Robot Jox (1990)

Postapocalyptic action-adventure ROBOT JOX is Stuart Gordon's entry into the short-lived subgenre of robot warrior movies established in the early 1990s. After a terrible and costly third world war, the countries of the planet have been divided into two main opposing sides: the Market (good) and the Confederation (bad). War has been outlawed on the planet, so disputes are settled by a single fight between two giant robot warriors piloted by men and women known as robot jox. Confederation robot jox Alexander has destroyed all of the Market's robot jox except one: Achilles. Once the best of the robot jox, Achilles has lost confidence in his ability because of an accident that cost the lives of hundreds of spectators at one of his bouts. He is the last hope for the Market and must win the day against Alexander, but first he must win the battle within himself. Giant robots duking it out in exotic landscapes just can't be bad, and it's not in ROBOT JOX, a special-effects-heavy science fiction epic in the mold of THE TERMINATOR and CRASH AND BURN. Gordon borrows from Japanese animation, translating it into live action very effectively. Another first-rate film from Stuart Gordon, ROBOT JOX is simply great sci-fi action.