Real Steal | Review
At first glance ‘Real Steel’ looks like a big-budgeted attempt at adapting the Rock’em Sock’em Robot toys to the big screen. But behind the silly premise is a surprisingly good film with just enough heart, as well as action, to entertain.
‘Real Steal’ is set nine years from now, where robot boxers have replaced the traditional human ones. It’s a plausible idea, considering how much more stylish and interesting fighting robots can be. Plus no one actually gets harmed other than non-living machines. These boxing robots are controlled by remote controls, though some rare robots can be voice-commanded.
The plot follows that of Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman), a former boxer who now controls fighting robots in order to make money. Charlie is a bad bet, though, often losing robot fights and owing hundreds of thousands of dollars he doesn’t have to various people. When Charlie learns his son’s mother’s died, he quickly gains the responsibility of taking care of the boy, Max (Dakota Goyo, young Thor from ‘Thor‘).
Max Kenton is a hard-headed, but well-meaning kid. He’s smart, and knows a lot about the boxing robots. While searching through a robot junkyard one night, Max discovers an abandoned sparring robot, Atom. The robot is an early-generation one that wasn’t really made for fighting, but Max helps develop Atom into a boxing machine.
The majority of ‘Real Steal’ involves underdogs. Charlie is the underdog since he’s been so unsuccessful in the robot fighting ring, and he’s not expected to be a good father to Max. Atom is the other underdog, since he’s a sparring bot-turned-fighting bot. He’s much smaller than the newer robot boxers, especially compared to the undefeated robot Zeus. Designed by the greatest robot boxer programmer in the world, Zeus is a gargantuan robot that can adapt itself in every fight, basically making him the ultimate fighting robot. Atom’s specialty is his ability to shadow other people and robots’ moves, which comes in handy in the film’s climactic battle.
‘Real Steal’ follows a predictable story arc involving Charlie and Max’s estranged relationship. They don’t get along at first, but robot fighting, and more specifically Atom, bring the two closer than ever through their mutual passion for the sport. It’s heartwarming to see these two character rekindle their father-son relationship, especially since they never actually had one. Charlie and Max’s relationship is the heart of the film.
The main attraction of ‘Real Steel’ is its robotic boxing matches. Each robot depicted in the film is unique and visually appealing in their own light. There’s a Roman gladiator-inspired one, a Japanese warrior-like one, and a two-headed one. Atom seems to be the least visually-appealing one, yet he’s the most likable. Maybe it’s his bright blue eyes, or stitched-in smile, but there’s something about Atom that’s so darn likable. And the fact that he’s an underdog makes him even more appealing.
The robot fight sequences are extremely exciting and crowd-pleasing, almost as thrilling as last month’s fight movie, ‘Warrior‘. Each fight is well-choreographed and filmed coherently. Unlike the majority of the fights from the first two ‘Transformers’ films, you can understand what’s going on during the fights in ‘Real Steel’, as well as each individual move the robots make. And the special effects for the film’s robots are just spectacular.
Atom fighting the great Zeus.
Again, ‘Real Steel’ has “underdog” written all over it. Not just within its plot, however, but also with the film’s director. Shawn Levy (‘Date Night’) is essentially an underdog himself because his past films have been dogged on so much. His past films have been primarily for families and young children, like with ‘Big Fat Liar’, ‘The Pink Panther’, and ‘Cheaper by the Dozen’. The big budget for ‘Real Steal’ is comparable to Levy’s ‘Night at the Museum‘ films, but here the special effects aren’t overused. ‘Real Steel’ is a thoroughly enjoying and good film, though not great. Still, it’s perhaps Levy’s best film to date.