Movies about ring fighters have always been popular – just remember titles of multi Oscar winning movies like Rocky, the Wrestler, the Fighter, Million Dollar Baby etc. Shawn Levy, director probably best known for Night at the Museum, also decided to make one, this time about...robots. Yup, in close future (2020) robot boxing is a new incredibly fascinating hype. Our protagonist Charlie Kenton (played by Hugh Jackman, known from movies like...oh come on, everyone knows Jackman from somewhere, whether it is X-men or Australia) is a boxer forced to retire because of growing popularity of roboboboxing.
Charlie could not keep away from boxing, so he joined new wave, though, he is experiencing not the best stage of his life: sleeping in his truck together with old pieces of junk he uses for various meaningless fights, falling into debts and, what is worst, losing robots in battles. At this stage, out of the blue, Charlie's abandoned son comes into his life, surprising Charlie himself. Of course, raffish ex-boxer is far from being a good father, but this is where father and son relationship begins to emerge, and they emerge by doing the same robo-boxing together.
Hugh Jackman is one of the most popular guys in modern Hollywood, men think he is cool thanks to roles like Wolverine and Van Helsing, women love his charisma and appearance. What is best, he fits in this hot-headed, careless, but deep down inside kind hearted guy's role perfectly. Seems like he was born to do roles like Charlie Kenton. However, Jackman is not the only guy who shines in Real Steel. Dakota Goyo, playing Charlie's son Max, gives really impressive show, being only 12 years old, he outperforms most of the actors two or three times older and more experienced than him. Chemistry between Goyo and Jackman works here well; their problematical father and son relationship looks believable and true. This kid might have hell of a career if he continues working on his talent and skills. Also, Evangelina Lilly finally escaped from mysterious lost island and joined the crew. Though, she had not much space in the plot to expose herself, there were a few scenes to show her potential; she was a nice touch to this movie overall.
Probably the most important stuff to mention in a robot movie is special effects and visuals. Real Steel shines here too, robot animations have never looked so realistic; add huge variety of totally different robot designs, most of the time reflecting their master's personality, and you'll get really great looking portion of action. Camera work is also worth applauds, beautiful landscapes combined with superb lighting makes Real Steel true eye candy.
Sound of the movies is pretty rarely discussed as a separate part, but Reel Steel's sound work deserves a paragraph. Fight sounds do not not leave you any chance to doubt that this is how bashing other robot's head sounds like. Soundtrack, a powerful combination of hip hop/rap music (songs by Eminem, Timbaland and other famous names) and rock (Foo Fighters, Tom Morello) can easily make you blood boil on every fight you see on the screen.
It might sound almost idyllic so far, but not everything is so perfect. The weakest point of Real Steel is its plot; it can be predicted from very first 15 minutes, as soon as you understand what this movie is all about. Careless father's and son's reconnection theme has been touched numerous times before, fighting and climbing to the top is also not a new thing, too. Struggle between human's mind and artificial intellect is one of the most unique aspects, but I, Robot did it almost a decade ago. So, Real Steel is basically a mix of stories seen or heard before, dressed in new clothes, damn attractive clothes well put together.
Real Steel is far more than just a mix of Rocky and Transformers; it is very atmospheric boys action movie, which surely leaves you entertained for whole 130 minutes and it passes like half an hour. It probably will not get an Academy Award or make a change in film history, but it surely is one of best movies this fall.
Charlie could not keep away from boxing, so he joined new wave, though, he is experiencing not the best stage of his life: sleeping in his truck together with old pieces of junk he uses for various meaningless fights, falling into debts and, what is worst, losing robots in battles. At this stage, out of the blue, Charlie's abandoned son comes into his life, surprising Charlie himself. Of course, raffish ex-boxer is far from being a good father, but this is where father and son relationship begins to emerge, and they emerge by doing the same robo-boxing together.
Hugh Jackman is one of the most popular guys in modern Hollywood, men think he is cool thanks to roles like Wolverine and Van Helsing, women love his charisma and appearance. What is best, he fits in this hot-headed, careless, but deep down inside kind hearted guy's role perfectly. Seems like he was born to do roles like Charlie Kenton. However, Jackman is not the only guy who shines in Real Steel. Dakota Goyo, playing Charlie's son Max, gives really impressive show, being only 12 years old, he outperforms most of the actors two or three times older and more experienced than him. Chemistry between Goyo and Jackman works here well; their problematical father and son relationship looks believable and true. This kid might have hell of a career if he continues working on his talent and skills. Also, Evangelina Lilly finally escaped from mysterious lost island and joined the crew. Though, she had not much space in the plot to expose herself, there were a few scenes to show her potential; she was a nice touch to this movie overall.
Probably the most important stuff to mention in a robot movie is special effects and visuals. Real Steel shines here too, robot animations have never looked so realistic; add huge variety of totally different robot designs, most of the time reflecting their master's personality, and you'll get really great looking portion of action. Camera work is also worth applauds, beautiful landscapes combined with superb lighting makes Real Steel true eye candy.
Sound of the movies is pretty rarely discussed as a separate part, but Reel Steel's sound work deserves a paragraph. Fight sounds do not not leave you any chance to doubt that this is how bashing other robot's head sounds like. Soundtrack, a powerful combination of hip hop/rap music (songs by Eminem, Timbaland and other famous names) and rock (Foo Fighters, Tom Morello) can easily make you blood boil on every fight you see on the screen.
It might sound almost idyllic so far, but not everything is so perfect. The weakest point of Real Steel is its plot; it can be predicted from very first 15 minutes, as soon as you understand what this movie is all about. Careless father's and son's reconnection theme has been touched numerous times before, fighting and climbing to the top is also not a new thing, too. Struggle between human's mind and artificial intellect is one of the most unique aspects, but I, Robot did it almost a decade ago. So, Real Steel is basically a mix of stories seen or heard before, dressed in new clothes, damn attractive clothes well put together.
Real Steel is far more than just a mix of Rocky and Transformers; it is very atmospheric boys action movie, which surely leaves you entertained for whole 130 minutes and it passes like half an hour. It probably will not get an Academy Award or make a change in film history, but it surely is one of best movies this fall.