The Film:

I bet you never thought you would live to see the day when Hollywood would create Rock ‘Em, Sock ‘Em Robots the movie did you? Okay, so Shawn Levy’s Real Steel isn’t based upon the property, but that’s how the trailers have made the film look. Well, Real Steel is soo much more than just two robots beating each other to scrap  in a boxing ring, its got heart.

The film takes place in the future where robots have replaced humans in the boxing ring. Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman) is a former boxer that now works to try and make a living in robot boxing. He finds out he’s got a son Max Kenton (Dakota Goyo) that he doesn’t want. After loosing a match with his latest robot, Charlie and Max head to the junk yard, and find an old robot, Atom. After fixing “him” up, Max and Charlie then find out there’s more to Atom than meets the eye.

So, despite a little wink to the Transformers series, there’s so much more to Real Steel than just shiny robots. In fact, unlike Michael Bay’s Transformers films, this film is filled with emotional moments. When we’re first introduced to Charlie Kenton, he’s desperate to make money off robot boxing, and wants nothing to do with Max. The same can be said for Max as well. However, the two learn to love each other and are brought together by Atom. Of course, this may have been expected from the same guy who madeNight At the Museum not long ago.

While the film’s strength is mainly in its story, the action is another draw. For the most part, the action in Real Steel is rather standard to most boxing films, such as Rocky. However, they’re far from boring. Being a fan of Bay’s Transformers films, I’m no doubtedly interested in seeing two bots slug it out in a boxing ring. But Charlie, Max, and Atom use strategy during their fights, and make it a team effort. Even in a fight that was almost literally described as David vs. Goliath in the film. It doesn’t fall victim to most big problems with VFX films, and doesn’t just make the fights a mess where it’s difficult to tell what’s going on.

Overall, Real Steel does come off as cliched at times, but its heart and soul make it a contender. Its Rocky, but with robots.

The Blu-ray:

Audio/Visual

The DTS-HD MA 7.1 lossless soundtrack is simply amazing, and the video quality is great as well.

Special Features

Making of Metal Valley: A cool feature that chronicles the creation of the junk yard of old robots used in the film.

Building the Bots:  A look at what goes into creating the bots.

There are also three more features, deleted scenes, bloopers, a DVD copy, and Digital copy of the film in this packed set.

The Film Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

The Blu-ray Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Favorite films:

Real Steel:

Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much from this film, and it looked like Rock ‘Em, Sock ‘Em Robots the movie. However, it turned out to be an entertaining film with alot of heart. It was Rocky, but with robots.

X-men: First Class:

Another film I was expecting to hate. The film was rushed since day one, and nothing from this film was looking good, not even the trailer. Well, I ate my words after sitting through the film. Matthew Vaughn delivered my favorite entry in the X-men franchise, and the way he tied the story into the Cuban Missile Crisis was brilliant. Not to mention Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, and Kevin Bacon gave incredible performances in the film. And who could forget how gorgeous January Jones was as Emma Frost?

Captain America: The First Avenger:

I was looking at this film for quite sometime. While I wasn’t keen on the idea of Chris Evans playing Steve Rogers/Captain America, he turned out to be a great choice for the character. And who could forget Hugo Weaving as Red Skull?

Super 8:

What can I say about the film? It reused an old and worn out plot device about “The innocent alien vs. the evil humans.” But J.J. Abrams and Steven Spielberg were able to tell a captivating story. Its “E.T. on steroids” as my friend so accurately put it.

Green Lantern:

Okay, I know this film gets alot of hate, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Sure, it’s nowhere near on the same level as Batman Begins or The Dark Knight, but Martin Campbell reminded us that a comic book film should be fun. And that’s certainly what I got from Green Lantern. And yeah, I still wish Nathan Fillion was cast as Hal Jordan/Green Lantern.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon:

This should have been a no-brainer. Anyone that knows me knows I have loved Michael Bay’s Transformers movies so far. Yeah, Revenge of the Fallen was a step backwards, but Bay made up for all his mistakes in Dark of the Moon. Not only does the film have some of the most intense action since he directed The Rock, but Bay was able to actually give us some character development this time around. And yes, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley is just gorgeous. Sorry Megan Fox.

Evangelion 2.22: You Can (Not) Advance:

Technically, this film didn’t come out in 2011, but it did here in the States and that’s why it deserves a spot on this list. What can I say really? Hidaeki Anno gave just a beautiful second installment in his Rebuild of Evangelion series. I can’t wait to see what he does with the third entry.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo:

If I could call any film my favorite of  2011, then it would be David Fincher’s The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo remake. Such an incredible film. I’m honestly torn on which version I like better: the remake, or the original Swedish film starring Noomi Rapace. Both films are very similar, but very different at the same time. One thing is for sure, Rooney Mara deserves to win an Oscar for her take as Lisbeth Salander, in my opinion.

Honorable mentions:

The Muppets

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 1 and 2

Soul Surfur

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Least Favorite films:

Battle: Los Angeles:

Judging by the trailers, this film looked like it was going to be alot of fun. Unfortunately, all I got was a film that copied every other movie in the genre, and was left with feeling of “Been there, done that” the entire time. Not to mention the film played out just like a video-game. Our soldiers even had to fight a “Big Boss” at the end.

Thor:

Okay, this is actually a film I did enjoy, but it had alot of issues. The biggest flaw I would say is the lack of character development with Thor (Chris Hemworth) and Jane Foster (Natalie Portman). But at least we got a great performance by Tom Hiddleston as Loki and Anthony Hopkins as Odin.

Sucker Punch:

I’ll just be quite honest, this film was a guilty pleasure for me. Perhaps because I’m a sucker (pun unintened) for beautiful women kicking ass and taking charge, but sadly, that didn’t make up for the film’s lack of plot.

Horrible Bosses:

This film was actually quite hilarious the first viewing, but after watching again, all the comedy just got old.

So, those are just my thoughts on the films I’ve seen this year. Here’s to 2012 in film. Be sure to check out Donny’s top 25 and bottom 10 of 2011 tomorrow only on Killer Film!

Blu-ray has the list of special features you can expect:

• Four featurettes: – Countdown to the Fight: The Charlie Kenton Story
  - Sugar Ray Leonard: Cornerman’s Champ
  - Making of Metal Valley
  - Building the Bots
• Deleted and extended scenes with introductions by director Shawn Levy: – Extended “Meet Ambush”
  - Deleted “Butterfly” Storyline
• Bloopers

The film takes place in the future where robots have replaced humans in the boxing ring. Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman) is a former boxer that now works to try and make a living in robot boxing. He finds out he’s got a son Max Kenton (Dakota Goyo) that he doesn’t want. After loosing a match with his latest robot, Charlie and Max head to the junk yard, and find an old robot, Atom. After fixing “him” up, Max and Charlie then find out there’s more to Atom than meets the eye.

So, despite a little wink to the Transformers series, there’s so much more to Real Steel than just shiny robots. In fact, unlike Michael Bay’s Transformers films, this film is filled with emotional moments. When we’re first introduced to Charlie Kenton, he’s desperate to make money off robot boxing, and wants nothing to do with Max. The same can be said for Max as well. However, the two learn to love each other and are brought together by Atom. Of course, this may have been expected from the same guy who made Night At the Museum not long ago.

While the film’s strength is mainly in its story, the action is another draw. For the most part, the action in Real Steel is rather standard to most boxing films, such as Rocky. However, they’re far from boring. Being a fan of Bay’s Transformers films, I’m no doubtedly interested in seeing two bots slug it out in a boxing ring. But Charlie, Max, and Atom use strategy during their fights, and make it a team effort. Even in a fight that was almost literally described as David vs. Goliath in the film. It doesn’t fall victim to most big problems with VFX films, and doesn’t just make the fights a mess where it’s difficult to tell what’s going on.

Overall, Real Steel does come off as cliched at times, but its heart and soul make it a contender. Its Rocky, but with robots.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Another issue is the availability of Hugh Jackman. He’s about to start work on Les Miserables, and will be headed into The Wolverine afterwards. But Levy is also busy deciding whether or not he’ll direct a Fantastic Voyage remake or Frankenstein for Fox (here). That should give them both plenty of time for the film to complete its theatrical run and secure their schedules.

“We really fricking hope so,” he says on the notion of doing a sequel. “Some of the notions we’re playing with… for instance we went very anthropomorphic in both the design and the movement of the robots in this movie, I think we can really blow that out. The class warfare between underworld and [World Robot Boxing], that’s something that seems rich. The evolution of this father and son’s relationship, and Hugh’s relationship with Evangeline.”

Sounds cool. Looking forward to the film, opening on October 7th?

A gritty, white-knuckle, action ride set in the near-future where the sport of boxing has gone high-tech, “Real Steel” stars Hugh Jackman as Charlie Kenton, a washed-up fighter who lost his chance at a title when 2000-pound, 8-foot-tall steel robots took over the ring. Now nothing but a small-time promoter, Charlie earns just enough money piecing together low-end bots from scrap metal to get from one underground boxing venue to the next. When Charlie hits rock bottom, he reluctantly teams up with his estranged son Max (Dakota Goyo) to build and train a championship contender. As the stakes in the brutal, no-holds-barred arena are raised, Charlie and Max, against all odds, get one last shot at a comeback.

Real Steel opens on October 7th.

According to Deadline, as the 20th Century Fox 3D Fantastic Voyage remake continues to take forever to get under way, the site is hearing persuasively that director Shawn Levy will likely take another Fox film, Frankenstein, as his next effort.

No word on its direction, but something tells me it’s gonna be PG-13. Levy’s upcoming Real Steel looks great, and if it’s a hit, which it should be, I doubt if this is the darker Frankenstein project we’d get. Thoughts?

Real Steel opens on October 7th.

A gritty, white-knuckle, action ride set in the near-future where the sport of boxing has gone high-tech, Real Steel stars Hugh Jackman as Charlie Kenton, a washed-up fighter who lost his chance at a title when 2000-pound, 8-foot-tall steel robots took over the ring. Now nothing but a small-time promoter, Charlie earns just enough money piecing together low-end bots from scrap metal to get from one underground boxing venue to the next. When Charlie hits rock bottom, he reluctantly teams up with his estranged son Max (Dakota Goyo) to build and train a championship contender. As the stakes in the brutal, no-holds-barred arena are raised, Charlie and Max, against all odds, get one last shot at a comeback.

In theaters and IMAX October 7th.

Source: Collider

Source: Coming Soon

Take a look, and let’s hope the film delivers as does this poster.

A gritty, white-knuckle, action ride set in the near-future, where the sport of boxing has gone hi-tech, Real Steel stars Jackman as Charlie Kenton, a washed-up fighter who lost his chance at a title when 2000-pound, 8-foot-tall steel robots took over the ring. Now nothing but a small-time promoter, Charlie earns just enough money piecing together low-end bots from scrap metal to get from one underground boxing venue to the next. When Charlie hits rock bottom, he reluctantly teams up with his estranged son Max (Goyo) to build and train a championship contender. As the stakes in the brutal, no-holds-barred arena are raised, Charlie and Max, against all odds, get one last shot at a comeback.

Real Steel opens on October 7th.