Over the summer we are shown a lot of trailers for the fall and even a few teasers trailers for the winter movies. The old saying goes, “you never get a second chance to make a first impression”, and nothing could be further from the truth than that first trailer for Real Steel.
Real Steel Trailer 1
My initial impression of Real Steel was that this was Rockem Sockem Robots: The Movie. Let’s be honest, with movies like Battleship coming out soon, Rockem Sockem Robots: The Movie isn’t impossible. So why not have Hugh Jackman in the lead, then? Wolverine 2 was on hold so why not put the man to work? I had no desire to see Rockem Sockem Robots: The Movie. Upon learning that Steven Spielberg produced yet another robot battling movie, I had even less desire for it. Spielberg has stated that he produces movies he would like to see made; to sit in the theater as a member of the audience and watch it. The likes of which used to include Gremlins, Poltergeist, and Back to the Future. Today, they include The Transformers (nuff said). Sorry Steven, your clout isn’t even enough to get me to see Rockem Sockem Robots: The Movie.
Now I see a lot of movies in the theater. I truly believe in the theater-going experience. The social aspect of it and seeing a film with a group of people is key to its overall enjoyment. When I saw the second Real Steel trailer I almost did a double take.
Real Steel Trailer 2
So now the story is about the Hugh Jackman character and a kid? When did Rockem Sockem Robots: The Movie become a father and son self discovering odyssey? When the trailer was over I started to conceive the insane idea that Dreamworks went back and reshot the majority of the movie inserting this kid into the plot. Where was this kid before? If you watch the first trailer again you will see him for maybe a few frames. My interest then became non-existent, well until it was released on Blu-ray and DVD anyway.
Next week Rockem Sockem Robots: The Movie Real Steel arrives on Blu-ray and DVD. I was curious as to whether or not this was going to be a mismatched debacle of scenes with Hugh Jackman and this kid. Initially, Real Steel has the ear marks of being in the same vein of Sylvester Stallone’s eighties classic Over the Top. On the road Dad (Jackman) has take to charge of his estranged son (Dakota Goyo) and the two grow to understand and love one another. Of course the kid has rich relatives who want to adopt him and Dad is a good guy but penniless. It is almost the same plot to a point. The changes made, besides the robots fighting over arm wrestling, are refreshing and surprising. John Gatins screenplay was clearly inspired by Richard Matheson story “Steel”, a fact which was obvious in the trailer and would have inspired me more to see it if it would have been mentioned in said trailer. Gatins takes a lot of conventions for this type of estranged father/ son story and turns them around. Jackman’s Charlie Kenton and Goyo’s Max Kenton have things in common. They aren’t opposites or from different sides of the tracks. They clearly understand one another and like each other for it. One of the plot devices is that Charlie has to give Max up at the end of the summer. Immediately the title fight comes to mind. It will, of course, happen on the same day where Charlie not only has to win the fight in the ring but the fight for Max’s love as well. To go any further would be to ruin the story and the fun that Real Steel possess. It was Dakota Goyo that swayed me however on the over all story and where it took me. This kid won me over on Real Steel and he didn’t even rank a line in the first trailer.
Depending on your mood and how much you like getting your heart strings pulled, Real Steel may surprise you. The cinematography is breath taking. The robots are more real than anything Michael Bay has thrown at us in the three Transformers movies. The future of 2027 is as real as Bladerunner and never overdoes it with its technology. Real Steel, if anything, should give director Shawn Levy the credentials to take a turn at the Iron Man franchise.
Top 5 Picks of the Week:
1. Traffic (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]
2. License to Drive [Blu-ray]
3. Redline [Blu-ray]
4. Boys in Company C [Blu-ray]
5. The Tuskegee Airmen [Blu-ray]
ACTION / ADVENTURE / KUNG FU/ THRILLERS / WESTERNS
Abduction Starring Taylor Lautner, Lily Collins, Alfred Molina
Abduction (+ Digital Copy) [Blu-ray] Starring Ken Arnold, Taylor Lautner, Jake Andolina and Steve Blass
Action Double Feature: The Last Hard Men / Sky Riders Starring James Coburn, Charlton Heston, Susannah York
Age of Heroes Starring Sean Bean, Izabella Miko, James D'Arcy and Danny Dyer
Age of Heroes [Blu-ray]
Bad Girls [Blu-ray]
Bad Girls
Boys in Company C [Blu-ray] Starring Stan Shaw, Andrew Stevens and R. Lee Ermey
The Coast Guard [Blu-ray + DVD Combo] Starring Jang Dong-kun
Forgotten Bomb Starring Bud Ryan, George Shultz, Gar Alperovitz and Jonathan Schell
Gantz II: Perfect Answer
Gantz II: Perfect Answer [Blu-ray]
Gunfighter
Killing Bono Starring Ben Barnes, Robert Sheehan, Pete Postlethwaite
Mysteries of Lisbon Starring Adriano Luz, Maria Joao Bastos and Ricardo Pereira
Mysteries of Lisbon [Blu-ray] Starring Adriano Luz and Ricardo Pereira
Outlaw Justice
The Perfect Student Starring Natasha Henstridge, Brea Grant and Josie Davis
Project X [Blu-ray] Starring William Sadler and Matthew Broderick
ANIME
First Squad [Blu-ray]
First Squad
The Girl Who Leapt Through Space Volume 4 Starring Aya Endo, Mako and Yui Makino
Hetalia: World Series 1 Season Three (Limited Edition) Starring Todd Haberkorn, Patrick Seitz and Eric Vale
Hetalia: Axis Powers Collection 3
Kaze No Stigma: Complete Series S.A.V.E. Starring Cherami Leigh, Mark Stoddard and Sean Hannigan
Nabari No Ou: The Complete Series S.A.V.E. Starring Brina Palencia, Joel McDonald and Eric Vale
Redline [Blu-ray]
Redline
Star Driver Part 2 [DVD] Starring Jun Fukuyama, Mamoru Miyano and Saori Hayami
Star Driver Part 2 [Blu-ray] Starring Jun Fukuyama
Citizen Kane 70th Anniversary [Blu-ray] (see column)
COMEDY AND LOVE Mania Style
License to Drive [Blu-ray]
Criterion Collection
Belle de Jour (Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray] Starring Catherine Deneuve, Michel Piccoli and Genevieve Page
Belle de Jour (Criterion Collection)
Traffic (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray] Starring Benicio Del Toro, Michael Douglas, Don Cheadle
HORROR
Cold Light of Day Starring Bob Flag, Claire King, Martin Bryne Quin and Steve Munroe
Cold Sweat Starring Facundo Espinosa
Donner Pass Starring Desiree Hall, Erik Stocklin, John Kassir and Colley Bailey
Undocumented Starring Scott Mechlowicz
MODERN CLASSICS on BLU-RAY
The Color Purple [Blu-ray] Starring Adolph Caesar and Danny Glover
Dead Poets Society [Blu-ray] Starring Robin Williams, Ethan Hawke, Josh Charles
Good Morning, Vietnam (25th Anniversary Edition) [Blu-ray] Starring Robin Williams
The Tuskegee Airmen [Blu-ray] Starring Laurence Fishburne, Allen Payne, Malcolm-Jamal Warner
SCIENCE FICTION / FANTASY
Journey to the Center of the Earth [Blu-ray 3D]
TV LAND
Delocated: The Complete Seasons One & Two Starring Jacob Kogan, Eugene Mirman, Jerry Minor and Jon Glaser
George Gently Series 1 [Blu-ray] Starring Martin Shaw and Lee Ingleby
Mad: Season 1 Pt. 2
Merlin: The Complete Third Season Starring Colin Morgan, Bradley James, Anthony Head and Katie McGrath
Robert Trate writes three weekly columns for Mania: the DVD Shopping Bag, the Toy Maniac, and The Geek Life. Follow Robert on Twitter for his for Geek ramblings, Cosplay photos and film criticisms.
Like Captain America and Thor, I won't by the Blue Ray/DVD combo. Too expensive, just want the Blue Ray. When they get smart and start releasing disks at an exceptable cost, they will get my money
You could not be more right about the promotion of Real Steel. The first trailer did not reveal the real movie and what it was about. It actually alienated the real target group - Families and father and their sons. After all it had a PG 13 rating. You would think with Disney promoting this, they would have pushed the Family aspect. You had something in this movie for everyone, why would you target only one group. Someone really screwed up on the demographic test market. This movie would have done alot better than it did opening weekend.
Just hope they don't make the same mistake on the cover of the DVD. That would be just plain stupidity.
LOGIN
REGISTER
RSS
HOME
wow.. pretty dead week in frontline releases....