A gritty, white-knuckle, action ride set in the near-future where the sport of boxing has gone hi-tech, Real Steel, stars Hugh Jackman as Charlie Kenton, a washed-up fighter who lost his chance at a title when 2000-pound, 8-foot-tall steel robots took over the ring. Now nothing but a small-time promoter, Charlie earns just enough money piecing together low-end bots from scrap metal to get from one underground boxing venue to the next. When Charlie hits rock bottom, he reluctantly teams up with his estranged son Max (Dakota Goya) to build and train a championship contender.... As the stakes in the brutal, no-holds-barred arena are raised, Charlie and Max, against all odds, get one last shot at a comeback. [show more]
Imagine a cross between "Rocky" and "Transformers", and you'll come pretty close to describing "Real Steel". That's right, this movie revolves around a very odd 'high concept' indeed: robot boxing. And not only does the film dare to attempt such an uneasy melding the sports and sci-fi genres, but it also uses the idea as the backdrop for an emotional family story about an estranged father reconnecting with his son, as the two bond over the course of an adventure that sees them rehabilitate an old sparring robot in an attempt to have him challenge the world champion of robot-boxing.
It sounds weird, but somehow it works.
It helps that the movie's lead character, Charlie Kenton, is portrayed by the inherently likeable Hugh Jackman. Although his character starts off as a clichéd deadbeat dad - ekeing out an existence by dragging a robot fighter around county fairs, but losing most of the money he makes on ill-advised gambling - Jackman gives Kenton a core of decency that means that you begin to like him even before he's really done anything worthy of redemption. And once his son Max (Dakota Goyo) comes into the picture, we quickly see Charlie begin to soften up, and display some of the more laudable qualities that make him so obviously attractive to love interest Bailey Tallet (Evangeline Lilly).
From this simple setup springs a surprisingly involving story that sees Charlie and Max work their way up the robot-fighting leagues, learning from each other at the same time as they inevitably begin to bond more closely over the sport. Kenton - previously a boxer himself - provides the never-say-die spirit that keeps the team going even in the most dire circumstances, whilst Max counters Kenton's world-weariness with a naive, childlike optimism - as well as the technical wizardry that helps turn a bog-standard sparring robot, Atom, into something that's capable of challenging reigning robot-boxing champion Zeus.
OK, so it all sounds a little cheesy, and it's impossible to deny that things do become a little too saccharine and slushy in places. But contrasted against this predictably soft soap-opera story are some surprisingly brutal battle scenes that give the film a certain edge (and also make it unsuitable for younger children). The robot fights are pretty uncompromisingly violent - which isn't so bad when it's two machines fighting it out, but which becomes a little more disturbing when humans (or, in once scene, animals) are put in danger. There's also a subplot involving Charlie being pursued for his debts that results in a fairly violent and distressing scene that also involves Max: another reason why parents with young children might want to avoid this movie.
However, possibly the most satisfying element of the film is the way that the character of the plucky sparring robot, Atom, is handled. Whilst he's treated as an inanimate object throughout the film, subtle little directorial choices hint at the possibility of life lurking under his unreadable exterior. Whether it's a lingering shot in which Atom (or should that be 'Adam'? The movie encourages us to hear both) appears to look at himself in the mirror when he's left alone in a room, or a similarly pointed scene in which the crude face that's drawn on Atom's head appears to smile after an interaction with Max, there's a pleasingly ambiguous treatment of the robot as a 'real' character that makes it all the easier to root for Atom once the movie's big climax rolls around.
I obviously won't say anything to spoil the movie's conclusion - although if you've seen any sports films (especially boxing movies), you can probably guess how things play out - but suffice it to say that the movie delivers a satisfying ending to both the story of the robot-boxing championship and the story of Charlie and Max's relationship. It might be predictable and a little cheesy, but Real Steel turns out to be a surprisingly affecting treatment of what could have come off as a very odd idea, but which instead ends up feeling like an imaginative and exciting backdrop for what turns out to be a resolutely human story.
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Please note this is a region 2 DVD and will require a region 2 (Europe) or region Free DVD Player in order to play. A retired pugilist transitions to the business side of the ropes after human boxers are replaced by robotic ones in director Shawn Levy's feature-length adaptation of the TWILIGHT ZONE episode 'Steel'. Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman) was fighting for the title when the sport of boxing was changed forever. Now, instead of humans duking it out for the masses, huge, powerful steel robots trade blows in the ring. As a result, former gladiator Charlie has been forced into the role of two-bit promoter, piecing together cut-rate fighting bots from scrap metal as he makes the rounds on the underground boxing circuit. Just when it seems that Charlie has sunken to the nadir of his career, his estranged son, Max (Dakota Goyo), offers him the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity at a comeback by constructing and training a true champion. Now the stakes are higher than ever before, and Charlie is fully prepared to coach his robot to victory so that he can finally leave an indelible mark on the sport he once dedicated his life to.
Hugh Jackman stars in this robot sci-fi action film. It is the near future, and robots have replaced humans in dangerous sports such as boxing. With the sport taken over by robots, Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman) loses his chance to become a boxing champion, and instead sets himself up as a small-time promoter. Finding it difficult to make ends meet, he reluctantly teams up with his son Max (Dakota Goyo) to build Atom, a 2000-pound humanoid robotic fighter, as a contender for the championship.
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