[Avon-theatre-news] REAL STEEL REVIEW

Skip Huston Skip at TheAvon.com
Fri Oct 7 12:48:27 EDT 2011


Hiya, Folks!
Too many times, unless we peruse other sources than only the Decatur Herald & Review, we are sometimes stuck with cutesy movie reviews by faceless wire-service critics who too often seem to be in love with their own snarky cleverness...

Here is a very good review of REAL STEEL from Avon-supporter and nationally-known critic LEONARD MALTIN.
Take a look and see what he says!
(And by the way, ROGER EBERT gave REAL STEEL 3 stars today in the Chicago Sun-Times).

When it comes to the Herald & Review's non-locally-generated movie reviews, ALWAYS get a 2nd opinion!
-Skip
Real Steel—movie review
by Leonard Maltin (used with permission)


>From the billboards you might think this is another Transformers movie—heaven help us—when in fact, Real Steel is a cross between Rocky and The Champ. It’s formulaic and unashamedly manipulative, but it’s played with sincerity…and it works.

This project has been in development for years, under Steven Spielberg’s watchful eye, and bears only superficial resemblance to the Richard Matheson story that inspired it. (You may remember its first adaptation, as a 1963 episode of The Twilight Zone called “Steel,” with Lee Marvin.) The screenplay is credited to John Gatins, with story credit to Dan Gilroy and Jeremy Leven.

The time is the near-future. Hugh Jackman plays an irresponsible, washed-up prizefighter who ekes out a living as manager for boxing robots. When his ex-wife dies, he’s forced to spend a summer looking after his 11-year-old son—a boy he’s never really known (played by newcomer Dakota Goyo) who just happens to be a savvy superfan of robot boxers. It’s the kid who has faith in a “junk pile” Jackman is ready to write off. With some t.l.c. and Jackman’s boxing experience, the discarded machine takes them to the Big Time, and helps cement the damaged relationship between father and son.



Under Shawn Levy’s direction, the story never misses a beat, with fully-committed performances by Jackman, Evangeline Lilly (as the woman who’s always believed in him), and fresh-faced young Goyo, who bears a strong resemblance to Ricky Schroder and has the same ability to win you over at emotional moments, even if you’re trying to resist.

Technically, the film is one of those modern marvels in which it’s impossible to tell where reality ends and CGI takes over. (In fact, the key robot characters were actually constructed as animatronic “puppets” standing eight feet tall. It’s only when they walk or box that they’re not real.) But this movie lives or dies with the human element, and if you’re a sucker for a story involving an underdog—and a father’s redemption in the eyes of his son—you’ll willingly surrender to Real Steel. If you’re looking for something gritty or only interested in high-tech combat between machines, you’ll have to look elsewhere.

SO, what are you waiting for? It's Starts at THE AVON THEATER today!!!
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