When I was a kid, I was obsessed with the show “BattleBots,” where small home- made robots equipped with lawnmower blades and table saws fought to the death. Although “BattleBots” was canceled in 2002, the concept has been revived … kind of.
“Real Steel,” with its full-size robot pugilists, takes this premise to a futuristic and goofy extreme, and is anything but mechanical in its execution. By 2020, robot boxing is one of the most popular sports in the world. Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman) is a former boxer and luckless robot operator whose string of defeats has him owing money everywhere. When both his estranged son (Dakota Goyo) and an antiquated sparring robot
come into his life, his luck begins to change both inside and outside the ring.
The film doesn’t pretend to be anything other than a mechanized version of “Rocky,” even including a bot that resembles Ivan Drago. Its willingness to embrace its recycled plot and themes make it simple, unpretentious and mind- less fun.
Jackman and Goyo help buoy a movie that really should be noth- ing more than a lifeless retread. Jackman somehow makes a dead- beat dad a likeable character, and while Goyo doesn’t bring anything new to the table, he keeps his “lovable scamp” character from becoming annoying.
The film’s major problem is that, at 127 minutes, it runs a bit too long.
Also, while the whole movie is inherently unbelievable, it seems a bit strange that an 11-year-old child is allowed to possess and control a multi-ton metal killing machine.
The ending to “Real Steel” becomes obvious about thirty minutes into the film, but it keeps you watching anyway. The film is unabashedly stupid, but its punches connect just often enough to make it compelling.
