Director: Albert Band,
Starring: Don Michael Paul, Barbara Crampton, James Staley, Lisa Rinna, Danny Kamekona, Yuji Okumoto, J. Downing,
Running Time: 71 Minutes
Certificate: PG
Extras: Videozone Behind The Scenes,
Full Moon Entertainment were the masters in B-movie brilliance back in the day, with many of their franchises such as PUPPET MASTER and SUBSPECIES still holding up today in terms of cheap and cheerful thrills. However, some of their films have dated significantly, and even seemed dated at the time of release. One such film is ROBOT WARS, a film in which the misleading title and deceptive DVD artwork give the impression of multiple mechanical battles, when in actual fact there’s just one scuffle in the last ten minutes.
Set in the distant future of 2041, the world is still getting over the infamous 1993 gas attack. This has lead to much of the land being uninhabitable, and transportation to key areas done via big ol’ robots. The robot travelling is also a necessity due to the continued efforts of terrorist organisations looking to upset the order of things. A renegade robot pilot, Drake (Michael Paul) soon finds that he is the only hope when the terrorists team up with maniacal leaders from Asia.
ROBOT WARS sets its ambitions high, but sadly fails to meet them. The stop motion animation of the final battle is actually very nice to look at, and come across as very believable. But this is also because of the very slow and very clunky movements. Sure it adds realism, but no real sense of urgency to the climatic punch-up. Other effect work such as the blue screen movement is also impressive and is demonstrated in the behind the scenes featurette. Hard to believe that something so simple today took a number of cameras and a complex looking machine to pull off.
Another highlight would be the film’s main score, which is very catchy and wouldn’t feel out of place in a recent blockbuster. Unfortunately the 90s has grasped this film with its cold dead hands and refuses to let go. From hairstyles to clothing, it all seems painfully retro in the tackiest of ways. Many of the lines of dialogue border on utterly confusing and I’m unsure as to whether people actually spoke in this vernacular, or if it was an original form of dialect to represent the future setting. The budget also gets in the way, with the third act shifting to an abandoned city left untouched since 1993, in order to save costs and just film on the streets.
I can’t say I disliked the film, and you have to respect the fact that effect features were a lot harder to make back in the day. Nowadays, anyone can hobble something together on a laptop. There’s some fun to be had in the innocence of a film that dated quickly, and at just over an hour long it’s a quick bit of light entertainment. However, the 10 minute behind the scenes section is more fascinating, as it shows you a quick look at how a B-movie on a budget is put together.
[usr=2]ROBOT WARS is released on DVD on 17th February via 88 FIlms.
