Movie Review: REAL STEEL - Suprisingly endearing and entertaining! It has heart, action, & comedy

Review: Real Steel

Studio: Disney/Dream Works

Release Date: Friday, October 7, 2011 (nationwide)

Run Time: 2 Hours, 6 min.

Rating ★★★★★

Cast:

Hugh Jackman – Charlie Kenton

Dakota Goyo – Max Kenton

Evangeline Lilly – Bailey Tallet

Anthony Mackie – Finn

Kevin Durand – Ricky

Hope Davis – Aunt Debra

James Rebhorn – Marvin (Debra’s husband)

Karl Yune – Tak Mashido

Olga Fonda – Farra Lemkova

John Gatins – Kingpin (he wrote the screenplay, too!)

Forget what you think this movie is about. Yes, there are robots and yes, there is boxing. But it’s not rock’em-sock’em robots. It is so much more than that. Real Steel is a story about a man who’s become selfish and greedy but finds his redemption in an unlikely ally – his 11-year-old son Max, who he abandoned years ago.

Movie Review: REAL STEEL - Suprisingly endearing and entertaining! It has heart, action, & comedy 1

Charlie teaches Atom some boxing moves in shadow mode

Charlie Kenton is a former boxer who once came close to glory but could never quite reach it. With the help of his late trainer’s daughter Bailey, they’ve gotten into the next evolution of boxing – robot boxing. Set in the near future, the arena of boxing has changed from human boxing to machines due to the high demand for serious annihilation in the ring. But Charlie gambles more than his robots are winning, resulting in some hefty debts and some angry people along the way.

When Charlie’s ex-girlfriend suddenly dies, a custody hearing ensues to find out who will take care of Max. Max’s Aunt Debra and her very wealthy husband Marvin are eager to take Max, but Charlie sees an opportunity in selling his paternal rights. In exchange for $100,000 (in two installments), Charlie agrees to take Max for three months while Marvin takes Debra on an Italian vacation. Easy money, right? Well, Charlie gets more than he bargained for – Max is a chip off the old block.

Movie Review: REAL STEEL - Suprisingly endearing and entertaining! It has heart, action, & comedy 2

Charlie (Hugh Jackman) and Max (Dakota Goyo) take Noisy Boy to an underground boxing match

I wasn’t sure whether I was going to like Real Steel. Admittedly, I wasn’t remotely interested in seeing boxing robots but I’m so happy I did. The pace of the story flows well – giving you enough backstory without being too sappy, yet evolving quickly enough to get the gist of how the WRB (World Robot Boxing) Federation works, including some unique underground boxing matches. Jackman is superb! He wholly embodies the character as if he were Charlie. Of course, his physical appearance is to be commended *swoon*. I absolutely fell in love with Max! Goyo is a young actor to keep your eye on. He reminds me of what Haley Joel Osment had earlier in his career – tenacity. I think Goyo is at the right age to get his bearings for acting, and mature with his roles, unlike some child actors who start at age three, only to pique at age 12.

The robots are also quite unique. All of them take on the persona of their controllers. The wonderful part about Real Steel is that the robots are real! Yes, real robots! The director, Shawn Levy, and actress Evangeline Lily were on hand after the advance screening at the IMAX® theatre at Universal City Walk in Burbank to talk about the film. Levy mentions he wanted real robots to evoke better authenticity in the actors’ performances. To know that Atom, the sparring robot Max accidentally discovers when he slips down a ravine in a junkyard, is a real robot makes me smile. It’s no secret I’m a huge Transformers fan; have been since the 80’s cartoons; and of course, many people immediately think of Real Steel as some kind of Transformers-type film but it’s far from it. While one robot, Zeus, is partially an autonomous robot, he is still controlled by his human creator, Tak Mashido. Zeus is the reigning, undefeated champion but his record will be put to the test when Atom gets a chance to step into the WRB ring. Atom is dubbed, “The people’s champion.”

Movie Review: REAL STEEL - Suprisingly endearing and entertaining! It has heart, action, & comedy 3

L-R: Evangeline Lily as Bailey and Hugh Jackman as Charlie

Although this movie is one of those ‘feel-good’ movies, the action from the boxing robots, the underground matches and locations, and the guys Charlie owes money to, induces some heart pounding and fist clenching moments. I found myself cheering for the robots! I felt my arm twitch as if I were going to hit someone with an upper-cut or right/left jab. Real Steel is surprisingly endearing and entertaining. It has heart, action, comedy, drama, and only one small kissing scene between Jackman and Lily (which I’m sure wasn’t enough for Lily; it sure as hell wouldn’t be for me *wink*). I’ll also admit I got a little choked up at the end. You think the robots have emotions and feelings but in the end, they are simply machines…or are they?

While Real Steel is a great family film, you can also take your girlfriend or boyfriend, or just grab some friends and go see it. It’s enjoyable and worth the ticket! See it in IMAX® if you can – the screens have amazingly high quality resolution!

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Judy Manning

Dream chaser extraordinaire! Judy tends to be a tad sarcastic and kind of goofy! She is an avid admirer of all things supernatural, paranormal, celestial and mystical. She loves to read, write, and watches way too much TV. She enjoys many genres of film and music (and let's be honest, most music from the 80s). She also has a wicked sweet tooth. Cupcakes beware.