01
Robot Jox
Why this pick
A similarly earnest late-1980s B-movie spectacle, with a scrappy underdog entering a futuristic arena where outsized opponents and practical effects carry the fun.
A FILM WORTH A CLOSER LOOKTHE FEATURE PRESENTATION
MOVIE1989 1h 34m ITA
IF THIS ONE STAYED WITH YOU
Movies like
Arena
HorrorScience FictionAction
CINEHUNCH / THE NEXT FRAME
Keep the feeling.
SIMILAR PICKS / A PERSONAL CONNECTION
If you loved Arena, try these.
01
02
The Blood of Heroes
Why this pick
Its grimy future-sport world, physical contests, and hard-won outsider momentum make it a strong companion to Arena’s interspecies fight-circuit appeal.
03
Circuitry Man
Why this pick
This shares Arena’s direct-to-video-era futurism: eccentric characters, ramshackle space-age design, and a fast-moving adventure that embraces its pulpy premise.
04
Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone
Why this pick
For Arena’s playful alien-world texture and blue-collar heroism, this delivers a practical-effects space adventure with bizarre adversaries and serial-like momentum.
Finding the atmosphere, tension and little details that made this one stay with you.
Our curator needs a little longer. Please come back shortly.
No confident matches yet. Try our personal film finder.
01 / THE STORY
A little about the film.
Steve Armstrong (Paul Satterfield) is working as a short order cook on a space station somewhere in the galaxy. Overwhelmed by the volume of orders, he repeatedly fouls up and soon finds himself in a confrontation with an alien patron named Fang. After a fight which smashes up the diner and leaves the alien injured, Steve and his friend and co-worker Shorty (Hamilton Camp) are fired. As it turns out, Fang is an Arena fighter, and his manager Quinn (Claudia Christian) confronts Steve. Amazed that a human could beat one of her best fighters, Quinn offers him a contract, but convinced that humans no longer have a place in the Arena, Steve refuses, intending to make his way back to Earth.
02 / FACES IN THE FRAME
The people who bring it to life.
Hamilton Camp
Shorty
Marc Alaimo
Rogor
Shari Shattuck
Jade
Brett Porter
Wayne
Jack Carter
Announcer
Dave Thompson
Doctor
Ken Clark
Marcus
Armin Shimerman
Weezil