Real Steel (3 Stars)

Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots was finally made into a major motion picture! Not really... well sort of really. That was my first impression when I saw the trailer for this Hugh Jackman flick. I thought it looked one dimensional and like a waste of CGI to have all the action restrained to a boxing ring. After viewing the movie, I can confidently say, I was wrong. This flick takes the familiar story of a washed up boxer who now boxes while controlling washed up robots because that's what the sport of boxing has evolved into. Add in an estranged son and the most unlikeliest of robots to use in the arena and you've got an underdog story with daddy issues.

Real Steel has a solid story that balances the action and dramatic scenes like a majestic butterfly that stings like a mechanical bee. Action scenes with CGI that were well restrained, worked surprisingly well. I could actually tell which robot was fighting which robot. Unlike some other robot movies... cough... Transformers... cough. Excuse me. Now where was I? Oh yes, this film successfully used the effects to strengthen the story and didn't needlessly create an action spectacle for the sake of creating an action spectacle. At no point, did I feel anything was over the top... well within the context of the film.


One of the few gripes I had, was that Evangeline Lilly's character was underutilized. There was a fair amount of back story between her and Hugh Jackman's character which was largely left alone and I felt that adding her into the story a bit more could have strengthened and complicated the movie in a good way. Also, there was a scene early on with a bull, that made me uneasy. Animal vs. robot? Really? Not cool (even if it is CGI, not cool).


The Breakdown: Real Steel is a fantastic boxing movie with a fun sci-fi twist. If you like action movies that actually have good acting and story, then feast your eyes on this treat of a film.