The Movie
In a future world craving ever-more violence in the ring, flesh-and-blood boxers have been phased out in favor of robot counterparts. It's a highly competitive, big-money sport where only the best of the best survive. Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman), himself a down-and-out fighter (aren't they all?), owns such a boxin' 'bot in Real Steel, and his personal lack of success as a pugilist is echoed by a string of bad luck with his thousand-pound metal counterparts.
He can't catch a break, he owes just about everyone heaps of money, and when an ex-girlfriend dies, he finds himself saddled with the willful eleven-year-old-son he never knew, or particularly wanted. But when the boy discovers a broken-down robot, repairs it and trains it, their shared fates might finally be turning.
Based in part upon the short story "Steel" by Richard Matheson, previously adapted as a Season Five episode of the original Twilight Zone, the movie owes at least that much credit to the childhood favorite toy Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots, as human-controlled doppelgangers attempt to knock each others' blocks off, so we don't have to. There are also elements of The Iron Giant as the kid bonds with his mechanical pal.
In this future though, curiously, the kid is still rockin' Beats by Dr. Dre headphones, folks still listen to circa-2011 music, and apparently HP is doing quite well, with nice big logos on all of their products. And yet any bozo with a pair of bolt cutters can still break into a working scrapyard and steal whatever parts he needs to build himself a new 'bot.
Iowans take note as corn seems to be growing wild in the world of tomorrow, too, because despite the technical sophistication of the combatants, so much of this story has already been done to the point of cliché. It's the sort of "sports" movie where the real winner is whoever has the most heart, vaguely reminiscent of Rocky except the script stops and spells out the underlying emotion and drama for the younger members of the audience.
Think you have one more round in you? Then check out Karen Dahlstrom's review of Real Steel.
The Picture
From the beginning, this is one of those Blu-rays that commands our attention with its gorgeousness and doesn't let up. The 2.40:1 image is stable and darned near perfect, but for some very minor edge enhancement in a few shots. Colors are remarkably subtle while the shadows are exquisitely rich, detailed and natural... or natural-looking, even when they are computer-generated. The extensive special effects are fairly amazing, shifting seamlessly--even in immaculate HD--between the true mechanical robots and their fully digitally-animated replacements.
The Sound
The DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1-channel track is top-notch as well, with a palpable bass presence that conveys the essential heaviness of all that metal. The surrounds--all of them--are used in creative ways to enhance the onscreen action with generous sonic details. There is certainly plenty of directionality across the soundstage for all of the dynamic movement, but also aggressive representation of crowds, nature, room tone, although never obnoxiously so. The sound here is executed every bit as deftly as the picture, which is saying a lot.
The Extras
Real Steel is the latest title to benefit from Disney's "Second Screen" app, available as a free download for the iPad from the Apple App Store or for a laptop via www.realsteelsecondscreen.com. For those unfamiliar with Second Screen, it serves up bonus video content on a physical second window rather than laying it over the movie itself on screen, for a new picture-in-picture-type experience. It can also be accessed as a simple audio commentary (more or less) if we choose to view this feature without a synched secondary device.
From here it is an above-average slew of "making of" featurettes and more, beginning with a 14-minute faux documentary with the actors back in character, perhaps shot to use in the movie but ultimately dropped...? Another 14-minute segment deconstructs the most complicated set and sequence in the movie, the break-in at the vast junkyard.
We learn the importance (encouraged by producer Steven Spielberg himself) and the process of building physical robots to go with the CGI doubles (five-and-a-half minutes). We also meet Sugar Ray Leonard, who was brought in behind the scenes as a critical boxing consultant (six minutes), before delving into an 18-minute section of deleted and extended scenes with genuinely insightful introductions by director Shawn Levy. Worth watching: An entire abandoned storyline is presented here. The Blu-ray video extras--all in high-def--end with a two-and-a-half-minute blooper reel.
Disc Two is a DVD of the movie with the bloopers two featurettes and a straight-up audio commentary.
Final Thoughts
By pulling together some classic themes; fathers and sons, underdogs, gigantic robots beating the crap out of each other; Real Steel manages to push a few audience buttons if never fully engaging either the heart or the mind. It's certainly worth at least a rental however for the audio and video, which are a real knockout.
Product Details
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