A family film packed with lots of fighting robots is a scenario we have already seen in the past but with Real Steel you get the benefit of no Michael Bay and a positive lack of explosions every five minutes. From director Shawn Levy and executive producer Steven Spielberg comes a wholehearted effort with plenty of action and a heartwarming story at the core; check out the review of Real Steel below.
The year is 2020 and human boxing is now obsolete, replaced by robots going toe-to-toe in enthralling fist pumping entertainment for the masses. Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman), a former boxer in his prime, is now a man living with debts against his name in the world of underground robot boxing. He is striving to cash in on the sport yet he is unable to find that one 'bot that can excel and raise him some cash.
Adding to his worries, Charlie's son Max (Dakota Goyo) appears on the scene following his mother's death and, following a monetary negotiation with Max's uncle, Charlie agrees to take care of Max for a short period of time before he must him over to his uncle and aunt.
Following some unsuccessful fights, Charlie is in dire straights, with no money to pay his debts and no robot to win the money; that is until Max discovers Atom, a robot that saves his life when he has a near-death plunge at a robot factory. Things soon take a turn for the better.
With the aid of Charlie and Charlie's friend Bailey (Evangeline Lilly), Max begins to prepare Atom to face some opponents in underground fights to win some money for his father. At first, doubts are high, with Atom just a simple sparring 'bot but opinions sway to positive when he excels in the underground fights and proceeds to gain appreciation from all corners of the robot boxing community.
In no time Atom is reaching the high peaks and is invited to take part in the WRB tournament where champion Zeus, undefeated and menacing awaits a new challenger. Can Charlie and Max get the ultimate prize and win against Zeus or is this simple sparring 'bot too small and feable?
Real Steel is a film taken straight out the Spielberg bible, with plenty of action to thrill the crowd and a whole lot of heart. Essentially Steel is a film tracking the journey in a relationship between man and son, with the robots taking a sideshow to keep the masses on the edge of their seats. Admittedly, the robots are hugely impressive, with no CGI ruining a breathtaking sequence of fights between a variation of battling 'bots but it is the humans who run the show. Jackman is impressive as ever as Charlie, the father placed in such a bad place with nowhere to run, and Goyo's Max, despite having a few cheesy moments (robot dancing?!), is great and is sure to be seen in many a film in the future.
Shawn Levy succeeds in bringing together a truly family-friendly flick mixing a blend of robots and raw human emotion to create a lovable flick. It may not match the Spielbergian family movies of past but you can rest assure Real Steel is up there with the most entertaining flicks of the year. A great cast drives the film on and you can't help but feel this is the new age Rocky, question is, can it last multiple rounds before being KO'd?
Film rating: 4 F's out of 5
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