Real Steel: Rated “PG-13“ (127 Minutes)
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Evangeline Lilly, Dakota Goyo, Kevin Durand, Anthony Mackie
Directed by: Shawn Levy
Based on the 1956 short story Steel by Richard Matheson (who also gave us the base stories for The Omega Man (I am Legend); The Shrinking Man (The Incredible Shrinking Man), and many others, including numerous episodes of the original Twilight Zone with Rod Serling) is set in the near-future (2020) where the sport of boxing has gone hi-tech, and gigantic robots controlled by techs have replace human fighters in the ring. The film follows Charlie Kenton (Jackman — looking very much like a young Mel Gibson) a washed-up ex-boxer who is desperately trying to make a living (and pay of his many creditors) by boxing older robots in the underground boxing circuit.
Charlie has hit rock bottom in that he is forced to — not so much fight another robot — but a 1,000 lb bull in a back-water rodeo. When his robot, Ambush is decimated by the bull, he is skips out on the $20,000 he bet on his victory. One step ahead of his debtors, he learns of the death of his ex-girlfriend and heads off to settle the issue of custody of his 11-year-old son, Max (Goyo). Only when he gets to the hearing and realizes that his ex-wife’s sister married an older millionaire, who wants to spend the summer on his second honeymoon vacationing in Italy, Charlie, always with an angle up his sleeve, strikes a deal. He’ll sign over custody and “watch” the kid for the summer for 100K (half now, and half at the end of the summer), to which the sisters’ husband agrees.
With the 50K, Charlie buys an old Japanese robot named Nosy Boy, that used to box in the World Robot Boxing league (WRB), and tries to pawn Max off on Bailey (Lily), the daughter of Charlie's old coach boxing coach who now runs her deceased father’s and gym. Only Max, (who is a huge WRB fan, and videogame enthusiast) refuses to stay with Bailey, and wrangles his way into accompanying Charlie on the road.
Reluctantly agrees and pits Noisy Boy against a robot named Midas in a bout, unfortunately, due to his inexperience with the robot and it’s voice-function controller, Charlie ends up losing and Noisy Boy is destroys. Desperate now for a new fighting ‘bot, Charlie and Max break into a junk year do steal parts in the hopes of using them along with the still usable parts from his two demolished ‘bots to construct a fighting unit. However, while at the junkyard, Max falls into a very deep hole and is saved when the arm of a discarded robot shags him and keeps him from hitting the bottom. Max then determines to salvage the ‘bot (named Atom), and use it as a boxer. Charlie doesn’t think it is possible as it is only a second-gen ‘bot that was built as a sparring partner.
Determined to pay back Atom for saving his life, Max fights his father all the way, and wind the right for a bout in another underground venue. Surprisingly Atom succeeds, and earns the right for a follow-up bout in a different arena. After a string of wins Atom is tapped to appear in a sanctioned WRB fight which he also wins. Whereupon Max issues a very public challenge to the owners of Zeus the reigning heavyweight champ of the WRB. Ultimately, this flick turns out to be a heartwarming tale of a derelict father and his attempt to bond with his estranged son set against a wicked-cool CGI action adventure set-piece that looks like Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots come to glorious life (at one point during an early bout when a robot’s head does come flying off you can actually hear someone from the crowd shout “He knocked his block off”).
Having sat through the film, one can’t help but to think that the film combines elements of the films Rocky and Over the Top, as well as the Marx toys, Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots into a seamless father/son feel-good adventure.
__________
Robert J. Sodaro has been writing professionally for over 30 years. During that time, his movie reviews and articles have appeared in numerous publications, as well as on the web.
Comments