An entertaining family action film, let down by cloying sentiment and some of the most blatant product placement ever put to screen.
Director Shawn Levy (Night at the Museum) brings to life a fascinating take on American Sports Entertainment in 2020 – Robot Boxing. No longer satisfied with tame matches between humans, in this world it’s left to robots to beat the proverbial out of each other in the hugely popular World Robot Boxing League. Imagine WWE on steroids and you have the right picture.
A long way from the bright lights of the WRB, we meet Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman), an ex-boxer now making a living from underground street matches between robots. He is the stereotypical washed-up former champ sliding ever backwards into debt. Not only has he lost his latest robot, his landlord/old friend Bailey (Evangeline Lilly) is threatening to kick him out of the boxing gym he rents. With life fast approaching rock bottom, Charlie’s situation is turned upside down when he has to look after his young son Max (Dakota Goyo) for the summer, after his mother passed away.
It’s fairly obvious where things are heading by now… with Max dragging Charlie out of his rut, thanks to some very Disney father/son bonding and an upturn in finances, due to the success of their new robot, Atom – a sparring bot blessed with shadowboxing capability.
While the story may be slight, the robot boxing is brilliant. The production budget of $110 million really shows in these fight sequences – real robots were built and then the brawls were simulated through the same motion capture technology used in Avatar. I was skeptical about how much investment I’d be able to put into two hulking beasts of machinery smashing each other but the excellent visual effects work makes it easy. Furthermore, without having to worry about anyone really being hurt the robots are free to wreck absolute mayhem, resulting in more than a few fist-pumping moments on behalf of the audience.
The hugely entertaining matches are unfortunately undercut by a number of factors: Dakota Goya is a cute kid, but his Max is precocious and annoying to the point of thoughts involving my fist and his face. The bonding scenes between Max and Charlie are also so overly sentimental that they become humorous – one extended sequence might as well have “THIS IS A MONTAGE” written across the screen in neon flashing lights, such is its subtlety. Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of the film was the ridiculous amount of product placement, especially Dr. Pepper – one scene played out like an extended commercial, with Dr. Pepper even being referenced in the dialogue!
Real Steel is perfectly suited for a brainless and entertaining night at the movies, with the high intensity boxing sequences more than earning the film’s $100+million production budget. Try not to focus on the human element of the story (as there is none) and you’ll have a great time – but be prepared to have all that Dr. Pepper branding subconsciously effect your next purchasing decision at the supermarket…
3 Stars
Andrew Cozens