(MOVIE REVIEW) Real Steel packs a hell of a punch

I asked my lovely wife to pick up dinner one night. She comes home with frozen pizza. We cook it, anxiously awaiting its saucy goodness, and then something wonderful happens. Cheese oozes out of the crust. That’s right folks. Ol' Stephanie surprised me with a stuffed crust. It was a good night in the Jenkins household. That is what this movie is like...stuffed crust pizza. Go in expecting something "ordinary" and end up with a little something extra.

Plot: When down on his luck ex-boxer, Charlie (Jackman), hits rock bottom, he feels like he is completely lost with no chance of finding his way. When he is approached and told that he has a son that he must now care for, Max (Goyo), he sees his opportunity to get out of the rut and get caught up with all of the people that he owes. So, being a scumbag, he tells the boy's uncle that he will let them adopt Max for $100K, and that he will keep him during the summer to allow them to prepare. When the deal is made, Charlie takes the boy and they hit the road to make money on the robot boxing circuit. When Charlie and Max raid a scrap yard for parts to build a new robot, Max finds a whole robot named Atom that was built to spar, but they modify to fight. With Atom in tow, the two set out to conquer the world. But "the world" is not so easily conquered and fights back in ways that Charlie and Max were never ready for. In the end, Charlie has to make a decision....roll over and take it, or fight back.

I REALLY expected this movie to be a one dimensional glorified Rock Em Sock Em Robots rip off. But there are moments in the movie that are REALLY good. Jackman is great, Goyo is awesome as Charlie's son, Max, and Atom actually makes you somewhat care for a Robot that is just a bucket of bolts with no chance of ever being anything more than just that. All in all, a really solid movie.

Worth the admission? Does Atom dance his way to the ring? For those that read this before you watch it, yes, he does. The movie is good. Great job by all involved. Not going to win an Oscar or anything, but very fun and touching movie.