Movie Review: Real Steel

Date: 1 Oct 2011

Time: 9:20 pm
Location: GV Plaza
Kaki: Vera (not Wang)
Rating: 3.5
Language: English

Synopsis:
A gritty, white-knuckle, action ride set in the near-future where the sport of boxing has gone high-tech, Real Steel stars Hugh Jackman as Charlie Kenton, a washed-up fighter who lost his chance at a title when 2000-pound, 8-foot-tall steel robots took over the ring. Now nothing but a small-time promoter, Charlie earns just enough money piecing together low-end bots from scrap metal to get from one underground boxing venue to the next. When Charlie hits rock bottom, he reluctantly teams up with his estranged son Max (Dakota Goyo) to build and train a championship contender. As the stakes in the brutal, no-holds-barred arena are raised, Charlie and Max, against all odds, get one last shot at a comeback.

Review:
Well, the plot.. it's a pretty clear cut plot... and it's the triumph of the small gritty guy against the big conglomarates... they have even made it easier for you to hate the big organization as the leads for them is some funny "Russian/East European lady" and a "proud-looking Japanese guy"... Very cliche.. but of course, it would have been even more cliched if they had used an Arab or something...  (But you know, you should really give the Japanese a break, they are still trying to recover from a huge disaster)

Anyway... to be fair, they also laughed at their own, with the western drawl and shiny white teeth being pushed to the limit by Kevin Duran (who played the role of Ricky)... it was worth a laugh though...

Anyway... while on the practical front, I cannot condone a man who goes around "owing" money, borrowing and making bets that he can ill afford, it is also important to cast such thoughts aside when watching movie, cuz there's really no room for realism when watching a movie (hear that you practical brain? Stop trying to analyse things when watching, you are spoiling your owner's enjoyment)...

So... the action, the fun, the excitement, good versus evil, David versus Goliath, all these added up to very good fun, coupled with a good soundtrack and selected humourous moments, and it all makes for a nice, easy to watch movie (practicality has to be suspended of course)

It is definitely a good watch for TV, fun as a movie rental, and for the effects and the immersive experience, probably worth the ticket price... :)