This weekend, I was treated to a viewing of the new movie Real Steel. I remember seeing the first trailer for Real Steel back in May, thinking that it would be a fun movie. The past few months I started seeing more and more trailers for Real Steel. The trailers were always action-packed with the music pumping. I knew the movie would be a good ride.
Now, while I thought that Real Steel was going to be a fun, action-packed movie, I have to admit that I went in a little leery. I was thinking it would be a little like Transformers, which I’m not a big fan of. I also thought that it would be a movie heavily focused on boxing.
Boy, was I wrong.
The first thing that I noticed about Real Steel was the soundtrack. From the very beginning of the movie, with the opening notes of All My Days by Alexi Murdoch and Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman) driving down the dusty road to a small carnival, you know that Director Shawn Levy is going to be paying attention.
Real Steel is set years into the future, where steel robots that are 8 feet tall and 2,000 pounds have replaced traditional boxing. There are two very different worlds of boxing. There’s the underworld, with no rules and then there is the official league, the WBR.
Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman) gets by with washed up robots, fighting in the underworld of robot boxing. Suddenly, his son Max (Dakota Goyo) that he hasn’t seen in over 10 years is thrown into his life for the summer.
That’s when you know it. This isn’t just a fun movie about robots. This is about a heartwarming story of a father and his son. You get to see Charlie, a rough and tough ex-boxer develop a relationship with his 11 year old son.
Dakota Goyo, the actor that played Max Kenton, was chosen from thousands of actors and you will see why. He not only “steels” the movie, but he “steels” my heart!
Also in the movie is Evangeline Lily, who plays Bailey, the daughter of Charlie’s old mentor and the owner of a gym where he brings his robots. Unlike other movies, that have to show the relationship between 2 adults, Real Steel shows the history, emotion and love between them without having to get graphic.
The robots in the movie? They are amazing! I kept wanting to see more and more of them. They are huge and powerful and fun. And even though they are robots? Well, they each have their own personality and in the case of some, heart. You’ll be cheering for them and boxing in your seat. It’s like Robot Rocky with Heart!
After seeing Real Steel, I had some reservations about what how appropriate it would be for children. It is rated PG-13, but I know children as young as 9 that would love this movie. My own son loves his robot action figures that he has!
We had the opportunity to interview Hugh Jackman and Director Shawn Levy (more on that coming soon!) and they relayed the fact even more that this really is a family movie. It’s a movie for all generations to come and enjoy. Yes, there is some cussing and the movie (especially in the underworld) can be nitty gritty, but that is the real world.
When it comes down to it, Real Steel is like any other family movie, that shows the bond between a parent and a child. If you decide to let your children stay home, it’s still the perfect date night movie. It’s got the “Rock ’em, Sock ’em Robots” for the men and well, Hugh Jackman for the women!
Real Steel boxes into theaters and will steel your hearts on October 7th!
Disclosure: I attended a screening of Real Steel on an all-expense paid trip to LA on behalf of Disney/Dreamworks. All opinions and thoughts are my own.
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Wow, that sounds like a really great movie. My 8 and 10 year old will love it, not to mention my husband. Thanks for the review.
It sounds like an awesome movie (and Hugh Jackman is so dreamy!). I’m so glad you mentioned that it wasn’t like Transformers! That’s exactly how I had pictured this movie to be in my head! Sounds like it would be a great date night for me and my hubby!
I can’t wait to hear more about your awesome trip to Cali!
Very cool! I definitely had the idea that this was just a macho man’s type of movie, but it sounds like there really is something for everyone!
I have been eager to see this movie, but your review makes me so anxious for it to come to the theaters here! I am so glad you had a great time, and I am of course uber jealous!
You hit all the right points! What a great review!
Hubs and I are so looking forward to this. I love action flicks just as much as he does (maybe even more.)
I am sooo going to see this movie, now!!!!!! Thanks alot for the great review!!!!! Awsome!!!! YaaayLife
Thanks for the review. Was there a lot of swearing in the movie? What do you mean by nitty gritty? My 11 year old would like to take his friends to the movie as part of his birthday party. Just wondering what to expect.
Thanks so much.
Hey Jody!
It is rated PG-13 for violence, intense action and brief language. The violence and intense action is definitely from the boxing scenes. There wasn’t a TON of swearing, but I noticed it. The F word wasn’t used.
By nitty gritty, I really mean the boxing scenes with the robots. But if you think about it, it’s way better than watching boxing with adults.
Let me know if you have any other questions!
Thanks for the review! I thought the movie was awesome I just watched it with my son, who enjoyed it as much as I did. I wasn’t sure if it was going to be good but my coworkers from DISH assured me it was awesome. Having access to my Blockbuster @ Home service lets me enjoy the most movies and games anytime. I can play a game for as long as I like and I don’t have to worry about any late fees or due dates. I receive DVDs right to my door so I don’t have to go out in the cold. While I wait I can still stream my favorite shows to my iPad or TV. This is a great way for me to get all my entertainment needs for $10 per month and it was easy to add.