Movie Review: REAL STEEL

REAL STEEL

2011
PG-13


"We fight smart, be patient and pray. Seriously, pray!"
-- Charlie Kenton

Real Steel is a 2011 sports drama directed by Shawn Levy that tells a tale of a futuristic boxing world where robots have replaced humans as the fighters in the ring. Former boxer Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman) become a boxing robot controller, but after losing a few bets, he's fallen on some hard times. To make matters worse, he learns that his ex-wife has passed away, leaving his eleven-year-old son Max (Dakota Goyo) in his custody. Charlie reluctantly takes Max on a trip to purchase a new robot, but after that bot is destroyed in a fight, he's left downtrodden and undetermined. While the two rummage through a landfill looking for robot parts, Max stumbles upon a complete and functional sparring bot with which he takes an immediate liking. With the help of his longtime partner and on-again, off-again romance Bailey Tallet (Evangeline Lilly), the father-and-son duo attempts to climb the ranks of the boxing world with this unlikeliest of champions that they name Atom.

When I first started seeing the trailers for this film last year, I thought it might prove to be a fun little movie that wouldn't prove to be more than a good popcorn flick. I'll generally watch anything with which Hugh Jackman is associated, and when you add fighting robots to the mix, this seemed like a surefire hit to draw me to the box office. However, the film came and went during its theatrical run, earning nearly $300 million dollars worldwide, and I did not have an opportunity to go see it. After scoring an Academy Award nomination for its visual effects, I wanted to give it a view before the actual awards ceremony.

There's something about the sport of boxing that has always translated well onto the silver screen. While plenty of sports movies have received numerous accolades, it seems that boxing flicks generally have the most success. Look at the original Rocky film from 1976, or Million Dollar Baby in 2004, or more recently, take a look at 2010's The Fighter? All three managed to scare up Best Picture nominations, and the former took home the Oscar statuette. I personally think that the appeal of boxing-central films is the ability to focus on one central character rather than a team as a whole. This personalized story gives the audience a lone figure with which to relate, rather than finding one individual on a team that strikes up their liking. Rather than having a team striving for a common goal, we have the story of one man or woman trying to beat the odds and fight through each opponent on their way to the top. Isn't that what our everyday lives are all about?

And so, the biggest issue with Real Steel was going to be whether it would be able to strike that emotional chord whilst using robots as the central fighters. While the film doesn't really stray too far from the basic clichés of every other boxing movie we've ever seen, we do get a taste of that character development in both the Charlie and the Max characters, although Charlie's arc is much larger and much stronger than Max's. We see the struggles of an aging former boxer who's trying his best to make it to the top in the sport he loves despite its ever-changing face. In that, we're getting a decent tale, but aside from that, the basic outlines of the screenplay are pretty darn predictable if you've ever seen any sort of boxing movie before.

The acting is pretty good considering the type of film we're getting. Jackman does fine with his leading role, and he has a good rapport with the young talent in Dakota Goyo, who is decent at best. The boy got a little annoying throughout the film, and although he ultimately proves to be endearing, there were a few moments where I just wanted him to shut up. Lilly is good in her supporting role, and be on the lookout for limited, albeit decent, performances from the likes of Anthony Mackie and Kevin Durand. Even Hope Davis and James Rebhorn make small appearances.

The biggest draw of the film has to be the special effects, which prove to be much more well-done than I had originally thought they would be. While it's not really offering anything spectacular or new to the visual effects field, it proves to be quite the visual delight, especially once the robots enter the ring. So, if you're big on great visual quality, this one's probably right up your alley.

I don't want to go as far as to say that Real Steel is all style and no substance because it does have a great emotional foundation for anyone willing to enjoy it. Sure, the film's premise is a little bit out there, and the screenplay follows the rote ideas of every boxing film that has ever come before it. That being said, the futuristic twist and the visual effects make this a fun little popcorn flick, and I have to say that I was thoroughly engaged with it from start to finish. It's entertainment at its most basic, and that's what movies are all about.

Movie Review Summary
Grade: B
1.5 Thumbs Up

Movie Review: THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU

THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU

2011
PG-13

The Adjustment Bureau is a 2011 dramatic film directed by George Nolfi. It follows David Norris (Matt Damon), a junior congressman who's attempting to win one of the Senate seats in New York. After building a large lead in the polls, a publicity nightmare causes him to lose the election in a landslide. Distraught, he stumbles into a restroom to practice his concession speech, but he is caught by a woman (Emily Blunt) hiding inside. The two share an immediate connection and kiss just as Norris's campaign manager (Michael Kelly) walks in. The woman dashes off, and Norris is left to wonder if he'll ever see her again. He proceeds to stray from his scripted speech, instead choosing to berate the system that put him where he now stood. A month later, David happens upon the woman on a bus and learns her name is Elise. She gives him her phone number, and everything seems like it's all falling into place for David. When he gets off the bus and goes into work, however, he finds all of the staff frozen in place and being worked upon by a group of men in suits. After a short chase, David is captured and told by the leader of the men (John Slattery) that they are the people who make sure that things "go according to plan." They claim to work for someone called the "Chairman" who creates the plan for everyone in the world. They tell David that his plan does not allow him to be with Elise, but David cannot accept this. He spends the rest of the film fighting to win her love and keep both their "plans" on as good a course as is humanly possible.

Honestly, that's probably one of the worst plot summarizations I've ever given; however, I don't want to give too much of this story away before you have a chance to see it. The plot is actually rather intricate, and it would take me an entire blog post to go into all the detail surrounding everything that's going on. Because I don't want to spend that much time, I'll leave it to you to actually see the movie, which hopefully by the end of this post, I'll have given you enough reason to do so.

Like I said, the plot is rather intricate, but it never gets too over-the-top that it becomes confusing. You immediately get sucked into the story, and that's a huge plus considering that's it's a little off-the-wall. You have to pay attention to everything that's happening, for two reasons: first, if you miss part of the plot, you may have questions later in the story, and second, there's never really a dull moment in the film. This is also a huge plus in terms of making The Adjustment Bureau a successful venture. Yes, it should technically be classified as a drama, but you can easily call it a sci-fi thriller as well (in fact, IMDb lists it as such).

We also get some great performances from the actors in the film. Although nobody's really going to blow you away, everyone plays their part very well, giving us a very strong ensemble cast. Damon and Blunt are very good as our leads (although you could probably call Blunt's character supporting); however, some of the more memorable performances come from our supporting cast. Anthony Mackie does a fine job as a member of the bureau who's questioning the ethics behind what they do. And the always-great Terrence Stamp makes himself known in his limited amount of screen-time. We even get a couple of brief glimpses of Daily Show anchor Jon Stewart (as himself, interviewing David Norris) that prove to be rather humorous. Fine acting all around really helps The Adjustment Bureau fly.

For most of the film, I was completely drawn into the story, and for that, the cast and crew should be commended. As you'll notice below the picture, however, I could only give the film one-and-a-half thumbs up. I did so because I wasn't entirely impressed with the ending. Well, I shouldn't say that because it works well with the rest of the story, but I suppose I was expecting a little bit more of an emotional punch. The ending they give us is a little bit hectic, and the final payoff seemed a little too neat and gift-wrapped. However, I could very well be the only person who thinks this way - my friend Dréa happened to love the ending (and the whole movie, for that matter), so there's a good chance I'm in the minority with my opinion. Despite that, The Adjustment Bureau is still a very good film that's worth a watch, especially this early in 2011. It easily jumped to the number two spot for this year's films, only falling (well) behind Rango. Will that hold up? Probably not, but you should still give this one a gander if you have the chance.

Movie Review Summary:

Grade: B+
1.5 Thumbs Up