U.S. DVD Release
Everybody…and I mean everybody loves robots. From the Dick Tufeld voiced Robot of the old Lost In Space television series to the awesome (and dangerous) die-cast metal Shogun Warriors of my youth, robots have always been a big treat for me. Shit, I STILL remember the glee I felt when seeing Robby The Robot on Lost in Space! If Forbidden Planet and Voltron don’t float your boat well then by God what the hell are you doing reading this review?!!
Oh yeah…Mikadroid.
When I first laid eyes on this film I just knew it was going to kick major ass! How can a film about a killer robot rampaging through a disco night club NOT be freakin’ fun? I could just see the bloody polyester leisure suits and piles of innards lying amongst discarded gold chains with Pisces symbols! It sounded too good to be true! If the film delivered even half of what the title alone promised I knew I’d be one happy dork-ass.
Well, I’m one happy dork-ass though Mikadroid: Robokill Beneath Disco Club Layla was fairly uneventful. It wasn’t bad at all but there was very little plot so it ends up being nothing more than a “watch the robot kill and eventually get defeated” type flick. Don’t lie…you enjoy flicks like that just as much as I do! Thankfully, the filmmakers knew they weren’t working with a whole hell of a lot so they threw in a hot, bloody Japanese girl to spice things up. While the concept certainly sounded sweet, it just didn’t come across as exciting as it could have.
March 10, 1945, Japan is facing utter defeat at the hands of the Allied forces. The Japanese government decides to abandon its super secret Ultimate Soldier project, “Jinra-Go.” The project’s goal was to create super soldiers by encasing men in top physical condition within a robotic shell equipped with a small arsenal and numerous power sources. The 124th Special Armored Solder unit is officially disbanded and all documents and experiments are to be destroyed so as not to fall into Allied hands.
The professor in charge of the project isn’t about to let his hard work go down the drain so he sets the two remaining un-altered soldiers free and activates the only complete Jinra-Go before succumbing to his injuries. The Jinra-Go proves effective but its mission is cut short after shelling seals off the entrance to the main chamber; concealing the powerful weapon inside.
Years later, an electrical mishap charges the Jinra-Go soldier to full capacity; its mission is to kill and nothing will stop it from fulfilling its duty. When late-night electrician Juyo and moody Saeko are trapped inside Club Layla’s basement with the unstoppable warrior robot their only chance of survival may be two men armed to the teeth and ready to battle to the death with the monstrous robot. Could these two men actually be the un-altered Jinra-Go from 1945? Could they have survived all this time?
The Mikadroid will not stop until everybody in its path has been terminated. Friend against friend, flesh versus metal. Defeat is no longer an option.
People expecting to see a disco mass murder at the hands of a malfunctioning super cyborg may be a tad bit disappointed because, as the title states, the robo-killing actually takes place beneath Club Layla in its parking garage which means only a small handful of people really get their asses handed to them. Once the garage automatically locks down the survivors head into the tunnels of the once buried laboratory.
There were some cool-ish battle sequences though most take place out of sight between the human Jinra-Go soldiers and the robot. It’s really only toward the end when Juyo and Saeko are forced to stop running and fight alongside the remaining Jinra-Go soldier.
So…well…there you have it. There’s really not much more to it than that. This is just one of those odd little films that you always mean to rent or purchase but never do. It’s definitely worth a rental and the disc comes with some cool special features that give a more in-depth look into the concept.
I wouldn’t say Mikadroid: Robokill Beneath Disco Club Layla is one of those “must have” robot flicks but it’s definitely worth checking out at least once.
