Real Steel

I realized I haven't done a post since Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II came out. Perhaps it is because I am lazy and perhaps it is because nothing was worth talking about until now. Nobody will ever know.

I decided that I really needed to do a post about Real Steel because I feel like it is the most underrated movie of the year. Reviews were terrible and I didn't even get an "it was okay" from any of my friends. This was a real bummer because I was looking forward to this movie. After seeing Real Steel (finally!) I have to give it a 9 out of 10.

Real Steel tells the story of a washed up boxer who now does a poor job of training boxing robots. When his ex-wife of 11 years dies unexpectedly he ends up spending the summer with a son he never knew. Max loves boxing robots and the two help each other be successful as they make their way to the biggest robot fight ever.

Hugh Jackman did an excellent job. He was true to his character and the dynamic between father and son was different than any I had ever seen in a movie before. Rather than one person trying to build a relationship and the other evading, neither character tried to get to know the other but they were brought together by a common interest. They inevitably grew together along the way.

I have heard that many people think that the boxing robots were kind of cheesy and lame. On the contrary, I thought it was interesting and exciting watching the matches. Having never been a boxing fan and being a little sick of robots (mainly from the last 2 Transformers movies which were fails) I expected to be a little fed up with this. I looked forward to every fight and I was never disappointed.

The supporting characters had just enough involvement to be "supporting characters" but most of the time was saved for Max and Charlie to develop their relationship. I enjoyed a movie that was more about character than about plot and that presented it in a new way for me. The movie is definitely not for everyone, but I think it makes a great film that guys and girls could agree to watch together.