Real Steel

Hugh Jackman, Dakota Goyo, Evangeline Lilly, Anthony Mackie, Hope Davis

Dir. Shawn Levy
Scr. John Gatins

There is absolutely no doubt that this film is well and truly aimed at the demographic of 12-year-old boys. And they certainly made up a vast majority of the audience. I don’t know whether there is a 12-year-old boy in me struggling to get out, but I have to say I enjoyed this film a great deal. Sure, it’s corny and predictable, and manipulative enough to move me to tears. But it’s also fun with some great fighting scenes and a lovely amount of heart. And, of course, the wonderful Mr Jackman. Would recommend for a lazy Saturday afternoon.

It’s the not-so-distant future and human boxing has gone the way of the cassette tape. Audiences have become bored and sought more destruction and violence, hence robot boxing (still controlled by humans, we’re not far enough in the future to worry about robots taking over). Charlie Kenton (Jackman) is a washed up boxer who scraps a living in robot boxing. Irresponsible and a bit of a cad, Charlie teams up with his 11-year-old son Max (Goyo), completely neglected by his father, to build a successful boxing robot. There’s more to it than that, of course, but to cut a not-so-long story even shorter, much bonding occurs and Charlie rediscovers purpose in life as well as a wonderfully good fighting robot.

The action on offer here is very entertaining indeed. Nine foot tall fighting robots, remote-controlled by an eclectic mix of enthusiasts, fuel the public need for violence and blood. Minus the blood. The final battle of champion versus underdog is unashamedly crowd pleasing and when Charlie is forced to fight with the robot (you’ll know what I mean if you see it), you can’t help but cheer.

Fine acting is not why you might see Real Steel and, just as well, because it’s not on offer. However, Jackman is, as ever, extremely watchable and appealing. Goyo is not too annoying and has quite good comic timing for one so young. And Lilly (as love interest Bailey) is a welcome feminine element in this testosterone-fuelled flick.

Real Steel is not going to win any awards or many accolades. You’re not going to be thinking about this film for days after seeing it – it’s not going to challenge you in any meaningful way. And nor is it the most entertaining film of the year. But, you know what, I would happily watch it again. Recommended for anyone who likes the idea of boxing robots. Not recommended for anyone who finds that idea ridiculous.

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Max: We can’t win, can we?

Charlie: We’ll see.