Robo Warriors (1997)

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Who remembers Stuart Gordon's original robot-showdowns of "Robot Jox" and then not long after Charles Brand made "Crash and Burn", which was somewhat a loose follow-up which re-used the robot footage. Well supposedly the low-budget action sci-fi "Robo Warriors" is the third sequel (as there was Albert Band's "Robot Wars" which I haven't seen) and probably the best one to follow on from "Robot Jox" and "Robot Jox 2: Robot Wars" even if it really only uses Gordon's central idea. Although the threat this time is coming from an inter-galactic race lead by James Tolkan and James Lew under heavy make-up that has taken over the earth in the not-too-distant future, but if those are looking for a whole bunch of arena robot action might just be disappointed. As these gladiators robot standoffs between these towering creations don't really come into play, until the film's climax and there's one scene early on. Clunky but entertaining. Most of the time is spent focusing on resistant fighter / former robot jox fighter Ray Gibson (played with vigorous energy by James Remar) trying to find the last remaining legendary robo warrior machine with the help of a young boy and his grandfather who created these machines and then preparing for the final showdown for Earth's freedom. A lot of the time the repetitive story spends building up to the inevitable showdown, but it remains enjoyable with some lean action, chase elements and a busy pace with the material crafting out a myth of a heroic figure which would be told for many centuries to come. You can see most of the money went into the special effects and they do come off well enough for a b- grade production. One thing though, Richard Band's music theme did remind me of "Predator". An okay time waster. "You told me that story 400 times already."