minutes. Fortunately there are plenty of "big robot" movies out there now that outpace this one (and some that don't...thanks Michael Bay). At least Full Moon's Blu-ray is pretty awesome. The picture quality is great, the 5.1 lossy sound is fairly robust and active, and the included supplements are solid enough. Worth a look for bad movie/good Blu-ray night.