cult film freak: REAL STEEL

Written by James M. Tate / 10/07/2011 / No comments / action , boxing , hugh jackman , tens

REAL STEEL

10/07/2011 | No comment

title: REAL STEEL
year: 2011
cast: Hugh Jackman, Dakota Goyo, Evangeline Lilly, James Rebhorn
rating: **

Upon seeing the trailer, people old enough instantly thought of the classic game ROCK ‘EM SOCK ‘EM ROBOTS, but this film, inspired by a Richard Matheson penned TWILIGHT ZONE, is more like THE TRANSFORMERS meets OVER THE TOP. Hugh Jackman plays an ex boxer who, in a near-distant future, trains robots to fight. He’s a loser and a scoundrel and, after being saddled with his son for three months, they discover the remains of a sparring bot that becomes their diamond in the rough, and a possible way to make money. But only the kid sees the potential in "Atom" who, resembling THE IRON GIANT and with a human quality of fear, has a few successful bouts leading to the big event with the formidable, corporate-backed ZEUS. On paper, this sounds like an exciting flick with a lotta punch, but the action takes a back seat to overlong scenes involving Jackman and his kid traveling around misunderstanding each other. But it’s when our grizzled human hero switches the steely palooka from remote control to shadow mode… thus using his own skills as a boxer to try winning the big fight… that the audience has reason to cheer. Mirroring ROCKY's underdog overcoming the odds template, this lacks the training and passion that goes into turning a pile of scrap into a champion. For the most part, the climb to the top seems much too easy.

Share This Post :

Tags : action , boxing , hugh jackman , tens

James M. Tate

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

FAVORITES SHORTLIST

1)OTLEY 2)HELL IS A CITY 3)ROBBERY 4)THE FEARMAKERS 5)CANYON PASSAGE 6)VIOLENT SATURDAY 7)HOT CARS 8)JUNGLE STREET 9)ANATOMY OF A MURDER 10)THE CROWDED SKY 11))THE MAN FROM LARAMIE 12)SHARKS' TREASURE 13)SWEENEY TWO 14)RAIDERS FROM BENEATH THE SEA 15)HARDCORE 16)THE SYSTEM 17)WHITE HEAT 18)AL CAPONE 19)HIDDEN FEAR 20)FALLEN ANGEL 21)NIGHT CREATURES 22)CURSE OF THE DEMON 23)ASH WEDNESDAY 24)THE BREAK 25)AIR PATROL 26)HANNIBAL BROOKS 27)EASY LIVING 28)WILLIAM CONRAD'S BRAINSTORM 29)FRENZY 30)THE ROARING TWENTIES 1)DANA ANDREWS 2)JAMES CAGNEY 3)STANLEY BAKER 4)MARLON BRANDO 5)JACK NICHOLSON 1)VIRGINIA MAYO 2)SUE LYON 3)GENE TIERNEY 4)MERRY ANDERS 5)FAYE DUNAWAY DIRECTORS 1)JACQUES TOURNEUR 2)RICHARD FLEISCHER 3)STANLEY KUBRICK 4)ORSON WELLES 5)OTTO PREMINGER 6)JOHN LANDIS 7)JOHN GUILLERMAN 8)VAL GUEST 9)JOHN CARPENTER 10)MICHAEL WINNER