As I said in my last review, I’m going to start writing reviews of movies that I have seen before. This was on TV yesterday and I decided to throw it in the DVD player and watch it.
Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman) is a former boxer, but boxing is no longer a thing in the future. Instead, there’s WRB, World Robot Boxing. Charlie’s life is boxing and he’s trying to make the transition into robot boxing but is struggling. He’s got close to no money and he’s in debt to a lot of people. Then he’s told his former girlfriend and mother of his only son has passed away and suddenly his world is turned topsy-turvy.
Right off the bat, you don’t like Charlie’s character because of the stupid and selfish decisions he makes. As the movie progresses, you grow more fond of him though. You realize that just as every person has their flaws, so does Charlie, but he also has some good in him. His character is made complete through Jackman’s portrayal. While I haven’t seen Jackman in as many movies as I would like, from what I have seen him in, such as some of the X-Men movies, The Wolverine, and this, he’s done a good job. The Wolverine and X-Men movies are not good, but it is not Jackman’s fault.
Charlie isn’t the smartest guy, and it’s noticeable. Most times I can’t stand stupid people in movies although I wouldn’t go so far as to say Charlie is stupid. Despite Charlie’s poor decision-making skills, I still like the guy, something I credit to Jackman’s acting ability.
The supporting cast of Bailey Tallet (Evangeline Lily) and Max Kenton (Dakota Goyo) give solid performances to help the character development of Charlie.
This movie doesn’t have character connection for me although I’m sure there’s some there for others. While in most movies this will usually negatively impact the movie for me that was not the case with this. The reason for this is that even though I can’t relate, I still care about the characters. Also, the concept of the movie is brilliant. Robot boxing?! I’d watch that! The ratings and profits that sport would make would be through the roof. It doesn’t feel like too far of a stretch either. I could easily see this becoming a reality in my lifetime. Finally, the story of David versus Goliath is one of the greatest stories ever told. This movie centers its plot on this story, one that I think everyone can relate to.
The action scenes are sick! They do a good job of making each robot unique instead of copies of each other.
Once again, if you’re new to my blog, I’ve always ranked movies on a scale of 0-100 (I don’t know why, I just always have). Here’s the grading scale.
90-100 It’s a great movie and definitely one worth buying. (Iron Man 3, World War Z, 42, Just Go With It)
80-89 It was a pretty good movie and definitely one worth seeing, but it doesn’t quite scratch my top ten percentile. (Monster-In-Law, White House Down, Jobs, The Truman Show, The Hunger Games)
70-79 It’s okay but I’ve seen better. It has its moments, but it has its flaws, too. (The Usual Suspects, 21 Jump Street, Escape Plan, Captain America: The First Avenger, Dawn of the Dead)
60-69 It’s got plenty wrong with it but I still got enjoyment out of this one. (Pacific Rim, The Long Kiss Goodnight, Disaster Movie)
50-59 This movie isn’t intolerable but it’s not blowing my mind either. I’m trying really hard to get some sort of enjoyment out of this. (Total Recall, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, Along Came Polly, Aliens, Alien Resurrection)
40-49 This movie is just mediocre. It’s not doing anything other than the bare minimal, so morbidly boring that sometimes I’m actually angry I watched this. (Patriot Games, The Great Gatsby, Pitch Black, Alien)
30-39 Definitely worse than mediocre, the 30’s ironically define the 1930’s, full of depression, lack of accomplishments, poverty and just so dumb. (The Contract, Pride and Prejudice)
20-29 What did I just watch? Cliches, stupidity, nothingness, did I mention stupidity? Just…wow. (The Sum of All Fears)
0-19 Watching this movie resulted in one or more of the following: seizure, loss of brain cells, falling asleep/unconsciousness, feel you wasted your time/day, accomplished nothing for you, left the movie knowing less about it then you did going into it, constantly asking yourself why you came to see this movie, or near-death experience. In short, staring at a wall was just as entertaining as watching this movie. This movie deserved a sticker or a label that said, “WARNING: EXTREME AMOUNT OF SUCKAGE.” (Midnight Cowboy, Dark Fury, Alien 3)
My score for Real Steel: 92.
This movie’s story line is concrete and the characters solid. While I’ve seen better characters, it doesn’t hurt the overall product. The intensity gets you pumped. Furthermore, I love it when a movie gets my spine to tingle, to give me that sense of euphoria, that sense of hitting the nail right on the head and driving it home perfectly. This movie gave me that feeling and really touched me, which is probably why I appreciate it so much.
*SPOILER ALERT* IF YOU DON’T WANT THE MOVIE SPOILED, STOP READING!!!
*SPOILER’S EDITION*
This movie is an adaptation of the Rocky movies. It’s the same basic story with a few minor changes. I’ll admit that aside from Rocky IV, I’m not sure I would rate any of the other ones higher than this. However, it has been quite a while since I’ve seen all the Rocky movies so please don’t go hating in the comments.
wordsofwistim 