Review

Review Date: 9-October-11
Spoiler Rating: Low
Juju Judgment: Juicy

Real Steel (2011)

Real Steel tells the story of Charlie and Max Kenton, an underdog father-son pair who find connection and triumph through a shared passion for sport. If that sounds corny, it is, and no harm done. Charlie (Hugh Jackman) was a boxer back in the day (which equates to roughly now since the action takes place in the near future) and was relegated to the scrap heap when human boxing was replaced by robot boxing. This change occurred because human boxers weren't allowed to decapitate each other in the ring, and audiences craved that sort of thing. Rolling with the punches, Charlie took up the robot boxing joystick … and was relegated to the scrap heap by making bad bets and failing to come up with a winner. Now past his prime, he ekes out a living by entering rusty fighters in small-circuit bouts and racking up debts he can't repay. He's a loser, and a bitter one. What could turn his life around? Not his sweet, beautiful childhood friend, a robot mechanic who loves him against her better judgment (Evangeline Lilly). No, only innocence and blood ties could crack such a tough case.

Enter Max, the 11-year-old son whom Charlie fathered on a former girlfriend and has never given a single thought. (He is played by Dakota Goyo, a natural fit.) Max's mother has just died, and Charlie finagles a summer with him so he can squeeze cash out of the boy's rich relatives. Dear old dad has no intention of spending time with junior, but luckily for both, Max proves to be just as obstinate as Charlie — and just as enamored with robot boxing. Out on the circuit Max gets his first front-row look at the sport and his father's embarrassing tendency for defeat. Then, while scavenging for parts one rainy night, Max unearths a vintage-model sparring bot which he insists on adopting as a pet project (or is it a pet?). Slowly, the boy's belief in his discovery infects the man, and together they take the unlikely challenger all the way to the big time.

Charlie notes that "people love that kid thing" when teaching Max how to win over a crowd, and this could apply equally to the movie's audience or his own hard heart. His kind of redemption is one of the pure stories: familiar, comfortable, and satisfying. You know everything that will happen in Real Steel from the start, including that it will make you cry, but this is part of its entertainment value. For distinction, the movie has robot boxing (although that has roots in Transformers). The fighting is a visual knockout, particularly as it takes place in venues ranging from a dark warehouse with a sci-fi look, to an abandoned zoo filled with punks instead of animals, to a huge stadium with ESPN and VIP boxes. It turns out that bloodless violence goes well with sappy bonding. I have only one quibble with Real Steel, which doesn't override its traditional/technological appeal and represents a longstanding Hollywood stupidity. Charlie and his romantic interest grew up together but have an obvious and significant age difference. With such a tried-and-true story, would it have killed the studio to cast an actress on the other side of 40 like the leading man?

Copyright © 2011 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.