Million Dollar Robot

Hit for hit, you know where "Real Steel" is headed within the first ten minutes.  This is a common rags to riches boxing tale that you've seen countless times before, only instead of Rocky and Raging Bull, you get the Rock Em' Sock Em' Robots. It's also a well done movie with good acting and impressive visuals.  Oh, we've all seen robots beating on each other before, but at least the ones in "Real Steel" are more level-headed than any of the frenetic action of the "Transformers" series.

"Real Steel" starts nicely with an aerial tracking shot of a big rambler rolling down the highway before coming to a stop at a small town fair.  Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman) is there to try to earn some money by throwing a famed robot boxer into the ring with a bull.  Jackman plays Charlie with a familiarity seen in many films of this type; he's into this guy for thirty grand and that guy for another twenty grand, yada, yada, yada.  He needs the money.  Charlie isn't very trustworthy it seems, and makes careless decisions to make a quick buck.  This never ends well.  One can imagine he's probably equally as irresponsible in his love life and could even have a child out there somewhere.  Well wouldn't you know it, but here comes his son out of the blue, needing somewhere to stay for the summer.  What do you want to bet that the kid is interested in robot boxing, and knows a thing or two about how to put them together?

These observations might make it sound like a strictly generic movie.  That would more or less be true if not for the performances and direction.  Hugh Jackman might be playing a combination of a lot of familiar characters, but he also played Wolverine, so when he talks, you listen, got it?  Dakota Goyo plays Charlie's son Max.  He reminded me a bit of Jake Lloyd but not as annoying.  As directed by Shawn Levy, the film does a nice job of letting us know that this is a near future where technology has advanced just enough to where human boxing is all but forgotten.  It's all about metal on metal now.  You see the occasional high tech cell phone, but for the most part, "Real Steel" has a timeless feel that really works.  The down-home opening understates the futuristic sensibility and that's the right decision, I think, because it puts the focus on Charlie and Max, and at its heart, that is what "Real Steel" is about.

Of course, what would a boxing movie be without a montage?  Here, a unique spin on that is provided through the technology of the robot that Max finds to be a contender.  It has a "shadow" mode that allows it to mimic the movements of its handler or trainer.  You guessed it, Charlie was a champion boxer before the sport went high-tech.  He and Max are able to craft a robot champion out of a sparring-bot.  Together, they put the bot into prize fights and learn a thing or two along the way about each other.  Even though hit for hit, this is all familiar territory, just like in boxing, it's the way the movie moves its feet that makes all the difference. The dialogue isn't too simplistic and the screenplay is surprisingly nuanced with exposition; the story flows from the action and unlike most movies of the type, the ending doesn't have the expected outcome and that choice elevates the emotional impact.

"Real Steel" is certainly no "Warrior."  It doesn't take any big risks or invite new thought on either genre that it depicts.  But as a sheer entertainment, you could do much worse for your price of admission.  Seeing robots battle it out in the ring is pretty cool and it also helps the movie to be more family friendly by skimping on the bloodshed.  The other nice thing it pulls off, perhaps without realizing it, is that it shows that it doesn't really matter who, or what, is in the ring fighting.  What good is a boxer without having someone in his corner?  "Real Steel" is all about the guys in the corner and it's all the better for it.