Real Steel offers up some of the best special effects of the year, but at its core, this is another underdog sports film with a father/son story at the center. In fact, I wonder if Sylvester Stallone was a ghost writer on this bad boy, because this Sock Em' meets Transformers adventure certainly has a Rocky/Over the Top vibe to it. In the slightly futuristic Real Steal, Hugh Jackman stars as Charlie Kenton-- a washed up boxer who turns to controlling robotic fighters in WWF style underground destruction matches. Charlie's life is put into a tailspin when he's re-united with his young estranged son Max. Before long however, father and child connect through the re-birth of a retired robot returned to his former glory. There's no doubt that the fighting sequences (many of which were supervised by Sugar Ray Leonard) are rousing. Furthermore, the special effects and sound design are spectacular. If only the father/son dynamic didn't feel so artificial! The robots aren't real, but they felt more real than the drama at the center of this movie. Jackman is charismatic and he has tenacity to spare but let's face it. Director Shawn Levy (Night at the Museum) is more interested in the technical aspects of the movie. Young Dakota Goyo has some bright moments as Max, but too often throughout the picture, this kid comes across as more obnoxious than endearing. Real Steel is the kind of movie I would have loved as a kid and part of me enjoyed a large portion of the proceedings (watch for an underground fighting sequence early on. It has a Road Warrior tinge to it and it put a great big smile on my face). Another part of me wished that the artificial heart at the center of this flick was traded out for a real one.

Grade: B-