Talk > Anime/Sci Fi > Real Steel

Real Steel

reply to TigerLord

reply to TigerLord
I saw an interview with Hugh Jackman, he said the robots for the most part were real, and CGI. They had puppeteers controlling them in some of the scenes.
»news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-201···-robots/

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There are plenty of CG shots of the automaton ring warriors training and going at it round by round. But Levy had Legacy Effects construct working "real life" versions of the creatures via animatronics to interact with Jackson and the other actors on-set.

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I think I heard regarding the special effects that if you don't see the robot's feet, then it's real (animatronic). When I saw the commercials for Real Steel part of me said "It's Rock 'em Sock 'em Robots done as a movie. Rocky in metal and hydraulic fluid." However another part of me just couldn't shake that feeling that I would enjoy seeing this movie. Sure enough I loved it.

You have to at least appreciate the fact that Hugh Jackman plays and ass very well. You really have a hard time liking this guy through at least half this movie. I think that's part of the charm, and part of the payoff at the end. Yes the robots looked great with only one scene that I really noticed I was looking at a CG animation (and only because of the gloss of the metal just didn't jibe with the indoor lighting as well).

Yeah the story is old hat and nothing new is really being introduced here. Still even if all the story marks are standard fare the execution is top notch. I did wish for a bit more "fight exposition" in the middle where we see our new favorite robot take on some more opponents before going into the big leagues. Still that is my one and only gripe.

I am normally the type of person who shies away from "popcorn flicks" but this one is very well worth making the exception. If you ever liked underdog sports movies you gotta check this one out. And between you and me I would check it on the big screen.

reply to TigerLord
*sigh* been really wanting to see this but every time I get close someone I'm with suggests something else and they just don't want to risk seeing it. I mean...who would choose 50/50 over giant freaking robots battling each other...*sigh*.

reply to SRFireside
Agreed. I saw this and enjoyed it.

If you also like underdog flicks, then check out Warrior.

reply to TigerLord
Saw the movie last night and I agree with everything you said.
It's a really great movie.

Even after reading your post I assumed the kid would be at least a bit annoying, because, you know, they usually are. But he really wasn't, even when you know what he's about to say. The dancing entrance was even pretty cool. He really delivered the dialogue well, and played the emotional scenes just right.

Evangeline was hot even when she probably shouldn't have been.

The robots were pretty damned cool. The flashy ones were sufficiently shiny and big. But Atom, the old has-been robot, stole the show, as it should be. The fights were great. The last fight in particular, where the kid and Evangeline are cheering on Atom and Hugh, really gets you into it.

The script was kind of predictable, but the movie was very enjoyable anyway.

I'll probably want to watch it again pretty soon.
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"Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin to slit throats." - H. L. Mencken

reply to TigerLord
I watched this movie after people on this thread said it was good.

I hate to say it, but IMHO, you are all lairs. This movie is terrible!

I admit that the acting was good. The kid did a good job but the script was really bad.

The dad character was a complete a-hole and so was the kid. How can you cheer for someone who is that much of a dick? Once he left the kid in the junk yard to dig up the old robot that was it he lost all redeeming qualities. Who would do that after the kid almost fell to his death then leave him at the edge of the cliff to dig out a robot? Doesn't that defeat the purpose of trying to save the kid? You would think he would have stayed to help or at least supervise so the kid doesn't fall off the cliff again. But he just leaves the kid to dig out a wet muddy cliff-side by himself. 0_o

Then the characters were mean towards each other in the dialogue and I just lost any sense that they were real people.

And while I said the kid was a good actor he was still an annoying character. When he grabs the microphone and smack-talks the champion bot I felt embarrassed for the actor having to say such corny terrible dialogue.

And how does an 11 year old know so much about mechanics? It would have made more sense if the woman went with them to be the mechanic since it was established that seh was already mechanically inclined. Seriously, real 11 year olds are concerned about getting their next pokemon card not knowing how to repair and program a complex machine.

And it was never really said what was so 'special' about this bot they found. Why did the champion's team want to buy it for $200 000? The kid said it was somehow 'aware' or something but that really wasn't explained very well. Did Zeus's team know that?

TLDR: Cool Robot fighting action, enjoyable if you don't think too much about the plot or characters.

Sorry to hear you didn't like it.

Hugh Jackman's character was an ass from the beginning of the movie until almost the end. There was a bit of development of his personal story, from running out on the kid to wanting to try and be there. At the beginning he really didn't know how to be a father and towards the end he still didn't, but he seemed to be trying. I don't know, I wasn't really interested in that. There was probably a lot of stuff I missed, to be honest, because I was focused on the kid and the robots.

The kid was really into robots, I guess, instead of Pokemon?

The advantages of Atom were that he was a sparring robot with a "shadow" feature. He could take loads of punishment and still keep trucking, but he couldn't really pound other robots. And he was pretty agile. That obviously helped a lot in the last fight.
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"Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin to slit throats." - H. L. Mencken