The concept of mech suits is woefully underutilized in modern filmmaking, but a rare fewmoviesare able to prove the power of the sci-fi subgenre. In truth, the best movies featuring mechs often pale in comparison to even themost basic mecha anime, considering how deeply rooted in Japanese pop culture the idea of the mechanized combat suit is. Still, a rare handful of movies are able to do the mecha genre justice just as well as their serialized TV counterparts.
It goes without saying that many of the greatest films to feature mechs are simply the movie adaptations of mecha anime, or feature-length specials taking place in the same narrative. However, Hollywood and other independent Western filmmakers have had a few successful stabs at glorious live-action mech adventures, even ifcritical misses like Netflix’sAtlasare just as common.From big-budget blockbusters with high-profile names attached to iconic animated movies,the best mech films offer a high level of variety to enjoy.
The most relatable answer for the question of the best mech movie is easily Guillermo del Toro’sPacific Rim.Obviously taking heavy inspiration from anime while still retaining a hefty dose of del Toro’s trademark dark fantasy creativity, the film takes place in an intense alternate future in which humanity has been invaded by giant kaiju creatures from another dimension. To avoid constantly leveling heavy population centers, the world’s governments employ Jaegers to stop them– Gargantuan mechs piloted by a pair of “drift compatible” individuals who can share the burden of their vehicle’s overwhelming neural interface.
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There’s so muchPacific Rimgets right about the mecha genre and science fiction in general, from the worldbuilding to the interpersonal relationships. Of course,the dazzlingly-rendered mech combat still holds up today, with each of the Jaeger’s massive punches feeling properly weighty against the battered hide ofPacific Rim’s dangerous kaiju monsters.It’s a shame the sequel,Pacific Rim: Uprising, was such a letdown in comparison. Hopefully, the franchise will still have the opportunity to redeem itself in the future.
Diametrically opposed toPacific Rim’s dazzling budget sitsRobot Jox,a criminally underseen science fiction film involving plenty of drag-down mech-on-mech battles.Taking place in a post-apocalyptic Earth that has underwent nuclear armageddon, the film follows the titular “Robot Jox”, mech pilots who settle the conflicts between the remnants of the USA and USSR in formalized gladitorial battles.
While the film didn’t enjoy high critical praise upon its release, it has since become something of an underground cult classic.
With such a limited production budget,Robot Joxis able to accomplish an impressive degree of gripping robotic action using delicately crafted practical effects.Even if the story is somewhat rote on a surface level, more academic analysis draws some fascinating conclusions about an anti-war message bathed in a deep appreciation for military hardware.
By the timePacific Rim’s first trailer came out, it was actually initially receieved as a pale imitation ofRobot Jox,even if the latter has become overshadowed by the wake of the former’s success.
TheMacrossseries might not have quite the same level of acclaim as more famous anime contemporaries, but nonetheless managed to produce one of the finest mech films ever concieved for animation.Macross: Do You Remember Love?,commonly abbreviated toDYRL?among fans, serves as an alternate universe retelling of the original 80s anime series. The film tells the story of the pilots of Macross mechs, essentially Transformers with pilots, in their battles against the terrifying Zendrati, a spacefaring race of giant human-like aliens.
True to its title,Macross: Do You Remember Love?is at once a fascinating space opera and a classic love triangle story, blending personal narratives with complex worldbuildilng to make an incredible whole.The bizarre Zendrati gender relations further explore complex themes of male/female dynamics, all to the sound of a brilliant J-pop soundtrack. It’s also worth noting that theMacrossseries has some of thebest anime mech designsaround, with the stand-alone movie being no exception.
Taking place within the canon of the quietly phenomenalMobile PolicePatlaborseries,Patlabor: The Movieis at once a satisfying continuation of the story that’s still more than accessible to newcomers. In a technology-rich near-future,Tokyo is undergoing the dramatic reconstruction of a massive artifical island known as “The Ark.”
The narrative ofPatlabor: The Moviemight not be the most revolutionary, but it still provides a rich springboard for some spectacularly-animated mech battles to unfold off of, utilizing the series' sleek utilitarian design principals.
However, construction is halted when many of the civilian-use mechs, known as “Labors”, go haywire, prompting a response from the Mobile Police Patlabor team.What follows is a dark investigation into a mysterious suicide conducted by protagonist Asuma Shinohara and his fellow response team, uncovering a sinister conspiracy regarding The Ark’s construction.
The narrative ofPatlabor: The Moviemight not be the most revolutionary, but it still provides a rich springboard for some spectacularly-animated mech battles to unfold off of, utilizing the series' sleek utilitarian design principals.The enjoyable personalities of Special Vehicles Section 2 Division 2 also fuel the action with their frun camaraderie.
In truth, a list of the best mech movies could easily be made up of the entirety of the feature-length entries of theNeon GenesisEvangelioncanon.However, the best of them easily sits at the end of the dizzyingNeon Genesis Evangelionwatch order, fittingly titledGenesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion.As the reluctant mech pilot Shinji continues his career fighting the mysterious alien threats, the Angels, in the wake of his friend Kawarou’s betrayal, the catastrophic Third Impact looms in the near-future.
There’s a reason whyNeon Genesis Evangelionas a whole, particularlyGenesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion,has such a hallowed reputation. The series isn’t afraid to get disturbing, morally complex, and visually esoteric, becoming so much more than a simple battle for humanity.The film’s themes of religious fervor, criticism of otaku culture,psychosexual ideologies, and references to classic sci-fi literature allow for endless dissection, resulting in one of the most genius anime films of all time, let alone among the mecha genre.
Unlike most sci-fi franchises, which tend to start strong then get successively weaker over time, theAppleseedmecha series was critically-panned at first, only to be saved by the good graces of the direct-to-video sequelAppleseed: Ex Machina.Produced in part by the legendary action movie icon John Woo,Appleseed Ex Machinais a CGI anime revolving around a cyberpunk future in which a race of genetically-engineered people known as Bioroids suffer through the civil war of the megacity Olympus.Following the events of the first film, a new wave of terrorist attacks sweep the megalopolis.
Appleseed: Ex Machinabecomes a classic buddy-cop story when the returning hero Deunan is assigned a new mechanized partner bearing the likeness of her robotic lover from the previous film.The film admittedly makes required viewing out of the less-impressive previous film, but doing so makes it easy to appreciate the improvement of the 3D animation from the first movie to the second.Add in some John Woo-approved action beats with creative cyberpunk hardware, andAppleseed: Ex Machinaisn’t a mecha movie to miss.
A more recent canonization into the mecha anime hall-of-fame,Promareis a self-contained feature-length story standing amongthe iconic works of Studio Trigger.During a catastrophe known as the Great World Blaze, billions of people die in a mysterious mass case of spontaneous human combustion, with some humans, known as Burnish, gaining pyrokinetic abilities. To combat the more evil members of this new group, the Mad Burnish, the firefighting group Burning Rescue is created, using mechs to quench the flames of evil.
Its unique animation style conveys some of the most elaborate and intense animated mech battles ever put to screen, not to mention the deep worldbuilding and unique idea of having mechs be firefighters just as much as they are combatants.
Though it’s a relatively new original anime IP,Promarehas become something of an instant classic in the mecha subgenre.Its unique animation style conveys some of the most elaborate and intense animated mech battles ever put to screen, not to mention the deep worldbuilding and unique idea of having mechs be firefighters just as much as they are combatants. Even if it wears clear inspirations likeFire Forceon its sleeve,Promarearguably outdoes most of its anime predecessors, mecha or otherwise.
The iconic anime seriesMobile Suit Gundamhas become almost synonymous with the mech genre itself, being among the first pop culture installations to make a name for itself with giant militarized robots. While the greatest Gundam-related films could make up a separate list all their own, the series' crowning achievement in terms of feature-length films is easilyGundam Wing: Endless Waltz.Continuing the second timeline of theMobile Suit Gundam Wingtimeline, the film sees the start of a new conflict following the resolution of Earth’s battles with the space colonies, introducing a rebel faction.
Gundam Wing: Endless Waltzprovides as gripping a political drama as fans of the many Gundam properties have come to expect.Where the film truly stands out is in its singularly excellent art design, fight choreography, and clever mech designs, outdoing even the legacy of the franchise up to that point of its release.The movie also provides a more satisfying ending to theMobile Suit Gundam Wingseries than the actual show did, further cementing its place as a revered title in the crowded Gundam filmography.
A high-concept mecha movie starring the likes of Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt feels almost too good to be true, butEdge of Tomorrowcertainly manages to deliver on its far-flung sci-fi ideas.Loosely based on the excellently-named Japanese light novelAll You Need Is Kill,the film stars Cruise as a PR officer with no combat experience thrust into a harrowing military conflict against a deadly alien race of invaders.Strapping into a slender agility-oriented mech frame, Cruise’s Major William Cage gets trapped in aGroundhog’s Day-style time loop while looking for a way to defeat the aliens.
Simultaneously being a mech movie, an alien invasion movie, and a time loop movie,Edge of Tomorrowseems like it should have too many moving pieces to work.Yet somehow, all these fantastical elements work together in a brilliant symphony of dynamic science fiction action, all emotionally anchored by the character arc of Cage and his romance with Emily Blunt’s Sergeant Rita Vrataski. The mech vs. alien battles also givesPacific Rima run for its money, even if they do operate on a smaller scale.
Not every mech story needs to have such a world-shattering narrative, or even have pilots risk life and limb piloting their mechs from within a suit.Both points are proven well by 2011’sReal Steel,an underrated Hugh Jackman star vehicle taking place in a future in which remote-piloted mech combat has become the United States' national pastime. Jackman stars as a former boxer struggling with the sudden appearance of his estranged 11-year-old son in his life. The two go on to fix-up a simple training robot together to forge it into a world champion.
Silly thoughReal Steel’s premise may be as a sports drama or heartwarming tale of father-and-son emotionally reconnecting, it wears its heart on its sleeve with an earnest tale that’s satisfying for what it is. The 2011 CGI and motion capture work has also held up remarkably well, with the various pugilist mechs of the series each having their own distinct visual flair. Even if it’s nothing revolutionary,Real Steelworks well enough as a rare low-stakes mechamoviethat gets as much mileage out of its world as is needed.
