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There
haven’t been many
movies that I’ve
wanted to see as
badly as
Real
Steel.
Without knowing too
much about it, I
viewed it as a cross
between
Rocky
and
Transformers.
That’s not
necessarily two
movies that I’d ever
think of mixing
together, but it’s
something that
looked pretty
spectacular
nonetheless. Sadly
though,
Real
Steel
doesn’t have the
excitement of a
Transformers
movie and it doesn’t
come close to having
the heart of a
Rocky
movie.
Speaking of Rocky,
Real
Steel
is a big rip off of
another Sylvester
Stallone movie,
Over
the Top.
Remember that one?
Sly the truck driver
was lost and alone
in the world when he
figures out that he
and his ex had a kid
together. His
ex-wife
unfortunately dies
and Sly’s left to
take care of his boy
alone despite his
angry father in-law
wanting custody. Sly
goes on a road trip
with the kid, enjoys
their time together
and wants to be a
full time parent.
While building a
relationship with
the kid, Sly made
money on the side by
competing in arm
wrestling matches
until he eventually
entered into an
organized
tournament, won a
million dollars, his
son idolized him,
and everybody lived
happily ever after.
Real
Steel
is
Over
the Top
with the
substitution of
robot fighting
instead of arm
wrestling. And
sadly, robot boxing
is less of a sport
than arm wrestling.
The setup’s fairly
simple; obsessed
with violence and
fights in the
future, human
against human
violence is no
longer good enough.
To remedy the
situation, boxing
promoters started
having robots fight
against each other
in the ring. At this
time, the robots are
developed enough
that the violence is
real enough that
it’s entertaining
but there are no
humans so nobody’s
getting hurt.
Charlie Kenton is a
small time boxing
promoter who used to
be a small time
boxer. He had a few
highlights in his
boxing career but
never anything
remarkable. Since
his fighting days,
Charlie has
developed into a
huge shmuck. He
knows he has a kid
and he refuses to be
any part of his
life. He owes
thousands of dollars
to several different
people. It seems
like Charlie can’t
get a break, but we
learn it’s because
Charlie doesn’t
deserve one. When
his ex-wife dies,
Charlie is left to
take care of the kid
for the summer until
the boy’s aunt can
start custody. While
on the road with the
kid the two form a
bond over robot
boxing and become
the sport’s favorite
underdogs.
The
boxing scenes and
the special effects
in
Real
Steel
are awesome. That’s
with a strong
exception to how the
last fight was
written, made, and
finished. The robot
matches are awesome
to watch and there
really is an intense
humanistic quality
to these action
scenes. The effects
are extremely
awesome and the
fighting is
fast-paced and
brings a ton of
energy to the movie.
Those fighting
scenes are the
biggest reasons to
like
Real
Steel.
It’s also turns out
to the biggest
reason to not like
it.
Boxing movies work
because of the drama
that’s on screen. We
get to see a fighter
s a character. We
develop an
understanding and a
respect over the
first half of a
movie so we can root
for him when he’s
having the big fight
at the end. When
robots fight do we
really care who
wins? It’s about the
shock and awe factor
and not about a
person overcoming
impossible odds.
There’s no heart in
robot fighting and
that the first
reason why
Real
Steel
falls on its face.
The other reason is
also fairly simple,
the main character,
Charlie (Hugh
Jackman) is also
impossible to root
for. We see him be
the robot fighting
version of Jake La
Motta from
Raging Bull
for most of the
movie. Really
though, you never
feel for Charlie
like you’re supposed
to feel for Charlie
and that applies to
his son Max too. You
don’t get a chance
to really root for
him like you should.
Director Shawn Levy
made a movie without
any heart and it’s
because of the lack
of a proper script
with good character
development and a
flawed premise in
the overall
plotline.
The
extra features on
Real
Steel
are top-notch if you
liked the film.
There’s a cool
second screen app
available and
there’s also
bloopers and quite a
few deleted scenes
with an
introduction. If you
didn’t like the
film, the bonus
features will drive
you insane.
Especially the
butterfly-storyline
deleted scenes…
those will frustrate
you to no end. The
biggest piece of
character
development in the
whole film, the only
thing that displayed
a little bit of
heart in the whole
thing was cut out.
It’s the perfect
case sample of what
went wrong with this
movie. What should
have been done
wasn’t even though
it should have been
incredibly easy to
do so. The butterfly
storyline shouldn’t
have been taken out
of the final edit
and the last ten
minutes of this
movie badly needed
to be rewritten.
This movie should
have been great;
instead it doesn’t
make it out of the
first round. Pretty
much it’s the Peter
McNeeley of boxing
films.
Real
Steel
should have been a
great movie, it was
not. There were too
many errors in the
script in the first
place that it
probably never
should have gotten
the green light
without a couple of
re-writes. There was
so much potential
for this movie,
instead it’s a dud
that will leave a
lasting impression
on very few people.
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