Real Steel
Everywhere you turn at the moment it seems that Real Steel is simply being billed ‘as that boxing robot movie’, but after viewing the film you soon realise that this is far beyond any simple action/science-fiction film. For starters Steven Spielberg’s influence as producer is seriously noticeably, as the film has real heart from beginning to end. Secondly the acting is top notch, and once again Spielberg shows that when it comes to picking child actors he is far superior to everyone else.
Real Steel is set in the near future, a future where human boxing has been replaced by robot boxing. This move sees good fighters such as Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman – Butter, Snow Flower And The Secret Fan) on the scrap heap. However, Charlie is trying to make something of his life, he is trying to be a successful owner of fighting robots but due to a string of bad luck he is left owing money to people such as Ricky (Kevin Durand – Edwin Boyd, I Am Number Four).
Charlie is then informed that his former flame has died and that his son, Max (Dakota Goyo – Thor, TV’S Arthur) needs him. Desperate for money Charlie aggrees to ‘sell’ Max to his Aunt (Hope Davis – The Special Relationship, The Family Tree) and her aging-rich husband (James Rebhorn – TV’S Big Lake & White Collar).
The deal sees Charlie looking after Max for a summer and soon Max becomes interested in his father’s career, much to Charlie’s horror. Soon, with the help of Bailey (Evangeline Lily – Afterwards, TV’S Lost) Max has his own robot and he is entering into a world of robot-boxing dominated by Tak Mashido (Karl Yune – Speed Racer, TV’S Knight Rider) and Farra (Olga Fonda – Love, Little Fockers).
It is obvious that director, Shawn Levy (Date Night, Night At The Museum 2) was operating under Spielberg’s guidance. The rich themes that run through the film, such as Charlie learning to have a relationship with his son and Max’s own relationship with robot that may or may not have feelings has that touch of ‘heart’ that only Spielberg can bring to a film.
Levy has done a fine job not holding back, despite the fact some may find the robot versus bull fight hard to stomach it really does show how desperate Charlie has become. Levy also manages to keep a control on ‘the mix’ of the film. His characters are all believable and three-dimensional and he doesn’t allow either the action sequences or the love-story (between Charlie and Bailey) ever over-shadow the fact that the end of the day this is a film about a father-son relationship.
A terrific script is also a blessing for the actors. Hugh Jackman brings a touch of class to the role of Charlie while Evangeline Lily doesn’t allow her limited screen time to take anything away from her performance. However, the standout here is Dakota Goyo – he has genuine talent and you don’t get ‘gee his annoying’ feeling you get when you watch some other child actors. With Goyo you feel that Spielberg has found his new Christian Bale.
If you write Real Steel off as just a corny action film then you have done yourself a serious disservice. This is a film that deserves respect as it’s good acting, script and basis makes for one entertaining ride. This is the kind of film that will have you on the edge of your seat with anticipation one moment and nearly crying the next second. Real Steel is surprisingly powerful with real soul.
Year: 2011
Director: Shawn Levy
Stars: Hugh Jackman, Evangeline Lily, Dakota Goyo
Classification: M
Runtime: 127 mins
