This year has seen some surprisingly thought-provoking movies. I've lost count of the times that I have had to decompress after a film, discussing what a film really means, man over a martini--I mean, coffee. Just in case you're like me and your brain hurts a little bit from all this contemplation in 2011, you can sleep easy knowing that Real Steel will not make you think at all. The only thoughts you have will be ones like "Hey, cool, robots are fighting each other," and "Wow, Hugh Jackman looks great doing that jab-jab-uppercut combination."
This movie came out of nowhere and gut-punched me with joy. The premise sounds a little hokey--Hugh Jackman plays Charlie, a washed-up boxer in the future who has to hustle in order to live. Instead of doing something classy like sell drugs, he operates remote control boxing robots in the ring against any opponent as long as there's a purse involved (the film opens with his robot fighting a bull). He gets unexpectedly reunited with his son Max (Dakota Goyo) who is supposed to stay home with his longtime friend and sometimes lover Bailey (Evangeline Lily), but of course he is too sassy to stay put and comes along. They end up procuring a very special robot named Atom that takes the robot boxing world by storm. Yeah, I know. It's a little bit like The Wrestler combined with notes of Curly Sue and The Last Action Hero. But it works really, really well.
Sure, we've seen the story before. Anytime a movie gets close to being familiar, I roll my eyes unless something is going on that infuses it with new energy. Here, that energy belongs to Dakota Goyo. He is quite an extraordinary kid, and comes across great onscreen. He is precocious without being annoying, funny, and matches Hugh Jackman's chops at every turn. Onscreen it appears as though Jackman is having a great time working with such a little powerhouse, which translates to it being fun for the audience too.
Here's another huge reason this movie was awesome: the robots are mostly animatronic. In a world polluted with fakey-fake graphics and green screens, seeing a real, big ole robot take a swing at another real, big ole robot really got my heart pumping. An actual robot on the screen immediately made the movie feel full of life, as opposed to the tinny, hollow result of the latest and greatest software demonstrations most films employ.
There's only one thing about the movie: The tone is a little weird. It's not quite an adult's movie, and might be a little mature for some kids. I would take the PG-13 rating very seriously on this one, but I think most people will be happy watching metal against metal, along with an impromptu dance number. It's a perfectly fun movie that won't strain your brain.