Remember those battle themed 90s saturday morning TV shows aimed for kids from 7 to 12 year olds, created to sell kids some kind of merchandise? The theme here is the same, but Robot Jox doesn’t quite reach that sort of depth or visual fidelity.

If I had to guess, I would’ve placed style wise to the late 70s, and done with a sub 500k budget. To think this is a 1989 movie with a staggering 10 million budget instead, aimed for the adult audience… Well, it just boggles the mind.

In all of its shoddiness, I can see Robot Jox being a guilty pleasure movie for some. The unconvincing miniature Robots hanging by visible wires from the sky and very lazy set design including CRT monitors, off the shelf items, remote controls with huge antennas and 80s clothes to mention a few are all so hilariously poor and campy that there certainly is a humour factor to watching the movie.

Strictly as a movie it’s a misfire that really bombed in the box office – and for a very good reason.

80s-o-meter: 74%

Total: 26%