Real Steel

Genre: Action, Drama, Sci Fi // Running Time: 127 minutes // Release Date: October 7, 2011
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Evangeline Lily, Dakota Goyo - Full credits at IMDB http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0433035/

Overall Rating: 9 out of 10

Synopsis: Charlie Kenton is an ex-boxer struggling to make it in the futuristic world of robot boxing. After being unexpectedly reunited with his 11 year old son combined with the discovery of an old discarded sparring robot, Charlie and his son Max begin their quest to conquer the ranks of robot boxing and attempt to build/repair their severely damaged father/son relationship.

While at the beginning this movie looks to be a science fiction piece about robot boxing in the near future, it becomes obvious fairly quickly that it's much more than that. We are introduced to our main character Charlie Kenton, played by Hugh Jackman, and it is painfully apparent that he is a deadbeat loser who may or may not survive long enough to make it through the movie due to all the money he owes to several questionable, and in all likelihood, dangerous characters. Charlie is then reluctantly reunited with his son Max, played by Dakota Goyo, and the futuristic robot boxing, science fiction aspect of this movie quickly takes a back seat to the far more intriguing and interesting father/son relationship developing between these two characters, as well as the romantic relationship that develops between Charlie and Bailey Tallet, played by Evangeline Lily. Hugh Jackman is fantastic in this movie, he makes being a deadbeat loser seem almost appealing with his charm and confidence and that damn sparkling smile. And let's be honest, the ladies don't seem to find him too hard on the eyes either. What really surprised me in this movie was the performance of Dakota Goyo. His character Max is really fun to watch, he's snarky, sarcastic, condescending, and gives a real convincing feel to the character. By the end of the movie, you really feel yourself rooting for Charlie and Max and you may even feel a little emotional with the touching father/son moments along the way. This movie is very fun and very watchable for any audience (barring a little language at times). If I was the skinny guy and the fat guy, I'd give this one two thumbs up!