Geek Girl Features

The robot boxing movie “Real Steel” debuted in theaters, having to contend with George Clooney’s political thriller “The Ides of March” and the continuing reign of “The Lion King 3D.” “Real Steel” is set in the near future where boxing is now in the metallic hands of robots, since they can sustain higher amounts of damage than human fighters. The boxing society is trying to maintain its humanity, in spite of the machines being the main source of profit.

The robot industry serves as merely the backdrop for the true plot of the movie. Hugh Jackman plays a father who walked out on the child he suddenly finds himself caring for nearly 11 years later. No idea of who the kid truly is, or how to be a father, he takes his son along on his pursuit for robotic boxing fame. The classic hero vs. villain, little guy vs. the big guy plot comes into play as the story progresses.

The World Champion has essentially monopolized the boxing arena, leaving no room for new comers and upstarts. The pair traverses the country, making their way up the ladder with their unlikely robot champion, Atom, to challenge the big guy, Zeus. The movie is filled with emotion, with the father and son coming to understand each other as the movie progresses, set against the backdrop of action-filled robot boxing. The end of the movie is left open enough for a possible sequel, and seeing as there is already on in the works, it might have been planned like that from the start. Hugh Jackman, Evangeline Lilly, and Dakota Goyo make up the impeccable cast, and move the movie along with great acting. Sugar Ray Robinson trained Hugh Jackman for this movie, and the scenes where Jackman is seen boxing and “shadow fighting” shows the boxers moves and skill through the actor. The movie is worth the money to see it, and the emotions the movie invokes make the experience worth every minute.