"Let's make some money!"
Despite outward appearances, Real Steel is not based on Rock ‘Em, Sock ‘Em Robots. It’s loosely based on a 1956 short story by sci-fi author Richard Matheson and was previously adapted as an episode on The Twilight Zone with Lee Marvin as a down-and-out manager of a robot boxer. Hugh Jackman steps into that role, but Real Steel only tangentially resembles those previous versions. After phenomenal success with the Transformers franchise, it was no surprise that Dreamworks and producers Steven Spielberg and Don Murphy would dip into the robot well one more time.
The year is 2020 and combat sports are participated by robots instead of humans. Charlie Kenton (Jackman) was a former pro boxer with a mediocre record, who hustles for money at state fairs and campgrounds with his busted up robot fighter. In the opening sequence, Kenton’s ‘bot is destroyed by a rodeo bull. Soon after, he receives word that an ex-girlfriend has died and parental custody of his estranged son, Max (Dakota Goyo), is being contested by Max’s aunt, Debra (Hope Davis). Charlie has no problem with ditching the kid, but wants something in return and finagles a backroom deal with Debra’s fiancé (James Rebhorn) to essentially sell Max for $100,000, half up front. Father and son are stuck with each other for the summer as Charlie uses the money to purchase a new robot, Noisy Boy, to compete on the underground circuit.
Noisy Boy gets wrecked in his first fight thanks to Charlie's inexperience with its voice commands. Forced to scrounge for spare parts in a junkyard, Max comes across an entire robot buried in the mud. It is Atom, an old model designed only for sparring. Atom is built to take a lot of punishment, but never dishing any out, as Charlie explains. Max sees a lot of himself in Atom, both are alone and unwanted. The kid takes it upon himself to upgrade and train Atom himself through its shadow function, which allows the 'bot to copy the movement of its owner. There's also a hint that Atom might possess an iota of self-awareness. This thread isn't fully explored as the producers are likely saving it for a sequel.
To the surprise of Charlie, Max's robot begins tearing up the back alley arenas and catching the attention of promoters from the professional World Robot League. This leads to an inevitable showdown between Atom and the WRL champion Zeus, an automaton backed by a Russian heiress (Olga Fonda) and a genius Japanese designer (Karl Yune).
One thing Real Steel has going for it is the gorgeous cinematography by Mauro Fiore, who also shot Avatar. From the wheat fields of the Midwest to the metallic factories where the robots do battle, Fiore gives everything a glossy sheen.
The robots of Real Steel are sleeker and better designed than the unsightly clunkers of Michael Bay's Transformers. Each one has a distinct, retro feel that makes it easier to follow the boxing matches. Too many times did the action scenes in Transformers descend into an indiscernible mass of pixels. The fights in Real Steel are exhilarating and well-done with the legendary Sugar Ray Leonard serving as the film's consultant. The slick cinematography and convincing special effects are enough to carry the movie visually, despite the bland direction of Shawn Levy, a master of populist and pandering pap. He did, after all, direct the Night at the Museum pictures.
Real Steel lacks any originality with a predictable narrative full of saccharine moments more manufactured than its robotic pugilists. Real Steel mixes mechanical mayhem with an underdog sports story in the vein of The Champ with a dash of Paper Moon. Rocky is cribbed numerous times, but the main plot resembles another famous Stallone flick, Over the Top with the estranged father and son embarking on a road trip to revive their relationship. An already derivative script is further hampered by protagonists who are less than sympathetic. Charlie is not a lovable scoundrel, but an outright asshole. He is crude and just plain stupid sometimes. Max suffers from cute kid syndrome. Dakota Goyo, who also played the young god of thunder in Thor, isn't as grating as other child actors (Jake Lloyd and Jaden Smith, I'm looking at you), but he could stand to be less precocious. Charlie and Max are steered towards more tolerable levels as the movie progresses.
Hugh Jackman has all the screen idol looks and charisma to excel in the lead role though his performance isn't enough to transcend the material. Anthony Mackie and Jackman's Wolverine co-star Kevin Durand are good in minor roles as an underground promoter and a redneck antagonist, respectively. Female roles are given the short shrift. Evangeline Lilly appears as love interest, Bailey, the daughter of Charlie's late-trainer who is desperately trying to maintain her father's dusty gym. Lilly doesn't get to do much other than pine for her beau, which is more than what is given to an utterly wasted Hope Davis.
Real Steel can easily be summed up by its crass product placement where Dr. Pepper, X-Box, and Bing logos and products are front and center. It's most out-and-out sci-fi element has to be Hewlett-Packard technology running the entire show. This is a highly commercialized picture lacking any genuine heart and refined through demographic surveys and test audiences.
Richard Matheson is best known for writing I Am Legend, which was adapted into a 2007 blockbuster starring Will Smith. The film version completely missed the point of the original story, which saw the last surviving man metaphorically becoming the very monster he was trying to exterminate. Matheson's original "Steel" was a tale about man vs. machine not failed man achieving success vicariously through machine. It's not surprising that Hollywood misses the point once again. Let's make some money indeed, Hugh Jackman.
Rating: ** (*****)
