Review: Real Steel

October, 06, 2011 , by Isaac Weeks

This is one of the hardest reviews I have ever had the pleasure of writing. See, the first time I saw a trailer for Real Steel was last December before True Grit, so I have been ridiculing this flick for a long time. Who in their right mind thought it was a good idea to sink $100+ million into what boils down to Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots: The Movie? So I come to you, loyal New Raleigh readers, trying my best not to sound like a mouth-breather when telling you that Real Steel is actually a decent little family film.

I realize describing it as "decent" doesn't sound like high praise, but when you start to realize some of the handicaps the movie had to overcome it's remarkable that it works at all. Take director Shawn Levy, for instance. In a world where Michael Bay (Transformers) is a subject of scorn and ridicule, Levy has somehow managed to skate by relatively unscathed, despite directing some of the worst films of the past decade. After all, this is the man who brought us the Cheaper by the Dozen, Pink Panther, and Night at the Museum franchises.. With last year's Date Night, Levy finally showed some promise and brought us half of a good movie. Sure, the second half of the film devolved into his usual brand of failed slapstick and the idea that screaming equals funny, but you could see that something had changed.

In Real Steel, all of of the family film traps that you would assume Levy would include are here, but there is a lighter touch to his work than ever before. There is actual conflict within the family confines and real consequences to the clashes between the characters in the film.

Hugh Jackman stars as Charlie Kenton, a struggling boxing promoter in the near future. The film predicts that a few years from now fight fans will call out for more violence until the only reasonable solution is for the combatants to no longer be human; therefore, robot fighters are built for our enjoyment.

After losing another fighter during a county fair boxing match with a bull (as ridiculous as it sounds), Charlie finds out that the 11-year-old son he abandoned years ago is now orphaned. Barely caring enough about the kid to make it to the court hearing ten minutes late, his attention is drawn to the kid's rich uncle, who is petitioning the court for parental rights to the child.

Knowing he has everyone over a barrel, he approaches the uncle outside court and they come to an agreement: $100,000 and the kid is handed over at the end of the summer. That's right, your robot boxing movie just got mixed up in human trafficking drama.

Let's face it, there is no chance that a studio releases this film without the family coming together in a loving embrace at the end, but in this age of 90% of major releases being reboots or comic-book nothings, you have to applaud a filmmaker who is unafraid to make their protaganist this much of a bastard. Oh, and a bastard he is! For much of the film he doesn't seem to care if the kid eats, sleeps, or is still breathing, unless there is a paycheck in it for him.

I'm not going to go so far as to say that you should see this even if you are childless. Trust me, it wouldn't take long for your eyes to start rolling toward the exit signs without a money-mooching anchor in the seat beside you. Also, don't take my praise of the film too far; it's not like this is The Champ of the 21st century or anything like that. However, if you do have a niece or nephew and a couple of hours free this weekend, I guarantee you will become their favorite adult after taking them to this. Levy might actually go up a couple of spots on your Favorite Directors list as well.