What’s on now: Taking a break from the streaming TV shows from the moment, going with the good, old-fashioned iTunes mix. It’s the only place I can listen to Eminem, Gustav Holst, Taylor Swift, Imogen Heap and the Moulin Rouge! soundtrack without ever having to switch stations.
Remember almost a year ago in December 2010 when I preliminarily reviewed a first-look promo for Real Steel? Well, break out the sparkling cider, ’cause this blog has survived long enough to follow up!
Was it an Oscar-worthy plunge into the murky, codependent relationship between man and machine? No. Was that what I was really expecting from it? Hell no. Well, was it at least fun? Totally!
I love sports movies. It doesn’t even matter that they’re all pretty much the same movie done over and over again. Protagonist has trouble winning at (insert sport here). Antagonist is egotistical jerk. Protagonist faces life-altering event. Protagonist trains butt off. Protagonist faces antagonist in final winner-take-all clash in which protagonist is the underdog is some way, shape or form. Win or lose, leave audience feeling like they could go out and win the Boston marathon right then and there. Because after all, with hard work and a give-em-hell attitude, anything is possible.
It works. It just does. It’s a recipe that never fails, kind of like grilled cheese. Place cheese on bread. Top with more bread. Insert into Foreman grill. Remove at desired level of gooeyness. And just as everyone loves their grilled cheese as gooey as possible, so does everyone like their sports movies as inspirational and exciting as possible.
Real Steel delivered that. Hugh Jackman (X-Men, Australia) is Charlie Kenton, a washed up boxer who now makes his living fighting robots. I made that sound even cooler than it already is. He does not actually fight the robots himself, he drives them, sort of like a very intense video game, and the robots fight each other. And apparently they also fight bulls… to the death… Okay… Flagrant animal cruelty aside, robots fighting robots is pretty sweet. Then again, if the robots ever gain self-awareness, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Machinery will finally have a purpose. But then the robots will rebel and kill us all, so really there’s no point to this tangent.
Back on track, Charlie is not doing so well in the business. His robots keep getting the scrap knocked out of them until they’re worthless piles of rubble and he owes money to just about everybody. Out of the blue, he is notified that his ex-girlfriend/baby mama has died, and he has just won a brand new son. Seeing as he’d pretty much a drifter living out of a truck, Charlie is slightly less than enthused about it. He’s ready to sign over custody of Max (Thor’s Dakota Goyo) to the mother’s sister, but then strikes a deal to look after him for the summer.
Turns out Max loves robot fighting as much as Charlie, though the two of them don’t get along so well for a while. Then they find Atom in a junkyard. Atom is an old-school sparring robot, built so bigger, better robots had something to practice against (Seabiscuit much?) But at Max’s behest, they outfit him to be a fighter, and surprise, surprise, he’s actually pretty good at it!
What follows is a delightful tale of love, father-son bonding, overcoming adversity, and, of course, bloodthirsty robots. Jackman plays his signature surly loner with a perpetual five o’clock shadow. You know what, when an actor does a particular kind of character as well as that, I rarely care. Goyo is a loveable kid who actually manages to not be annoying unlike some movie kids… (coughcough). Evangeline Lilly (Lost) plays Jackman’s love interest, Bailey, and I quite liked their chemistry. It was sweet, believable and never overshadowed the more important goings-on.
The effects were good, the soundtrack was great, and the inevitable final showdown was another fun addition to the sports movie archives. I thoroughly enjoyed Real Steel, and it’s already been added to my shopping list for whenever I need a good, uplifting kick of adrenaline.
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Evangeline Lilly, Dakota Goyo
Directed by: Shawn Levy
Rated PG-13
2011
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