Review of Real Steel (2011) by Allan C — 16 Dec 2012

Steven Speilberg is once again drawn back to the Richard Matheson well for inspiration, though Matheson's story is certainly more inspiration than source material. This version of the short story is like "The Champ" but with underground robot fighting.

However, despite a very derivative story and an astounding amount of hokum, this was a pretty enjoyable film. Jackman is solid as the estranged father who has no interest in being a father to his eleven year old son, special effects are great, and the script milks every manipulative audience emotion possible.

Certainly not a great film, but you could do a lot worse, although you might better enjoy the original short story or the half hour "Twilight Zone" episode featuring Lee Marvin based upon the same story.