Dylan Fair
Arts Editor
Trying to create a quality film centered on fighting robots is a challenging task, throw in the fact that these robots participate in a professional boxing league and one can easily see the skill required by director Shawn Levy and lead actor Hugh Jackman to make “Real Steel” work.
In a film dominated by special effects and metal muscle it is easy to lose the characters and story that really draws viewers. However “Real Steel” shows a surprising amount of real, organic emotion and despite shameless product placement and a cliché script is carried by a powerful performance from Hugh Jackman.
“Real Steel” tells the tale of Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackmen), a washed out ex-boxer and dead beat dad who is trying to make ends meet in the new robot fighting leagues around the country. After hitting rock bottom he is introduced to his eleven year old son, Max Kenton (Dakota Goyo), for the first time since his birth.
The new father and son duo are supposed to spend the summer together before Charlie losses custody of Max. While trying to scrape together a new bot for some quick dough, Max discovers an old, broken down, training bot, named Atom. This new companion unites father and son on their ultimate quest, to become World Robot Boxing champions.
“Real Steel’s” main component of success comes from the heartwarming relationship between Jackman and Goyo. Their ability to connect on camera demonstrated by snappy banter and eventual tear jerking acceptance is touching enough to keep audiences keep audiences intrigued. In a film that called for tangible chemistry between leads, Father and son squarely delivered.
As expected, a major strength that works for the movie is its great visual effects. The robotics designs are incredibly life like, with each hinge, joint and ball and socket seemingly serving its proper function. The boxing scenes themselves look almost as genuine as fighting robots probably can (most likely due Sugar Ray Leonard’s collaboration with the film.) Each punch thrown by Atom or any other robot seems to come off the screen.
When experiencing these fantastic scenes of senseless mechanical violence it is impossible to look past the ludicrous amount of product placement in “Real Steel.” Seeing robots powered by HP computers fight inside the monumental Bing Arena while Max drinks a perfectly positioned Dr. Pepper is shameful to say the least.
The predictability of a typical underdog story can only be told so many ways before it becomes redundant. Another major fault of “Real Steel” is a very conventional script. While strong acting can make up for many of its faults, transforming “Rocky” into a robot is something that simply cannot be ignored.
“Real Steel” owes much to films that came before it; however this tale of man overcoming, and the human spirit bobs and weaves its way past many expectations. “Real Steel” presents quality entertainment that can be enjoyed by the whole family.
Offering nothing out of the box or anything distinctly unconventional “Real Steel” perfectly fills its niche, an entertaining piece of cinema that can be enjoyed more than once. “Real Steel” opened on October 7 and is playing in theaters nationwide.
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