Review: Real Steel

In jest, I'm calling it "Robot Rocky" to my friends, but Real Steel is the most fun I've had in a theater all year. Call it a movie for 11-year-old boys if you like. It certainly has enough action, but it's a great family film with solid appeal for all ages.

Hugh Jackman is admittedly not at his best here; Charlie Kenton is not Jackman's usual heroic role. However, newcomer Dakota Goyo (who made a brief appearance earlier this summer as a young Thor) will be making a name for himself with Real Steel. The movie is almost entirely one-on-one between the two, and Goyo holds his own against a much older and more seasoned actor.

Evangeline Lilly's Bailey is charming but little more othan an afterthought in this script, present only to provide a little exposition on Charlie's backstory. Kevin Durand rounds out the main cast with an unsurprisingly bad guy named Ricky. It would be refreshing just once to see him play a sympathetic character, but now when he shows up in the credits, I automatically know he'll be showing up as a villain.

I was surprised to see Danny Elfman credited with the score. His muted guitar work was a mighty leap from the direction of familiar (and beloved) pieces like Beetlejuice and Batman. Instead of a circus musicbox chorus, Elfman scored Real Steel with a country sound reminiscent of Gustavo Santaolalla's in Brokeback Mountain. Much of the film is set in Texas (although shot in Michigan), so the feel is appropriate.

Emotionally, the movie plays its audience like a videogame. It's all about showmanship, and the robots are given just enough human characteristics that you feel it when they take a punch, but they're not made so empathetic that you feel any remorse when they are smashed to bits. When they are destroyed, it's done with style. Fight choreography was motion-captured from pro boxers and supervised by Sugar Ray Leonard.

Real Steel had the audience alternating between cringing and cheering with each punch, and they applauded every fight. For you 11-year-olds, these robots are the coolest of the cool and pretty much make The Transformers yesterday's news. Sorry, Optimus Prime, your titanium grill is no match for Real Steel.