Wednesday, October 12, 2011
.:. Real Steel .:.
Unexpectedly very good!
Initially I wasn't very interested in the movie at all. But after hearing reviews/comments from my friends, decided to watch it. The movie was very well shot, and the storyline very good. An age old idea of how technology has changed the things we do in our normal lives, but presented in such a brillant and refreshing way.
Story: In the year 2020, in view of violence of boxing, it has been substituted with robots instead. So "retired" boxer, played by Hugh Jackman, continued his "career" with the controller. In the midst releasing he has the custody of a son, and its bout how the father and son bonds through the process.
Even though it was about technology advancement, by retaining most of the background sets as rustic back country areas, it helps to remind viewers that the movie isn't all that futuristic. It might be set in the future, but the concept of how things are changed via introduction of technology into our lives is very much present now already. And I think the movie very well brings that idea around.
The first few robots we saw wasn't that much human-like. No doubt it was bi-pedal with arms, but it lacked the human features. Until the older version of the boxing robot appeared, which had a face. Sort of like an actual link to humans (hence the name Real Steel). And you see in the final fights, the rivals are all using joysticks plus comuter to control the robots, while our main character uses his own voice. Bringing a much more "personal" touch to the art of robot boxing. Even in the final fight. Boasting to have the highest proessing speed able to learn and counter tactics on the spot, the main evil baddie Zeus, eventually couldn't handle the robot which was simply mimicking a human. And its through this way that the very old concept that robots can't replace humans has been given a nice re-makeover yet without losing the essence.
Also another thing I like about the film is the focus of the film. Who's the main character? Is the story about the son helping the dad realise who he really is, or is the dad helping his son fufil his dreams? First, they intro to the life of the dad, how lousy, how down and out he is living. How he blames everything but himself. Then comes his son, who found this robot. And suddenly the focus of the film is shifted onto the relationship between the boy and machine. How the boys like robot boxing, and in turns becomes his dream.
After that it becomes the 2 of them working together to fight the final match. So actually, its sort of a double storylined I take it. It's about how the entry of the son into his life that makes the dad realise the things he's been missing, including his love for real boxing. It's also about the dad helping his son fufil his dream of robot boxing, by not only teaching the robot but actually fighting with it in the final match. Which is why I found the movie so interesting throughout the entire run. The scenes between the father and son were so well placed that the change of focus was melded nicely into 1 movie.
So yup, a really good movie worth catching if you haven't already done so. Been so long since I watched such a good movie. Next few movies up on the line are chinese films...so whether I'll watch em depends on company then :).
Revealed on [10:10 PM]
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