What an absolute gem! Despite it being rooted firmly in indie film territory, it's very light on kookiness. The futuristic setting and appliances are presented (for the most part) without awe or exposition, and the varying treatment of Robot by the characters make him as human as any of them (despite Robot's repeated statements that he isn't).
There are recurring themes, metaphors and symbols on age, memory, regret and friendship, or if those aren't your bag, you can sit back and watch Frank Langella give a spellbinding performance opposite what is essentially a great mime-artist inside a very limiting suit. It's thoughtful, moving, funny, and the sort of thing I usually find very hit or miss. This is a hit. Oh, and is Frank's line of "She doesn't like you… I don't like you, either" a deliberate cantina-scene reference, or am I just willing that into being?
If you fancy something a bit different, but completely accessible, you should give this a go.
Perfectly.
Yes.
Yes.
Pay to rent; it's beautiful but doesn't need to be watched too often..
Yes.
Yes, although not for a while.
No.
When can I have a robot?
DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a 'catch-up' review. I watched this film at home, not at the cinema. I saw the trailer for this at the cinema, and I would have seen the film there too, but they didn't/couldn't show it. So now iTunes, Amazon, Netflix and Blockbuster get to reap the rewards of my local's advance-advertising, and I'm sure they're delighted. Now you may say "oh come on, they can't show everything down there", and that would be a valid point if they didn't do things like running Taken 2 for six weeks. Was it that successful? No, I don't think so. Twilight? Batman? Les Mes? Sure, go for it; if they're pulling the punters in then keep making that money. But Taken 2? I ask you. Anyway, this is essentially a DVD review, but still of a new(ish) film. There. I'm glad that's sorted.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
Estranged father / cocky but vunerable son / mismatched pairing / bonding / underdog in a contest / support from love interest / more bonding / one dimensional bad guys / father has doubts about final challenge / finds emotional strength in son / tears / more bonding / final challenge / will they succeed..?
Of course they bloody will, haven't you seen any films at all?
Despite this Hugh Jackman vehicle actually being ^ that ^ clichéd, this movie's so convincingly made I couldn't help but get drawn in. It's not perfect, and the sequences with Max and his robot-pal doing a bit of a dance (yes, a dance) made me cringe, but Real Steel isn't about the destination, it's about the journey.
Dakota Goyo stars as 11yr old Max, and is nowhere near as annoying as the trailer makes out (apart from the dancing). He reminded me a lot of Jake Lloyd in The Phantom Menace, and you can shut up because I know what you're about to say. Hugh Jackman also puts in a decent performance as his absentee father and ex-boxer Charlie, as they're reunited after Max's mother's untimely death in an accident.
The other (human) characters are largely cut-outs, inserted into the story to fulfill very specific roles, and as such there are no real standout performances. They're acceptable certainly, but there's not a lot you can do with 'nasty man in cowboy hat who enjoys 'yee-hawing' and beating up our hero'.
The curious-er character is Atom, the robostar of the story. Atom is the sparring-bot who rescues Max from falling to his death in a junkyard (built, for some reason, right next to a cliff in the middle of a town?), resulting in the youngster insisting they rescue (read: steal) him and clean him up. It's established fairly shortly after this meeting that Atom is sentient; in that he's not just a remote-control machine like the other boxing-bots we've met so far. Atom actually understands Max when he speaks to him, and can respond (although not verbally). The weird thing is that this isn't expanded upon at all. We see Max beg his dad to 'train' Atom using traditional boxing techniques, although Charlie doesn't seem to twig that Atom is actually learning, not memorising.
Come the film's finalé, I fully expected the remote-pad to mysteriously stop working, as Atom becomes independent of his controller, and wins the fight using the movies he's learned. But it's no great spoiler to say that the crescendo is Charlie's moment, as he regains some of his former glory as a boxer-turned-trainer. The fact that Atom is alive isn't explored at all, which seems like a shame. That said; when Real Steel works, it's absolutely on fire.
A clichéd underdog movie, but played well. And who doesn't love watching robots smack the shit out of each other?
Think of it as a cross between Rocky and the podracing sequence from The Phantom Menace. Make of that what you will, but I enjoyed it.
^^ It's not quite 6/7 material, but it's damn close.
DISCLAIMERS: • ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organizations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
Pre-amble: There was a reassuring number of men in their 20's and 30's at tonight's preview showing of Transformers. Given that I didn't hear any grumbling before, throughout or after the film, I think they were there for the right reason: to enjoy watching 40ft high robots knocking the shit out of each other.
I'm sure a lot of reviews are going to slate this film for the very reasons I love it. If you're wanting anything other than a Michael Bay film, don't watch it. If you're wanting anything other than a live-action cartoon which is essentially a 2h34m advert for toys, don't watch it. If you haven't thoroughly enjoyed the previous two movies based on a cartoon from the 1980's, but you're the kind of smart-arsed pedantic arsehole that will go and see it anyway, then complain about the lack of higher-message… DON'T WATCH IT.
I trust you know where I'm coming from. By the third installment in this series, you should know exactly what you're going to get, and it delivers in spades (although this is perhaps the film's Achilles Heel).
The Plot: The dark side of our moon is home to a crashed starship; the humans' first contact with the mechanical race known as the Transformers. On board this ship is the technology to create a teleportation device, which has the potential to allow the robots to travel back to their ravaged homeworld, or bring the inhabitants of Cybertron to us. Also on board the ship is the only being who knows how to operate this equipment, and the race is on to make sure the teleporter is used for good…
The Good: Almost everything. A funny script, featuring plenty of laugh-out-loud moments without cheapening the action. Jaw-dropping visuals (even the 3D is effective, which is becoming a rarity these days) and animation we've come to expect, paired with fantastic voice-work for the robots to create actual characters. Even new kid on the block Rosie Huntingdon-Whiteley is a workable replacement for Megan Fox; although she hardly steals the show, that's more down to the creators of the film than her performance - and Ms Fox's contribution to the proceedings was debatable at best. Also on great form are John Malkovich and the ever-magnificent Ken Jeong, both bringing an intense humour. Also worth mentioning; established characters on both sides die in this movie. I know nothing's certain in this universe, but when you see the head come off and the eye-lights go out? Yeah.
Best robots? SHOCKWAVE! We've got Shockwave! [/geekout] We also get what almost amounts to character development for Megatron, and it's good, great to see the Autobots finally saying enough is enough and kicking-off.
The Bad: Michael Bay's usual culprits are here; crammed exposition, lens-flare, slo-mo explosions, lingering shots of the pretty lady etc, but given the circumstances, I'll classify those as comforting. It wouldn't be Transformers without them. There are also a couple of '…that wouldn't happen' moments, but then I remembered I was watching a film featuring 40ft high robots knocking the shit out of each other… The only real issue I had was that the pace seems to slow to a crawl at the beginning of the Battle for Chicago. I mean, really slow. I know the audience needs a breather, but they're ready for the climactic endpiece at that point, and when that does arrive, it's still 40 minutes long. Keep the adrenaline up, cut the chaff. I don't mind a movie being two and a half hours, but it's a little uneven as it stands. Still, plenty of time for you to nip to the toilet, as you'll have finished that massive Coke by then.
The Ugly: Still no Dinobots. Still no return of Jazz as a Porsche 911. Come on, Bay, it's almost as if you haven't been reading my e-mails...
All in all: Flipping awesome. I don't care what the other critics will say, just enjoy this for what it is. A magnificent roller-coaster that you're not meant to examine too closely. This film will give you what you expect. You've only got to decide if you want to pay money for that. For me? Shit, yeah.
The Last Word: There's nothing at the end of the credits. I waited around so you don't have to ;D
DISCLAIMERS: • ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
