Real Steel


3/4

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Dakota Goyo, Evangeline Lily

Rated PG-13 for Some Violence, Intense Action and Brief Language

A formula picture is not necessarily a bad thing.  Plot formulas have been tweaked, revised and adjusted to the ones that we see today by of how we interpret stories.  The problem is with lazy screenwriters, unimaginative or incompetent directors, and actors who just want the money.  But when the story is well-told, and the actors really work at it, a formula movie can be good old fashioned entertainment.  That’s the case with “Real Steel,” and that’s why it’s worth seeing.

In the near future, the new sport of choice is boxing…with hulking, 2,000 pound metal robots.  These gladiatorial matches rely on the trainers to electronically move their machines to pummel their opponents into scrap metal.  Boxing by proxy, in other words.

Charlie (Jackman) used to be a great fighter, but his ginormous ego has gotten in the way.  Now he owes money to just about everyone, and has to buy second hand robots through seedy means.  His losing streak isn’t showing any signs of ending, but his ego is still as large as it ever was.  His old partner, Bailey (Lilly) is fed up with him, and to top it all off, he’s threatened with being saddled with his kid from a past relationship.  He wants nothing to do with his eleven year old son, Max (Goyo), so he intends to sell the custody rights to the kid’s rich uncle (James Rebhorn) for 100K.  He agrees to take the boy for the summer to avoid suspicion from Max’s aunt (Hope Davis), but something strange happens.  Max discovers a robot, named Atom, that is actually good…and may be able to take him to the top.

There are two reasons why this movie works: the fights are effectively choreographed by Shawn Levy, and Hugh Jackmans’s energetic performance.  The fights are packed with tension because we care (to a limited extent) about the characters and want them to win, and for a director with such a lame resumé, Shawn Levy manages to raise the adrenaline.

But the film’s saving grace is Hugh Jackman.  It takes a man with talent to make a clichéd character seem real, but Hugh Jackman works to make him a compelling human being.  Charlie is stubborn, conceited, and never good on his word.  Not exactly revolutionary traits, but Jackman doesn’t walk through the role.  He is the glue that holds this film together.  Newcomer Dakota Goyo is effective for the most part, but at times lacks polish.  Evangeline Lilly is cast in a thankless role, but from what there is of her, she reminded me of an American version of Kate Beckinsale.  Anthony Mackie, Kevin Durand (who is irritating and hammy as the rodeo host who is owed money by Charlie), Hope Davis and James Rebhorn are also on hand for small supporting roles.

I was kind of surprised how much I liked this movie.  It’s completely formulaic, but it does work.  The problem (other than Kevin Durand) is that the movie is follows the formula too rigidly, and doesn’t earn its ending.  Still, it’s a great family movie…one of the few that have been released this year (forget the PG-13 rating, this is perfectly fine for upper grade schoolers).

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