Feb 15: Real Steel

"Set in the near future, where robot boxing is a top sport, a struggling promoter feels he's found a champion in a discarded robot. During his hopeful rise to the top, he discovers he has an 11-year-old son who wants to know his father."

   A movie about boxing robots has finally seen the light of day. One would think it would be a badass movie with nonstop action and just the right amount of story to keep it interesting. Real Steel does have great action and the special effects are mind-blowingly good, but the story has just too much "fluff". The market is already insanely flooded with underdog sports movies with happy endings and Real Steel had the perfect opportunity to turn the genre on it's side. However, the movie is exactly the same as every other underdog movie, minus the fact that there are giant robots bashing each other's metal brains in. 

It's like he borrowed something from his buddy Ahnuld and made himself part machine. 

   Real Steel is in no way a bad film. It is highly enjoyable and the special effects are flawless. The robots look very real, especially when they're standing next to their human counterparts, and the boxing looks genuine. Sugar Ray Leonard was actually on set teaching Hugh Jackman how to fight, and choreographed the robot boxing. Take away the action though, and Real Steel is just the run-of-the-mill, daddy issue ridden, underdog sap story. The dialogue isn't horrible and the acting is very good but it all plays second fiddle to the action. Screw it, there should be more robot fighting and their isn't... simple as that. 

F**k Yes!!

   Overall, Real Steel is a good movie that could have been epic on a completely new level but failed to do so because it needed a family friendly story thrown in. The hardcore action is disrupted over and over by the unnecessary fluff added. The special effects make up for a lot of it, as they used animatronics and CGI, and it all looks impeccable on screen. The fights are great but there should have been more, especially leading up to the final fight. I'd recommend the film, but keep in mind you will be seeing a lot of the same old cliches you have seen before.  

The Good:

incredible special effects and awesome fight sequences

The Bad:

a boring, unnecessary story completely filled with the same old crap you've seen a ton of times already.. and it's lengthy at over two hours

The Ugly:

not enough fights... they're robots, they can take a hell of a lot more punishment than people

Overall: 6.9/10

Best Quote:

Robots: Crashing, Punching, Bleeding Oil