Real Steel (2011) Review

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Synopsis:

Courage is stronger than steel.

Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman) is a washed-up fighter who lost his chance at a title when 900 kg, 2,5 m-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 Goyo), 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

Review

Robots. I am sure we have all seen our fair share of them in a wide variety of movies. Weather they are trying to destroy us and take over the world or adapt and live in harmony among us. So when I heard about this film which involved boxing robots, I was more than a little intrigued to see what it was all about. I did see the trailer and it leads up to the movie quite nicely. I would have to say that I REALLY enjoyed this flick! It has been quite a while since I have seen a film that has moved me the way this one did and it being a robot film, which surprised me.

The story begins with a longer than usual intro, though it is needed to give us a better understanding of the characters, so we know why they act or behave the way they do. The chemistry between our two leads is fantastic and really comes through on the screen perfectly. They couldn’t have picked a better duo. I was a little worried as to how the young actor would fair…but he pulls it off with such attitude and spunk you can’t help but cheer him on…cheer for both of them; heck all three of them…yes even the robot!

The acting was spot on with a great cast and a nice blend of characters. I am happy the co-stars get a decent amount of screen time too, so you feel for them as well. The film is quite strongly character driven and has such emotion and heart that if you don’t tear up in a scene or two, you should be in a different theatre or you’re watching the wrong movie. The story goes along at a great pace, and I never felt bored at all. I wanted to know where the story would take us next and see how the father/son companionship grew.

The special effects are simply amazing! I was happy to see that they used some CGI (mostly in the fights and walking scenes), but also proper robot animatronics. Let me just tell you, it makes all the difference, especially with human to robot interaction. It’s awesome to know the robot is really next to the actors in some of the scenes, and not on some far off computer screen in the editing room. We get a good variety of bots, so it’s always something different, which is just what the film needs, and if it’s one thing we do get a lot of- its robot fights in all their destructive glory!

In terms of cinematography, I liked it a lot. We get some pretty country-side shots as our Trio take us across the land to a host of different fights, from the low down and dirty underground, to the more mid-range bouts, all the way to huge main events. It’s nice to see the different kind of environments the robots fight in and the characters that go along with it. It changed a lot, which adds nicely to the fighting robot world we are shown and feels like you are there.

I just wanted to add that this film really has great heart; it just shows you that anybody can change for the better, even if they don’t come across that way off the bat. The only gripe I could give this film, if I really had to, is it could come off a bit soppy at times, but on that note, this film needs it or it wouldn’t work the way it did.

At the end of the day, “Real Steel” is the real deal! It’s a great movie that has it all…Emotion, acting, special effects and not to mention attitude! I can’t retort any more how much I enjoyed this film and one I might add that affected me the way it did, even after the credits were rolling. This makes for incredible cinema. I had a small inclination that it may have been predictable, but happily it wasn’t. The film has done superbly at the box office, costing $110million and has gone on to gross $250million dollars.

Worth the watch if you looking for an action/adventure with emotion, robot movie with a difference or are fans of the cast.

Trailer

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