Everyone seems so surprised that a movie starring robots could actually be good. I expect robot movies to be good… I suppose I expect all movies to be good. Real Steel stars Hugh Jackman as a retired boxer who now works as a pilot for fighting robots, the premiere fighting sport of the future. When an ex-girlfriend dies suddenly, Jackman’s character must look after his estranged son for the summer until the boy’s aunt can take him permanently. Thus begins the building of a rocky relationship between the separated father and son.
Jackman gives a steady performance like usual. His ability to carry a film is the main reason Real Steel is a quality movie. It’s quite difficult however to view him as washed up or unlikeable as the film intends him to be early on. The charm that gets people to see his films outweighs his attempt at being a jerk of a character. Then there’s Dakota Goyo, who plays the son and does a pretty good job. There are moments where I get flashbacks to Jake Lloyd (“I’m a person, and my name is Anakin!”) from Star Wars Episode One, nevertheless Goyo is much better.
The percentage of screen time leans about 65% to 35% in favor of the human relationships over the robot fighting. This may be the only review you read where the author would prefer more robot fighting, but the way the script is structured the audience looks forward to every fight so they can see the different robots. That’s a good stance to take instead of mindless hours of brawling. The script borrows a lot from other boxing movies, but I suppose there’s only a handful of ways these underdog stories could go. There’s a level of predictability throughout all aspects of the film, which does remove a bit of the tension. Although, as family friendly, sci-fi, action, underdog stories go, Real Steel is probably as solid as you’re going to get. (7.8 out of 10)
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