Compared to Japan, American or Hollywood films rarely made movies about giant robots. But rarely does not mean never! Just take a peek at these list of 19 Hollywood films featuring giant robots.

1. Pacific Rim

Produced by director Guillermo del Toro (who is well-known as a fan of anime, mecha, and Ultraman) Pacific Rim tells the story of humanity’s last line of defense against the appearance of a mysterious giant alien monster known as kaiju. In order to defeat the monsters, mankind created their own “monster”, the Jaeger robots. 

In the writer's view it is not wrong to put Pacific Rim as the best Hollywood-made giant robot movie. This film is very successful in capturing the feeling of seeing and driving a giant robot. Every movement and collision made or received by the Jaegers and kaiju felt very impactful. Likewise the cinematography perfectly shows their sense of scale.

2. Godzilla vs Kong

Yes, although from the title it is clear that this film mainly tells the conflict between Godzilla and Kong, but there is a giant robot surprise towards the end of the film. To minimize spoilers, you better watch the film yourself first!

3. Pacific Rim: Uprising

The sequel to Pacific Rim once again shows the Earth being attacked by kaiju 10 years after the events in the previous film. John Boyega, Finn’s actor from the Star Wars films, plays the main character named Jake Pentecost, son of the Stracker Pentecost character. Although the battle scenes are quite exciting and the idea of depicting the world after kaiju attacks is interesting, it's just that this writer feel like Pacific Rim: Uprising failed to capture the magic of the first Pacific Rim. 

4. Transformers

Who doesn't know Transformers? This movie adaptation of a cartoon series and toy line that tells of an alien robot that can turn into a vehicle is very successful all over the world. From 2007 to 2017, director Michael Bay worked on five different Transformers titles, all of which made hundreds of millions of dollars in box office profits. In this first film, Autobot (along with a teenager Sam Witwicky) and Decepticon compete to find the Allspark energy source on Earth. The writer personally only likes the first film, and thinks the sequels are too busy with boring stories. But of course, if you really like Transformers and just want to see robot battles, sophisticated special effects, and expensive cars, it doesn't hurt to watch all the movies.

5. Bumblebee

The prequel to the Transformers film series, as the title suggests, focuses on the character Bumblebee. Before the Autobots and Decepticons arrived on Earth and they were still fighting on the planet Cybertron, Optimus Prime sent Bumblebee to our planet in hopes of finding a gathering place if they lost against Megatron's forces. However, several Decepticons who manage to track the lone scout threaten the safety of both Bumblebee and his new friend Charlie. 

The robots in this film use the G1 design, aka similar to the cartoon and toy versions, making it a big fan service to fans of the classic Transformers series. The story is simple and focuses more on character development, which makes it even more enjoyable to watch.

6. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

In the second Transformers film, Sam, the military organization NEST, and Autobots again face the Decepticons, this time led by an ancient Transformers named The Fallen. The evil robot is looking for a sun-absorbing machine that will be used to destroy the universe. Many viewers were disappointed because of the strange plot and crass comedy elements but the special effects were still praised. There are about 40 different Transformers designs featured in Revenge of the Fallen.

7. Transformers: Dark of the Moon

As the title suggests, the third film in the Transformers series shows a Cybertronian technology called the Ark that landed on the "dark side of the Moon". The United States government tries to cover up Ark's existence even though Optimus Prime and Autobots found out about it, meanwhile Decepticon wants to use its power to turn Earth into a new Cybertron. Once again, the visuals of this film are still successful in attracting many people to the cinema, but on the other hand, Transformers fans are shocked to see how different Optimus's character is when he disposes of a traitor in cold-blood.

8. Transformers: Age of Extinction

The big battles that occured in previous films have made mankind distrust Transformers. The Autobots are now being hunted. Meanwhile, CIA secret group Cemetery Wind finds Transformium alloy which allows them to create their own Transformers. 

Despite not being liked by film critics, this film still managed to rank 18th in the global box office charts. In Age of Extinction, the giant dinosaur robots Dinobots made their debut and actor Mark Wahlberg played the main character Cade Yeager, replacing Shia LaBeouf who played Sam Witwicky in previous titles.

9. Power Rangers (2017)

Even though the battle scenes are lacking, fortunately this Power Rangers movie still features Megazord at the end of the film so I consider it (somewhat) worthy of being on the list. Reportedly Paramount Pictures will reboot this film because they are not satisfied with its revenue at the box office.

10. Mortal Engine

Mortal Engine actually tells the story of cities that can run on wheels or tank tracks and "eat" each other for resources and fuel. But as you can see in the video footage above, the design and mechanisms of the city are just like a giant robot, right? Just think of the Mortal Engine towns as some sort of gigantic Guntanks from Gundam.

11. Transformers: The Last Knight

The last title before the release of the Bumblebee prequel continues the conflict between Autobots and humans. Meanwhile, Optimus Prime who returns to Cybertron is brainwashed by Quintessa and becomes an evil figure called Nemesis Prime. Despite earning USD$605.4 million (Rp8.6 trillion) worldwide, Paramount and Hasbro still consider it a failure.

12. Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow

These last seven movies on this list are old school. As the writer already mentioned, it is not surprising considering that Western films rarely feature robots (let alone giant mechas) outside of cartoons. 

This particular film tells the adventure of Joseph Sullivan aka Sky Captain, played by Jude Law (Yon-Rogg, Captain Marvel), against dangerous inventions created by a villain named Dr. Totenkopf. Somewhat different than most movies on this list, giant robots are enemies in Sky Captain.

13. Wild Wild West

Starring veteran actors Will Smith and Kevin Kline (Maurice, Beauty and the Beast [2017]), the two actors who play as agents of the United States government must stop the evil plan of scientist Arliss Loveless who wanted to destroy America using a gigantic spider robot.

14. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie

The first feature film adaptation of the Power Rangers series. Premiered in 1995, this film is an alternate retelling of the entire Mighty Morphin Power Rangers series and their battle against Ivan Ooze. 

In the tv version usually they mix scenes from the original Japanese series, Super Sentai. But the entirety of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie uses new material filmed in Queensland, Australia.

15. Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie

Unlike the previous movie, Turbo, which was released in 1997, added a new story between the time gap of Power Rangers Zeo series and Power Rangers Turbo.

16. Robot Jox

Robot Jox is a 1990 film directed by Stuart Gordon (Honey, I Shrunk the Kids!’s screenwriter). 50 years after the destruction of the Earth from a nuclear war, the remaining countries decide to ban war - all kinds of conflicts are replaced by giant robot battles controlled by trained pilots, "robot jox". We follow the journey of Achilles, a robot jox who resigned after accidentally killing 300 spectators while protecting himself from the attacks of his rival, Alexander. 

Yes, you could say that this is the Hollywood version of G Gundam or Rocky II with giant robots. Although the special effects and stop-motion animation are out of date, this film is a cult classic among giant robot fans in America thanks to its cool robot design, interesting world, and exciting story.

17. ROBOT WARS

ROBOT WARS takes place in the year 2041 after the 1993 toxic gas war which turned most of the world's landmass into deserts. Captain Drake, a giant mech/robot pilot, is involved in a conflict and must stop a band of mech thieves in order to prevent another global war from occurring. Even though it features a similar story, made by the same production house, and actor Danny Kamekona is present in both films, ROBOT WARS is not a sequel to Robot Jox.

18. Crash and Burn

Another B-movie set in a post-apocalyptic future. The Unicom company, which is now the world's leader, has faced resistance from a rebel group. However, their efforts to finish off the rebels hiding in the TV station, the last bastion of free speech, were unsuccessful. Unicom end up sending a "special package" to try and destroy the rebels once and for all. To be honest, a giant robot only appears briefly at the end of the film, but its appearance adds a decent value to this rather low-quality film.

19. Atlantic Rim

And finally for a "bonus", a parody of the Pacific Rim film. Atlantic Rim was made by the production house The Asylum, which is known for producing "mockbusters", small budgeted movies released in conjunction with other, much more popular films using similar titles. So in terms of quality, don't expect much. But if you really need another giant robot film from the United States, well, I think this could still counts as an option. 

Those are 19 Hollywood movies that feature giant robots aka mechas. Which are your favorites?

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Written by Sidharta F. Rasidi: Twitter @StoPlayinGame