Real Steel - Review

There are some movies with premises so goofy and strange, that I wish I could have heard the screenwriter, producer, or director pitch his/her idea to the studio. I imagine the pitch for Real Steel went something along the lines of "Rocky... but with Robots" or maybe this film started off as a film adaptation of the Rock-Em Sock-Em Robot toy line. Hell, it was probably greenlit as an opportunity for the studio to put a family friendly crowd pleaser in theaters for the end-of-summer lineup and give them just enough time to market a line of Real Steel-themed toys in time for the holidays. No matter where the origins of it's bizarre conception came from, what really matters is whether the movie is any good. So is Real Steel as dumb as it sounds or is it the real deal?

The said goofy concept basically goes like this. Real Steel is set in the near future where a new sport craze has captured the nation... Robot Boxing! Audiences don't care about seeing two people wail on each other in the ring anymore, now they prefer seeing brutal fights between 10 foot tall robots. In the middle of the Robot Boxing circuit is Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman). Himself a former boxer, Charlie travels the country entering his robots in as many fights as he can... and usually looses. Up to his neck in debt and malfunctioning robots, Charlie struggles to maintain a living. When he learns that his ex-girlfriend of many years ago unexpectedly died, he suddenly finds himself reunited with his estranged son Max. Not wanting to have anything to do with his child, he arranges for his ex's wealthy and willing sister to take custody of Max, but not until after summer comes to an end. In the meantime, Charlie reluctantly takes Max on the road for his boxing circuit. There they both discover a beat-up robot named Atom. Despite Atom's relative inability to dish any pain, it's ability to withstand large amounts of damage make it a surprisingly formidable fighter. So now, Charlie, Max, and Atom take the roads and become a surprising hit in the world of robot boxing.

Any movie with a story that can be best described as Rocky with a touch of Over The Top and some Transformers-style robots has no real reason to be any good. That said, I have to admit, Real Steel actually isn't that bad of a movie... dare I say that I even liked it. Make no mistake, it's by no means amazing but its well enough made to justify at least one viewing (it's probably not in theatres anymore, sorry for the late review folks). Oh sure, it's still mainly an excuse to make a quick buck and to market a bunch of toys, and the film snob part of me sometimes says that I should be harder on it, but I can't deny that I found the movie very enjoyable and well made. What can I say?

I've generally been a fan of Hugh Jackman, but I have to admit that he hasn't exactly been on a high streak lately. With the exception of his amusing Wolverine cameo in X-Men First Class, I can't really think of any other particularly noteworthy movies he has been a part of the last few years. His performance in Reel Steal, however, changes that. He certainly pulls off what is normally a fairly generic "douchebag with a heart of gold" role and does it well. He starts off as enough of a deadbeat to set his character arc in motion and as the story progresses, his development feels natural and convincing. He's by no means Oscar worthy but Jackman does his part well. The real breakthrough performance has to go to Dakota Goyo as the young Max Denton. Kid performances tend to either make or break a movie if their character plays a major role in the plot, but Goyo pulls through and brings a natural and believable performance that's neither forced or annoying. Not much else to say about the acting other than that it just works.

The special effects are surprisingly some of the better I've seen this year. Looking back on this last year, the visual effects front has been kind of lackluster. The Transformers cgi was less-than-spectacular, Super 8 had its moments yet was kind of meh, Green Lantern was ugly, Planet of the Apes was well detailed but usually looked pretty computerized, X-Men's looked somewhat unfinished, Thor's were colorful yet also not totally convincing, and... you get the point. Real Steel's on the other hand actually look pretty damn awesome. The cgi robots aren't always 100% convincing, but they all have neat-looking designs that serve the movie well. The detail in the animation is impressive, the physics behind their movements works, and the designs are all distinct from one another. It's mostly cgi (especially during the fight scenes) but there are a few scenes using puppets and animations. It had a good balance between the two, and it just plain works.

The boxing and action scenes are surprisingly better than I could have ever expected. Director Shawn Levey's filmography before Real Steel consisted mainly of second-rate comedies. I would have never led me to believe he was capable of directing action. After all, this is the guy behind forgettable fare like Big Fat Liar, Cheaper By The Dozen, The Pink Panther remake, Night At The Museum, and a few others of more or less the same calibre. Granted, most of his films aren't necessarily horrible (usually) but most are pretty meh to say the least. For Real Steel, the action scenes combine the efforts of Levey's surprisingly formidable direction, fast-paced but not erratic editing, well-placed camera angles, great fight choreography staged by Sugar Ray Leonard, and the aforementioned solid special effects. What can I say other than that they're exciting, well made, and a hell of a lot of fun to watch.

To no surprise, the story is the film's biggest weak spot is the story. I'm sure there are plenty of people that will have a hard time getting behind the Rocky with Robots plotline, and I'll be first to admit how silly it sounds. The main problem for me wasn't so much the goofy plot as much as it was the incredibly predictable nature of the story. If you've seen any boxing movie ever made, you'll have absolutely no problem predicting the ending and most of the dramatic turns. Not to mention, some of the character development comes kind of out of left field. The most noticeable would be the scene where Max suddenly changes from a star-struck young fan to a noted expert of the craft of robot boxing. It's generic, run-of-the-mill screenwriting to say the least, but if you keep your expectations low enough, it probably won't phase you much.

This kind of a side note, but I'd like to take this time to write a note to Michael Bay or whoever will be making the next Transformers movie. Mr. Bay, take a look at Real Steel and take some notes on how to make a fun movie action movie with toy-like robots. Take note of the robots... they're distinguishable from one another, moved like robots, and looked well constructed. Look at the action... the camera wasn't shaking around erratically and you could actually see what was happening. Finally, observe the actors... did you see how grounded and believable performances made the movie better and more believable as opposed to overacting psychos shouting half of their lines? Just take a look, it certainly couldn't hurt.

I don't think that Real Steel is playing in theatres anymore, but if it's still hanging around, I'd say it's worth checking out. If you can accept the silly premise, then definitely give it a shot. Kids will probably eat it up, but adults will find enough to enjoy about it as well. If you missed it in theatres, give it a watch when it comes out on DVD.

My Score: 3.5 out of 5!