Robot Jox is a 1990 American post-apocalyptic mecha science-fiction film directed by Stuart Gordon and starring Gary Graham, Anne-Marie Johnson and Paul Koslo.

Co-written by science-fiction author Joe Haldeman, the film's plot follows Achilles, one of the "robot jox" who pilot giant machines that fight international battles to settle territorial disputes in a dystopian, post-apocalyptic world.

Fifty years after a nuclear holocaust, mankind is decimated and the surviving nations—the American western-influenced Market and the Soviet-Russian-influenced Confederation—have agreed to outlaw traditional open war.

Achilles is supported by robot designer "Doc" Matsumoto and strategist Tex Conway, the only jox to win all ten of his contract fights.

Achilles arrives on the field and takes over the robot from Athena while Alexander smashes the referee hovercraft; the two jox stand to continue the fight.

[5] Band changed his mind, however, and asked Gordon to create a demo reel of stop motion test footage with special effects artist David W. Allen.

Two years later, Gordon asked Haldeman to work on a science fiction adaptation of the Iliad; the idea would form the basis for what eventually became Robot Jox.

[9][10] Although originally scheduled for release in 1989 (a novelization, written by science fiction author Robert Thurston, was published that year),[11] the film's theatrical run was initially delayed until April 1990 due to Empire International Pictures' bankruptcy during production.

An editorial review by Filmtracks.com stated that "Talgorn's usual strong development of thematic ideas is well utilized in rather simplistic fashion in this film, perfect for the contrasting characters and their underdeveloped dimensions.

[19] Robot Jox received little media coverage during its initial release, but the professional critics who did review it rated it poorly, noting the film's struggle to find a balance between adult and child audiences.

By the time the film was released, its Cold War themes had become less relevant to United States audiences and the popularity of Transformers, which the filmmakers had intended to capitalize on, had diminished.

[1][20] The Sacramento Bee wrote that the film "spreads its dubious resources across the world, dealing with the already dated power-mad rivalry between America and the U.S.S.R. for domination.

"[8] Academic criticism was somewhat more positive, with film scholar J. P. Telotte writing: While a recent film like Robot Jox (1990) ... revels in exploring the technical complexities of its central conceit—nations warring vicariously through giant robots piloted by gladiator-type "jockies"—it repeatedly emphasizes how much of the human has been surrendered to the technological and concludes with its chief antagonists abandoning their mechanical mounts to live in peace.

Robot Jox, though, is just one of a great many such films to depict the attractions and promises of science and technology as essentially fictions, dangerous illusions from which we eventually have to pull back as best we can if we are to retain our humanity.

[22]Since its initial release, Robot Jox has attracted a minor cult following of devoted fans and influenced various elements of popular culture.

American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails sampled the sound of the screaming crowd from the end of Achilles' battle with Alexander in the film for their song "The Becoming" from their 1994 album The Downward Spiral.

"[1] Writing for The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction in 2012, Kim Newman noted that Gordon's style gave the film "a pleasantly uncluttered comic-bookish look", while Haldeman's influences could be seen "in his distinctive blend of military-hardware expertise and anti-war attitudes".

[25][26] Bloomberg Businessweek writer Clarie Suddath noted that Pacific Rim was "a mash-up of the 1980s B-movie film Robojox [sic] and Godzilla on steroids".