A Real Winner!!

Real Steel.


I was pumped for this movie from day one, and for good reason. I am a fan of Hugh Jackman and I love robots in any capacity, and especially if they are fighting!


This movie gets going right away. Ambush, Jackman’s Bot, fights a bull in the first scene! Wow! After that we get the dead-beat-dad trying to make right with his 11 year old kid – wait, did I say that, no, Jackman doesn’t want to make right! He wants to sell the kid off to his mother’s sister! The boy’s mother passed away, and her sister is very rich and Jackman takes the opportunity to get some money for his kid he never knew.


I like that Jackman is not a nice guy (although he is still extremely likable in this movie) and that he is committed to being a dead-beat. He never pays his debts, he is always borrowing money, and he is always looking for a new bot to help him make it big.


The problem is that his “sister in-law” (he was never married to the boy’s mother, but you get the idea) and her husband are going to Italy, so even though they want the boy, he will have to stay with Jackman for the summer. This kicks off the father and son relationship that seems typical, but it’s actually really well done.


You’d think the two would bond quicker than they actually do. Even after saving the boys life, Jackman isn’t going to become the father figure the boy needs.


Their eventual bonding is helped by the bot named Atom. Atom is found in a junkyard and Jackman has no use for him, but the boy really wants him, so they end up keeping him and training him. Atom has a “shadow” ability which allows Atom to mimic all the movements of his controller. Jackman used to be a boxer and he can react quicker than anyone on remote controls can, so Atom has an advantage, even though he is smaller than most fighterbots.


I know some may think that there is too much of the father-son relationship, but really, there is an equal amount of fighting and action. I was surprised at how much action there was and the fights are very very very very exciting. They are just as exciting as in the Rocky films, and you may be thinking, but it’s just robots, but you really get into the story and really want Atom to win! This is due to the writing and Jackman’s performance. The kid is actually quite good too and the movie has some heart.


Good characters, amazing fights, excellent story, good acting Real Steel is a great movie – one of the best of the year!


5/5.


J-Man.