Real Steel

Tonight we went to see Real Steel, because I couldn't talk Jason into Footloose and he couldn't talk me into Moneyball. The reviews I'd read said that the father-son reconciliation plot elevated this movie beyond its premise. Not so much. The actors were good--Hugh Jackman makes battered & broken look beautiful and he and Evangeline Lily had a couple of good moments--and the kid is cute and the robots are kind of nifty when they're not beating the crap out of each other. If you don't think you'd like a boxing movie, then this is not the movie for you. It's a pretty straight cross between The Karate Kid and The Full Monty. If you're now picturing Mr Miyagi leaving his hat on, you're welcome. The odd thing was that there were a number of mentions and moments that suggested places they could have gone with this movie, but didn't.

( Plot Points Not Taken, Behind the Cut )

It was worth the popcorn, but maybe not the price of an IMAX ticket.