Film Snail

Real Steel
Real Steel

7.0

Real Steel

PG-13·2011·127m

Summary

Charlie Kenton is a washed-up fighter who retired from the ring when robots took over the sport. After his robot is trashed, he reluctantly teams up with his estranged son to rebuild and train an unlikely contender.

Cast

Hugh Jackman

Hugh Jackman

Charlie Kenton

Dakota Goyo

Dakota Goyo

Max Kenton

Evangeline Lilly

Evangeline Lilly

Bailey Tallet

Kevin Durand

Kevin Durand

Ricky

Anthony Mackie

Anthony Mackie

Finn

Hope Davis

Hope Davis

Aunt Debra

James Rebhorn

James Rebhorn

Marvin

Karl Yune

Karl Yune

Tak Mashido

Sophie Levy

Sophie Levy

Big Sister

Tess Levy

Tess Levy

Little Sister

Olga Fonda

Olga Fonda

Farra Lemkova

John Gatins

John Gatins

Kingpin

Gregory Sims

Gregory Sims

Bill Panner

Torey Adkins

Torey Adkins

Large Texan Man

Phil LaMarr

Phil LaMarr

ESPN Boxing Commentator

John Hawkinson

John Hawkinson

San Leandro Gentleman #2

David Alan Basche

David Alan Basche

ESPN Boxing Commentator

Julian Gant

Julian Gant

Starblaze Arena Reporter

Ken Alter

Virgin America Spectrum Ring Announcer

Leilani Barrett

Leilani Barrett

Virgin America Spectrum Ref

D.B. Dickerson

Twin Cities Controller

Peter Carey

Peter Carey

Bing Arena Announcer

Dan Lemieux

Dan Lemieux

Bing Arena Ref

Richard Goteri

Older Gentleman

Tim Holmes

Blacktop Controller

Ricky Wayne

Ricky Wayne

Underground Promoter

Taris Tyler

Taris Tyler

Robot Promoter

Kevin Dorman

Kevin Dorman

Atom Performance Capture

John Manfredi

John Manfredi

Sergei Lemkova

Mike Ancrile

Mike Ancrile

Fight Fan (uncredited)

Leah Barkoff

Leah Barkoff

Upscale Fight Fan (uncredited)

Joshua Ray Bell

Rodeo Cowboy (uncredited)

Clark Birchmeier

Bar Patron (uncredited)

Ben Hernandez Bray

Ben Hernandez Bray

Ricky's Henchman (uncredited)

Wayne E. Brown

Upscale Boxing Fan (uncredited)

Justin Calkins

Rodeo Cowboy (uncredited)

Ron Causey

Ron Causey

Kingpin's Henchman (uncredited)

Jahnel Curfman

Panoramic Fight Fan (uncredited)

Johnny Flynn

Johnny Flynn

ESPN Commentator (uncredited)

Logan Fry

Logan Fry

Rabid Fight Fan (uncredited)

Megan Grant

Vendor (uncredited)

J.J. Green

Crash Palace Fan (uncredited)

Shane Hagedorn

Photographer (uncredited)

Kef Lee

Kef Lee

Zeus Robot Handler #1 (uncredited)

Brad Leo Lyon

Fight Fan (uncredited)

Mary Magyari

Usher (uncredited)

Megan Mockensturm

Megan Mockensturm

Fight Fan (uncredited)

Kirstie Munoz

Vendor (uncredited)

Anton Narinskiy

Anton Narinskiy

Farra's Body Guard (uncredited)

Chris Newman

Chris Newman

Starblaze Security Guard (uncredited)

Wendy Paquette

Fight Fan (uncredited)

Alan D. Purwin

Alan D. Purwin

Helicopter Pilot (uncredited)

Miguel Sandoval

Miguel Sandoval

Judge (uncredited)

Dwight Sora

Japanese Reporter #2 (uncredited)

Jojuan Westmoreland

Jojuan Westmoreland

Zoo Fight Fan (uncredited)

Amanda Bright

Amanda Bright

Ricky's Girl (uncredited)

Gary T. Jones

Rich Man (uncredited)

Rima Fakih

Self (uncredited)

Crew

Director

Shawn Levy

Screenplay

John Gatins

Short Story

Richard Matheson

Story

Jeremy Leven

Story

Dan Gilroy

Reviews

John Chard

John Chard

August 1, 2019

7

No splitting this Atom, it has got a rock solid heart.

Real Steel is directed by Shawn Levy and collectively adapted to the screen by John Gatins, Dan Gilroy and Jeremy Leven from a Richard Matheson short story called Steel. It stars Hugh Jackman, Dakota Goyo, Evangeline Lilly, Anthony Mackie, Kevin Durand, Hope Davis and James Rebhorn. Music is scored by Danny Elfman and cinematography by Mauro Fiore.

Set in the near future, robot boxing is a big crowd pulling sport. After a struggling robot operator is introduced to an 11-year-old son he has never known, they stumble upon a discarded robot at a junk yard....

We can all moan about the mimicry of an idea and the clichés that dominate Real Steel, but you really got to hand it to the makers for what they have achieved. They have crafted a family film that's very much perfect in this day and age. The story is one that any adult Sylvester Stallone fan can acknowledge and appreciate, the human heartbeat pleasingly steady, while the premise of big colourful robots beating the crap out of each other delights youngsters and us adults who are still young at heart. Film pretty much does what any other film of this type does, lays on the syrup in the last quarter where second chances and family strife come thundering through the plotting. Undeniably it's hugely derivative, events are joystick operated to get an emotional response from a family audience, while product placement reins and the script often sags under the weight of unoriginality. But it does uplift the spirit and getting to the end is easy since it's so much berserker fun. Yes it's the robot Atom, the people's champion, yes it's David vS Goliath and yes! It's Balboa vS Creed. Nothing wrong with that really.

The cast don't really have to offer up much beyond being adequate within the context of the material, though a muscular Jackman finds good paternal chemistry with young Goyo. In fact Goyo is pleasingly not annoying, always a bonus is that. Inevitably the robots are the stars, they're a triumph of design and visual effects and a sight for sore eyes, while Levy has a good handle on staging the fight sequences - even when cribbing from Balboa. The near future look is terrific as well, with Fiore's colour photography very appealing. Coining in over $290 million at the worldwide box office (over £180 million in profit), Real Steel found the family audience it was looking for, proving once again that there is a market for simple and effective popcorn carnage. It's not high art or intelligently scripted, but was anyone seriously thinking that was going to be the case here? If you want brains with this premise then seek out Twilight Zone episode "Steel", starring the excellent Lee Marvin, otherwise just sit back and enjoy the ride and let the botty bots and human interest raise the pulse and gladden the heart respectively. 7/10

Home format release is a sparkling print, extras are annoyingly short but the blooper reel is fun, we get a stunt deconstruction, and we learn about the influence a certain Mr. Spielberg had on the production.

Media

Status:

Released

Original Language:

English

Budget:

$110,000,000.00

Revenue:

$299,300,000.00

Keywords

future
sports
parent child relationship
fight
robot
prizefight
father son reunion
robot fighting
2020s