Hugh Jackmanhas plenty of experience with smash hits. The star of the upcomingDeadpool and Wolverineand a Hollywood staple for the past twenty years, Jackman has starred in films by directors as accomplished asChristopher Nolanand musicals as inspiring asThe Greatest Showman, butone of his most underappreciated roles comes from a movie that puts on a very different kind of show.Real Steel, the 2011 sci-fi action film directed byShawn Levy, has largely been overshadowed byJackman’s many other movies, but the film endures in popularity likely due to its resurgence on Netflix. This renewed interest is entirely well-deserved, asLevy’s film innovates with genre conventions in order to tell a story about the power of the human spirit to fight back against elitist corporations.
Real Steel
Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman) used to be a prizefighter but lost his chance to win a title when heavy, towering robots took over the boxing ring. Now working as a small-time promoter, Charlie pieces together scrap metal into low-end fighters, barely earning enough to make it from one underground venue to the next. After hitting rock bottom, Charlie reluctantly teams with his estranged son, Max (Dakota Goyo), to build and train a championship robot for a last shot at redemption.
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Taking place in the near future when human boxers have been replaced with sophisticated robots, Jackman plays Charlie Kenton, a washed-up former fighter competing for scraps in seedy underground matches. Charlie’s self-destructive lifestyle is soon interrupted, however, by news thathis ex-girlfriend has died, and he now has sole custody of their son, Max(Dakota Goyo). Extorting Max’s uncle (James Rebhorn) for money in exchange for granting him and Max’s aunt (Hope Davis) sole custody, Charlie agrees to watch Max for the summer, but it doesn’t take long for Max and theWolverine actor to be at each other’s throats. Yet, as the film progresses, the pair bond over a shared love of robot boxing, and once they find a fighter of their own,the two manage to shake the foundations of the movie’s boxing world.
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By now, it’s safe to say that most audiences are familiar with the story beats and conventions of a typical film about boxing. Ever since the underdog success of 1976’sRocky,Hollywood has been trying to recreate themagic of Sylvester Stallone’s classic. Spawning multiple sequels and a successful spin-off trilogy in the Creed franchise,Rockyhas largely served as the template for what a blockbuster boxing movie can and should be. Subsequent entries into the genre include notable films likeClint Eastwood’sMillion Dollar Baby,and from these additional entries, even more recognizable tropes have emerged. Yet,Real Steeluses its unique premise to put a new spin on familiar boxing conventions,improving the genre’s repetitive fighting scenes and telling a unique kind of love story.
The film’s use of robots in the ring creates a more engaging and epic scale for fighting, one where impressive visuals mix the metal-grinding joy of watching aTransformersmovie with the fast-paced intensity ofMichael B. Jordan’squick fists inCreed.While Levy’s movie still conforms to the typical formula of boxing (crowning a winner by the end of the match either through knockout or carrying the judges’ score),the spectacle of robotic fighting introduces more compelling elements to the familiar sport. Charlie and Max have to contend with the robot Metro, who uses a hammer for an arm, and Twin Cities, whose two robotic heads are sent spinning in a creative clash thatdemonstratesReal Steel’sability to stage familiar fights in new, exhilarating ways.
Moreover, while many boxing movies tend to focus on a love interest in connection with their main fighter,Real Steeloffers a refreshing departure from romance with its main storyline, opting instead to use boxing as a way for Jackman’s Charlie to connect with his son. While Charlie does have a love interest in the film in the way ofEvangeline Lilly’sBailey Tallet, the daughter of Charlie’s former trainer, this connection is relegated to a subplot while Charlie and Max begin their boxing rise. A far cry from the narrative prominence ofAdrian in the Rocky movies, Charlie’s relationship with Max allows the film to explore a new form of personal intimacy, one which turns Jackman from fighter to single father in time forMax and Charlie to confront the real inhumanity at the heart ofReal Steel.
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“That power is reserved to the Almighty Spirit.”
The movie’s world boxing champion, Zeus, is expensively designed by a successful business executive, Farra Lemkova (Olga Fonda), and robotics wunderkind, Tak Mashido (Karl Yune).As sleek as Atom is shabby,Zeus’s material dominance illustrates the elitist power of the corporate world.The movie’s evil robotis an extension of its creators’ influence and investment, the product of all the infrastructure lacked by Charlie and Max, which only makes the pair’s ability to stand up to the champ all the more inspiring. Without the resources of the kind of company that dominates the real world today,Jackman and Goyo’s father-son duomanage to challenge Zeus by utilizing Atom’s resilience and persistence, demonstrating thepower of normal people to endure long enough to triumph over earth’s strongest corporations.
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This victory is also achieved due to Atom’s innate humanity, which stands in stark contrast to the manufactured attributes of the rest of the movie’s boxing. During a time when the real world is grappling with the prospect ofartificial intelligence taking human jobs,Real Steelconfronts this potential replacement directly. The same spectacle that is so easy to find entertaining also puts Charlie’s boxing career to an abrupt end, twisting boxing into a numbers game of computer scientists hiding behind their screens, butthe sci-fi movie makes clear that Atom is able to challenge Zeus because of the robot’s connection to humanity. Max realizes early on that Atom can recognize human behaviors that other robots cannot, establishing that this bot feels more than any other robot seen throughoutReal Steel.
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When Atom knocks Zeus down in the final round of their fight, it is largely due to Jackman’s character utilizing his robot’s shadow function, which allows Atom to mimic Jackman’s movements. The film’s announcers make a point of mentioning how this means that Charlie is essentially fighting Zeus, blending the humanity of traditional boxing with the message ofLevy’s unique sci-fi movie premise. Atom’s victory can then becounted as a victory for humanity over the threat of irrelevance posed by machines, one where genuine connection outweighs the profit margins of a corporation’s technological efficiency. In a sci-fi film perfect for those searching for action and family,Hugh Jackman’s performance reminds everyonethat the will of the human heart still looms larger than the power of well-tested parts.
Real Steelis available to rent on Prime Video in the U.S.
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