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(M) ***
Director: Shawn Levy.
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Dakota Goyo, Evangeline Lilly, Kevin Durand, Anthony Mackie.
REMEMBER the kids' game Rock'em Sock'em Robots? Well, here's the big-budget movie version.
Not really, but at least Real Steel is as much good ol' fashioned robot-punching fun as the toy it's not based on.
While far from being a total knockout, this tale of an estranged father-and-son bonding over the futuristic sport of robot boxing is as wonky as a punchdrunk fighter, but it packs enough of a wallop to make it worthwhile.
Jackman is Charlie, a down-on-his-luck ex-pugilist trying to repay his debts by managing a robot boxer in underground bouts at county fairs and backyard brawls.
When Charlie's former girlfriend dies, he finds himself confronted with Max (Goyo), the 11-year-old son he abandoned all those years ago, and soon the pair are reconnecting over a shared love of watching androids smash seven kinds of silicone out of each other.
At times, Real Steel is about as subtle as a robotic punch to the face and as predictable as a one-armed boxer.
Luckily, Jackman's charisma helps carry the dramatic moments (ie. when the automatons aren't thumping each other) and he's able to make the immensely unlikeable Charlie somehow, well, likeable. He's also good enough to distract you from the fact he doesn't have the head of an ex-boxer who's been knocked out more than a dozen times.
Another plus is Max and Charlie's relationship, which paints them as equals, given that Charlie is as spontaneous and reckless as a kid can be and Max has been forced to grow up fast. Their back-and-forths are the parts when the script is at its strongest.
As this is essentially Rocky with robots, the best part is, of course, the fights.
A seemless blend of CG and animatronics, the bouts are entertaining, strangely emotive and look spectacular. Further evidence of how good the fights are can be found in the fact that the bunch of annoying teenagers who talked all the way through the screening I saw only shut up during the fight scenes.
On the downside, Charlie's love interest Bailey (Lilly) is painfully soppy when she could have been a strong female character, and the dialogue often dips towards dire.
But Real Steel can be filed under 'big dumb fun'. It telegraphs its punches, but they're still powerful when they land.