Guest Post: Robotropolis Review by Rhys Thomas

I have watched a few films of late but none have made me want to write kind words about them until I came across this low budget treat packed with high quality special effects (for a low budget film) and a relatively strong if simple story.

Set in a city which has been used as a guinea pig area for a new robot workforce living side by side with humans. For the first time a news crew has been allowed in to report on this experiment, as they are there they witness the robots turn on man. Fearing there is noway for them to escape they carry on reporting so that the world will know what the robots are capable of.

The robots themselves are reminiscent of white versions Maximilian from The Black Hole and interact well with the human actors and their surroundings.

The cast is made up of TV and low budget movie actors with the most recognisable being Lani John Tupu from Farscape who plays Gordon Standish, a wealthy businessman who designed the robots ans Zoe Nayor from The Reef who plays reporter Christiane Nouveau. I have searched the web for more information about the film but there seems to be very little available other than it being filmed in the US and Singapore and released in 2011. I suspect it was made for TV as opposed to cinema or direct to DVD as some of the cuts seem like they were designed to allow for episodic or commercial breaks.

Mixing elements of mockumentary and lost footage genres into a more conventional film format the writer/director Christopher Hatton has created a tense and often violent movie with some infrequent and unexpected moments of gore. Robotropolis isn't likely to make it to many peoples favourite movie list but if your looking for something to watch of a Sunday afternoon or on a Friday night when you get back from the pub then Robotropolis ticks all the boxes.

Writing for The Bearded Trio, Rhys Thomas

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