Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman) is a retired boxer, but he has a new sport of choice: robot boxing. He tours the small circuit looking for fights in an attempt to break into the big time. Charlie isn't the most likable of characters. He's got a drinking problem and a son he's never met named Max (Dakota Goyo). When an opportunity arises to make a buck off being a parent, Charlie has to take Max along for the ride.
The effects behind Real Steel are the real showcase. CGI is prevalent during the robot boxing matches. Though not necessary, the effort was clearly made to use some actual robots in close-up. The difference between the two will go unnoticed by most, in big part due to the smooth animation. I actually prefer the robot action in this movie over that of the Transformers series because the confined location of a ring or cage makes the action significantly easier to digest.
Real Steel comes from director Shawn Levy, whose entire niche is family friendly fare. As for story, this is a movie about family bonding more so than robotics, the sweet science, or training. It hinges on Hugh and Dakota so that's it's simply not a collection of brawls. The two get along fine, and though Max is written like the father figure many will take relief in his maturity. Real Steel has a plot that's aimed right at the kiddos with easy to distinguish good and bad figures. Of course the ice-cold Russian-Japanese duo behind the reigning champ Zeus don't have relatable family struggles to put them in a gray area.
There's some disbelief to suspend. An unsponsored robot fighting among tiny crowds in a bar isn't going to generate enough revenue to break into the black. There must have been a half dozen child endangerment offenses that were eradicated in the near future, around the same time 8-foot fighting robots first come into existence. Of course it didn't take long for the price to drop like a rock as the closest you can get to Atom today is Honda's ASIMO, and it's big feature is that it can balance itself. Real Steel also features an inordinate amount of robotic engineers, and focusing on a boxer turned robot operator is like finding a writer who repairs Kindles.
Real Steel has the robot action that will appeal to kids and the ultimate package isn't far from getting the Disney seal as distributor over the Touchstone marquee. It's a movie about bonding and values without the odd comic characters usually seen in a movie intended for children and dare I say less violent than Star Wars.
The effects behind Real Steel are the real showcase. CGI is prevalent during the robot boxing matches. Though not necessary, the effort was clearly made to use some actual robots in close-up. The difference between the two will go unnoticed by most, in big part due to the smooth animation. I actually prefer the robot action in this movie over that of the Transformers series because the confined location of a ring or cage makes the action significantly easier to digest.
Real Steel comes from director Shawn Levy, whose entire niche is family friendly fare. As for story, this is a movie about family bonding more so than robotics, the sweet science, or training. It hinges on Hugh and Dakota so that's it's simply not a collection of brawls. The two get along fine, and though Max is written like the father figure many will take relief in his maturity. Real Steel has a plot that's aimed right at the kiddos with easy to distinguish good and bad figures. Of course the ice-cold Russian-Japanese duo behind the reigning champ Zeus don't have relatable family struggles to put them in a gray area.
There's some disbelief to suspend. An unsponsored robot fighting among tiny crowds in a bar isn't going to generate enough revenue to break into the black. There must have been a half dozen child endangerment offenses that were eradicated in the near future, around the same time 8-foot fighting robots first come into existence. Of course it didn't take long for the price to drop like a rock as the closest you can get to Atom today is Honda's ASIMO, and it's big feature is that it can balance itself. Real Steel also features an inordinate amount of robotic engineers, and focusing on a boxer turned robot operator is like finding a writer who repairs Kindles.
Real Steel has the robot action that will appeal to kids and the ultimate package isn't far from getting the Disney seal as distributor over the Touchstone marquee. It's a movie about bonding and values without the odd comic characters usually seen in a movie intended for children and dare I say less violent than Star Wars.