Now Playing: Real Steel (2011)

Today I took the opportunity to go out with my friends to catch the new movie Real Steel. I know it's not a Halloween movie, but to make up for that, I'm going to be watching a horror film a friend gave me just as soon as I finish writing this. Look out for that later today.

I don't think I have to explain why I wanted to see Real Steel. It's got giant robots and boxing. It's basically a sci-fi version of Rocky! It also stars Hugh Jackman, and lets face it, Jackman is awesome. But can that combination combat the potential for cheesiness a robot movie also starring a kid could have? Hit the jump to find out!


Charlie Kenton is a robot boxing promoter, who used to be a boxer himself. Now, in this near future, human boxing has gone out of style in favor of the more violent and outlandish version, thanks to the use of robots. The problem is that Charlie (played by Hugh Jackman) is massively in debt, and his rash nature while controlling the robots in the ring gets his last bot destroyed. To top it off, he's just found out that an old girlfriend has passed away, and the son he once abandoned, Max, is being placed into his custody. Can he get back on his feet at the same time as raising a son he doesn't even know? It's time to see how much fight is still left in this old boxer.

Plenty of different wild robots on display

There was a strong chance that the kid factor could really get in the way of the movie being entertaining, but thankfully the kid (played by Dakota Goyo) wasn't annoying, and was actually surprisingly mature for an 11-year-old. While some people may find it unusual that the kid is sometimes more mature than his father, I much prefer that to a super childish annoying brat. He still acts like a kid sometimes, like his awe at the various robots he sees, or the bond he forms with the robot he finds, which is named Atom. They manage to walk the fine line between cute and affectionate, and downright silly and annoying. There is only one scene I thought was approaching foolishness, but then they worked it into the story in quite a clever way that made sense to me. Yes, I'm being vague about it on purpose, but don't worry, it's just a sort of funny moment I don't want to spoil.

Atom has a "shadow function" that allows Charlie to program real boxing combos into it

The graphics used on the robots are fantastic. There are also practical effects used, and to be honest I don't think I could really tell when the robots were real and when they weren't. All the robots looked great and they were all distinct and very cool. I really liked the look of the robots, and if I was a kid, I know I would have loved to put up posters of almost all of them. Also, because of the nature of the fighting, you get to see the robots right up close, and you see a lot of them which was really great. Another cool thing about the robots and the fighting is the multiple ways they show people controlling them. Not only by cool futuristic remotes, but voice control, and of course Atom's completely awesome "shadow function," which allows him to copy exactly what he sees his controller do.

The champion fighting robot, Zeus

While the film is sold as an action movie with huge robots, and sure enough there is plenty of great boxing action in it, the real story is a father/son story. Charlie barely knows his son, and Max even calls him "Charlie" because of the distance between them. I thought that part of the movie was pretty good, even if it is geared towards kids a little bit. I can understand though, since they know the kind of audience that could want to see this movie. They put enough in for kids, and enough in for adults to also enjoy. Possibly the greatest part of the film, which made me feel really good, was when Max was finally able to really see his father for the first time. Similar to Rocky, it was that personal moment that was the real victory of the film, and had nothing to do with how the final fight was going. I'd watch it again just for that moment. For those who have seen the movie, you'll know what I'm talking about.

Real Steel surprised me in how much I liked it. I didn't love it, but it was really quite fun, and had a really touching moment at the end which was great. Maybe it's a little by the books, and I'm sure not everyone will be able to buy into it, but I know my friends were also surprised in how much they liked it. As for a sports/boxing movie, I would even go so far as to say it's easily better than some of the Rocky titles, but some of the kiddy moments do hold it back a little bit. Also, because they're just robots fighting, I never felt a sense of risk or danger that comes with a person fighting. Nevertheless, the fighting was still pretty cool, and the big effects make it pretty awesome to see on the big screen. I can definitely say I walked out of the theater with a smile on my face. Not a bad way to start the day if you ask me.