Robot Wars

Robot Wars is a 1993 American cyberpunk film directed by Albert Band and written by Charles Band and Jackson Barr. It tells the story of a hotshot mech pilot in a post-apocalyptic 2041 who must stop mech hijackers from provoking global war. Plot By 2041, North America has been ravaged by "the great toxic gas scare of 1993": large swaths of land have been turned into inhospitable desert, where bands of raiders called "Centros" attack transports. The former United States have been assimilated into a Western bloc called the North Hemi. The opposing Eastern bloc is known as the Eastern Alliance, and the North Hemi is planning to salvage its economy by manufacturing defense robots called "mini-megs" for the Eastern Alliance. These robots would be half-sized offshoots of giant "mega-robots", once ubiquitous in warfare, but now reduced to a single specimen, the Mega-Robotic Assault System-2 (or MRAS-2, pronounced "Merras-2" for short in dialogue) which looks like a mechanized scorpion. MRAS-2 conducts tours for civilians, and carries laser assault weapons and a magnetic shield ("mag-shield" for short in dialogue) to defend itself. It is operated by captain Drake and his copilot Stumpy. During a transport run, MRAS-2 is ambushed by Centros. Drake opts for a defensive strategy, but his boss Rooney, Chief of Operation in Op Com, orders him to attack so he can show off the robot to general Wa-Lee and his aide Chou-Sing, visiting dignitaries from the Eastern Alliance sent to negotiate the purchase of the mini-meg series. The violent rocking motions of MRAS-2 during the battle cause an archaeologist passenger, Dr. Leda Fanning, to drop and break her valuable specimens. When Drake brings MRAS-2 to port, Leda angrily confronts Drake about the specimens, but he dismisses her with flirtatious remarks.