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Released by: Joy Sales/Fortune Star
Released on: 7/12/2006
Director: Jamie Luk
Cast: Amy Yip, Chikako Aoyama, David Wu, Billy Chow, Hiu-Dan Hui, Chung Lam
Year: 1991
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The Movie:
An Arabian prince is visiting Hong Kong and hanging out with naked ladies while his father attends a Robot Legion convention. While hanging out with the naked ladies he is kidnapped by a nefarious Japanese scientist named Ryuichi (Billy Chow) who has transferred his brain into a robot's body. During the attack, a sexy lady cop named Selina (Chikako Adyama) is killed in the line of duty. It seems that since the prince's father wouldn't team up with him and let him into the Robot Legion, he's going to pay him back.
After the Arabian robotics guy finds out that his son has been kidnapped he decides that he wants to use a robot invented by Dr. Sara (Hiu-Dan Hui), dubbed the Eve-27, to help the police get his son back in one piece - there's only one problem: although the robot is deft at kicking ass, it looks too much like a robot to be effective undercover. Thankfully, Sara reveals that her sexy assistant Anna (Amy Yip) is a cyborg too, proving that making a robot look like a person is not an issue for a scientist as skilled as she. All involved decide to transfer Selina's brain into a newly constructed robot body and get her on the case with the help of a few goofy Hong Kong cops but while they're trying to put their plan together, Ryuichi is running around town raping and killing women. Thankfully Selina and Anna are up for the job, and after a bit of a rough start, they soon get things moving and head out to save the day in the sexiest way possible.
Robotrix is basically Robocop mixed with The Terminator by way of Andy Sidaris in that it's done with an anything goes attitude and a lot more sex. It borrows quite heavily from both Verhoeven's film and Cameron's film but director Jamie Luk twists things up enough that even if it is a bit of a rip-off, it's at least a really fun rip-off. The characters are interesting, from the bumbling horny cops who want nothing more than a chance to bed their new team mate to the German scientists who are amazed to see a bulky Chinese man throw down with their latest cyborg creation - the people that populate this film are just plain wacky. Ryuichi makes for a great villain, laughing in that sinister super bad way that only bad guys can, while Selina and Anna are not only quick with their wits but also prone to using their considerable feminine charm to their advantage.
The effects might not look so hot by today's standards - Dr. Sara's first cyborg is obviously a perky gal with a silver bodysuit and a bucket on her head and the scene where Selina's consciousness is transferred into the cyborg body relies far too heavily on bad optical energy effects - but they're not without their screwball charm. What might throw people off is the way that the movie bounces back and forth between really dumb slapstick comedy and the harder moments of sex, violence, and sexualized violence. These scenes are a little unexpected (and are presented here full strength) when they're preceded by what are essentially 'Keystone Cops' antics, but again, this contradiction in styles is just one more strange layer on the tasty Robotrix cake.
In order to enjoy the film you'll definitely have to throw logic out the window and be prepared to suspend your disbelief to a pretty intense extent. There are serious logic gaps here - it's doubtful that the police would whore out their teammate in an attempt to catch a mad scientist turned rape machine and even more doubtful that one of the police would try and sneak in as a john for a chance to nab a little booty of his own - but they don't hurt the movie at all, instead they just add to the absurdity. The action scenes are handled reasonably well and the end of the film picks up the pace in terms of ass kicking even if the martial arts choreography isn't going to win any awards. Throw in a completely unnecessary romantic subplot to cater to the audience's lust for melodrama and at the same times provides enough nudity to keep even the most ardent pervert satisfied (sadly, Ms. Yip remains skillfully and strategically covered throughout) and Robotrix comes up a winner.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Robotrix is presented in a decent 1.85.1 anamorphic widescreen transfer that appears to be the proper aspect ratio. While the detail level varies a bit depending on lighting and grain levels, for the most part this is a pretty nice transfer. Color reproduction is quite good and flesh tones look lifelike and natural. Print damage, when present, is never more than a mild distraction and aside from a couple of scenes grain is held firmly in check in that it's there but it's not overpowering.
The audio is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, in Cantonese with optional subtitles available in Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese and English. Although there are some grammatical oddities in the English subs, for the most part they translate things well enough so that even if you run into the occasional awkward phrasing, at least you won't have any problem following the story (though there are a few bits where the subs move really, really quickly). As far as the quality of the audio goes, it's not bad but the levels are a little high so you might find yourself wanting to turn things down once the movie starts. Other than that, Robotrix fares well in the audio department.
While this isn't a full out special edition, Joy Sales has included the lengthy four-minute theatrical trailer for the film (sadly, no subtitles are provided for this) as well as a still gallery consisting of seven images that look to have been taken from a press book of some sort. Animated menus and chapter stops are provided, as is a scene selection menu and an audio setup menu. The keepcase features to alternate versions of the Hong Kong theatrical one sheet - one on each side, and it fits inside a silver slipcase that frames the artwork nicely and which contains the specifications of the disc and a plot synopsis on the back in English and in Chinese.
The Final Word:
A gleefully exploitative mix of sex, violence, sci-fi and slapstick Robotrix is a completely wacky Cat III classic that is as entertaining as it is puzzling. While it might not be a great movie in the way that Citizen Kane is a great movie, it's fast paced, exciting, sexy and funny - what more do you want?