Movie Review—Real Steel
Directed by: Shawn Levy
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Evangeline Lilly, and Dakota Goyo
Good Movie, Glad to Have Seen It (4 
out of 5)
out of 5)This month’s movie review belongs to the film Real Steel.
An action packed science-fiction film great for kids and adults.
Somewhere in the future, robot boxing takes the place of live human boxing as the public searches for greater sensationalism and matches that are more dangerous. Hugh Jackman portrays a down-on-his-luck boxing promoter, Charlie Kenton. While trying to recover from the recent loss of his last robot, he is informed that the son he abandoned has lost his mother. As it happens, his ex-sister-in-law is seeking custody and happens to have a husband with a heavy wallet. For a price, Charlie agrees to take in his 11-year-old son, Max Kenton, played by Dakota Goyo, for the summer. Charlie tends to go through money like other people go through water in the summer, so, they are soon again in need of a moneymaking robot fighter. After searching the robot graveyard, they find one of the early robots and start training what seems to be an unlikely winner. With a little help from gym manager Bailey Tallet, depicted by Evangeline Lilly, and a few spare parts left from previous bots, this sparring robot may have a chance. His opponents are newer bigger and stronger, but sometimes tougher is better, and sometimes operator technique helps. During all of the action and drama, Charlie also comes to know his son and changes may be in his future.
Shawn Levy directed this family action film as a feel good film that has you rooting for the underdog from the beginning and throughout. Sometimes that is Charlie, sometimes Max, and at other times the robot named Atom. Another feature of this film is the robots that were built in real life and computer generated; they provide the majority of the action. Dakota Goyo holds his own with Hugh Jackman and is endearing as the child who teaches his father not only what he was missing but how to develop responsibility. Hugh Jackman was also a pleasure to see in this new role: con-man promoter, redeemable and teachable, but also a fighter who is getting a second chance at being a winner and a father. Multiple other characters add depth and drama to the film. Anyone who ever played Rockem-Sockem Robots will enjoy this film in addition to the emotion evoked from the story.
