In A Nut Shell
Have you seen Rocky? Then you have a basic story plot. It’s nothing we haven’t seen before, but then again it’s amazingly different and more interesting. A dysfunctional father son duo gives it their all when it comes to a robot named Atom. Max (Dakota Goyo) the eleven year old son left behind by his has been boxing father Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman), discovers the discarded robot after a terrifying fall over a cliff. Having saved his life Max refuses to leave him behind. Against all odds the pair hit the road with the extraordinary robot climbing their way to the top.
The Steely Truth
I have wanted to see this film from the get go. I found the idea of robots fighting and Hugh Jackman exhilarating. I am very pleased to say I was not at all disappointed. Although the story has been told over and over there was a different flare added this time around. A nice robotic one actually. The robots in the film were incredibly interesting and each of their own design. Being as they were all individually designed for this film there were no specific designs required. They were all able to develop their own personas if you will.
Atom, the hero robot in the film, has a special feel about him. He is almost human like in his movements and qualities. His genuine attributes are what make him connectable, almost as if he were a human character. In a way you are tied to the relationship Max has with Atom. The connection is very heartfelt and warming. It’s almost as if you have this little boy constantly being left behind but for a short while he has someone to depend on, as well as a way to relate to an absent father. Dakota Goyo was outstanding. There are very few young actors that could do the amazing job he did. He truly was the heart of the film.
Hugh Jackman’s character Charlie was a major jerk for most of the film. I wasn’t expecting that so I spent the early part of the film quite perturbed at his character, which I supposed was the point. All of the acting was very nicely done.
The directing was great. Shawn Levy really did a wonderful job with the film. Along with the help of his incredible team they really hit the nail on the head. I was quite impressed with some of the more dramatic scenes. They were all well gone over and created.
The clarity and quality of each scene was beautiful. I really enjoyed the darker palette of coloring used in most of the scenes really added to the dramatic feel of the film. I liked the bright flashes of light here and there magnified by the darkness. They finished off the underdog “enlightened” feel of the film. Very Rocky like actually.
Special Features
Disc 1- Blu-ray™ Feature Film + Bonus
• Deleted & Extended Scenes with introduction by director Shawn Levy
• Countdown To The Fight: The Charlie Kenton Story
• Real Steel Second Screen: Ringside with Director Shawn Levy- Simultaneously explore exclusive interactive content with your iPad™or computer as you watch the movie.
• Sugar Ray Leonard: Cornerman’s Champ
• Plus DVD Bonus Features
Disc 2- DVD Feature Film + Bonus
• Bloopers
• Making Of Metal Valley
• Building The Bots
• Audio Commentary With Director Shawn Levy
These were alright bonus features. There were quite a few that I found worth the time to watch. My favorite was ‘Making of Metal Valley.’ That was very neat to watch. All of the people and time it took to get that once scene perfect was kind of nuts, but man they really got nice results. I also found ‘Conerman’s Champ’ interesting to watch. You can see exactly where every move the robots made came from. Sugar Ray had a great influence on making the robots tick and hit just right. It added a great human aspect to the movements of the bots.
The Bloopers and Deleted Scenes were pretty much what you get with every film except for the fact that the blu-ray included Shawn Levy introducing the deleted scenes. This added more of an explanation as to why characters were changed and scenes cut short as opposed to just showing you the scenes and letting you figure it out. I enjoyed the insight.
Charlie’s Story was kind of interesting. They presented it as if a TV special. Kind of like an extension of the film in a way or aftermath of a big fight.
