Real Steel
Directed by: Shawn Levy
Written by: John Gatins, Dan Gilroy, and Jeremy Leven
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Evangeline Lilly, and Dakota Goyo
Released in theaters October 7, 2011
Rated PG-13
My Rating: ★★★★★
Charlie Kenton (Huge Jackman), a former boxer, is a deadbeat dad who tries, fairly unsuccessfully, to make a living fighting robots. He owes just a few too many of the wrong kind of people, and he’s always on the hunt for the next big break. One day, as he tries to skip out on a bet gone wrong, he is approached by authorities who inform him that his ex-wife is dead and his eleven-year-old son is now under his care. His ex-sister-in-law (Hope Davis) wants to adopt Max (Dakota Goyo), but Charlie sees another opportunity to make some cash and takes the boy for the summer with plans to sell him to the couple afterward. What Charlie doesn’t expect is the incredible bond that he and Max will make over a junkyard find, the sparring robot, Atom. Can the unlikely trio work their way to a championship or will they find something far more important to fight for along the way?
This was another mommy-needs-a-break movie at the drive-in with the kiddos. It most definitely did NOT disappoint! This movie was chock full of action and excitement with just the perfect amount of sentiment. I’m not going to lie, I’m a pretty big Hugh Jackman fan, so it already had that going for it, although he had to drop his Australian accent for the role. It’s nice to see Evangeline Lilly doing movies after her fantastic role in Lost, and then add in a cute kid and some interesting robots and you’re sure to have a winner!
The plot for this film is seamless. It isn’t set too far into the future to be completely unbelievable. It doesn’t overload your brain with too much high tech information. There is the perfect balance between the action and the emotion, and there is a lot of both. I cannot praise this film enough. My children loved it. My oldest son was so wrapped up in the story, he got physically upset when a fight did not go like he wanted. As we were leaving, my daughter exclaimed, “That was a good time, Mommy!” Beware, however… You may have a two-and-a-half-year-old who is suddenly very interested in boxing everyone and everything he sees!
