Real Steel is directed by Canadian Shawn Levy (Night at the Museum”, “The Pink Panther”). It is a high action drama with a heavy dose of Science Fiction and Fantasy with an all star cast including Hugh Jackman (Charlie Kenton), Dakota Goyo (Max, Charlie’s son), Evangeline Lilly, Kevin Durand and Anthony Mackie. Hugh Jackman, Dakota Goyo, Evangeline Lilly, Anthony Mackie, Kevin Durand. The movie is based on a 1956 short story by Richard Matheson set in 2020 at a time when Robot Wrestling is a hugely popular and very monetarily lucrative sport.

Charlie Kenton is a boxer who is down on his luck having lost his chance at a title when the 2000-pound, 8-foot-tall steel robots entered the boxing ring. The story explores the wonderful and at times complicated relationship between Charlie and his son Max as he comes to grips with being a father and a success again. Charlie’s dream is to build and train a championship robot contender called Atom.

Real Steel is not just another robot movie like Transformers with a lot of gratuitous violence. It is a sensitive, entertaining story about overcoming tough circumstances and tougher realities. It does not matter that Hugh Jackman is not a heavy weight boxer in real life. His performance is engaging and he pulls off the role admirably. He makes a great father son team with Dakota Goyo who really captures the role and holds the scene. Hugh Jackman will forever be known as the Wolverine in my heart.

The romance relationship between Bailey (Evangeline Lilly) who is a gym owner struggling to make ends meet and Charlie Kenton is a little less clear. Its actually not clear why she is even in business since human boxing is apparently outlawed and that is the business at her gym. However it is an essential aspect of the story.

Hopefully director Shawn Levy won’t be mad when I label his style as commercial. Then again, when you direct movies like “Night at the Museum” and “The Pink Panther” that style is more or less a part of him, and that’s not bad, Hollywood needs him.

The story may not have too many layers but unpretentious characters; honest performances, simple storyline and stunning action make ‘Real Steel’ a fun family film, relax and enjoy!

Christophe Chanel