Real Steel - A Loser And His Great Son.

(Hugh Jackman, Dakota Goyo and Atom)
(2011) ★★★☆☆

‘It’s not time to make a change. Just relax and take it easy. You’re still young. That’s your fault. That’s so much you have to go through…’ Right, these are the lyrics of a song by Cat Stevens called ‘Father And Son’. ‘Real Steel’ is also about father and son, but the difference is, it’s not about the son being consulted by the father. It goes the other way round.

It’s set in the near future, say, 10 years from now, when men no long want to get in the ring and fight. Instead, they use robots to beat the hell out of each other. This film, therefore, seems less violent but more adrenaline boosting. A retired boxer cum sort of a loser, Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman), keeps getting himself into underground robot boxing with a view to making ends meet and paying off his debts, but he fails over and again till his unexpected son Max (Dakota Goyo) finds a champion in an abandoned sparring robot.

The story is inspiring. The robot fights seem much more real, entertaining and gripping compared with those in the mindless Transformers series. Hugh Jackman and Dakota Goyo are a great match as father and son, especially the latter whose performances are so captivating that I think without him, this film could be like a total failure to some of the viewers like me. I’m pleased to see the son and his adorable robot named Atom that eventually becomes People’s Champion (What a surprise indeed), as well as the spark between them, but I don’t like the father who seems so irresponsible, ruthless and unwise. Maybe he’s being humorous, but I don’t quite get it anyway. Only if he could act and respond more sensibly and humanely, I would’ve loved this film more, as the redemption the father receives from his son would be more convincing.

‘Real Steel’ is not exactly a letdown but it’s not that touching as I expected. Still it would be able to make you shed a tear or two if you go into it with low expectations.