Real Steel Blu-ray comes with new technology – movie review

In the movie Real Steel, Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman) owes a lot of money. A former boxer, his career ended when boxing robots took over in popularity. He has a robot fighter that he takes to small venues in order to get a few dollars.

Just as he comes to the realization that he’s going to need a much better robot if he wants to earn decent money, he finds out an ex-girlfriend — one with whom he fathered a son — has just died. As the dad, he’s next of kin and unless he signs papers stating otherwise, he gets custody.

When he realizes the kid — now 11 — may just be a source for money, he decides to cut a deal with his ex-girlfriend’s wealthy brother-in-law. His wife wants custody of Max (Dakota Goyo). However, they’re going to Italy for the summer so Charlie agrees to take Max while they’re away and in exchange for $100,000, he’ll sign the kid over to them.

At first, the kid’s nothing more than a nuisance. When he finds out his father sold him, in a scene reminiscent of the 1973 movie Paper Moon, Max demands his share of the money. Charlie’s already spent a huge chunk on a super state-of-the-art fighting robot.

As it turns out, Max is a huge fan of robot boxing and the movie then starts to resemble the 1979 film The Champ, as father and son bond over a mutual interest in boxing.

That’s not to say the movie isn’t original — it is, and it’s got a lot going for it — pathos, humor, action and even a little romance.

Hugh Jackman, as always, is fantastic in his role. He convincingly takes Charlie from a loser who’s never done anything good or had any success in his life to someone who finally begins to get what’s important in life.

There’s Canadian talent in this film as well — Lost‘s Evangeline Lilly turns up as Charlie’s on-again, off-again love interest, while Toronto-born Dakota Goyo as Max is a real find. Just 11 when he filmed this movie, he’s already an accomplished actor whose performance is spot on. He’s called upon to show a wide range of emotions and there’s never a moment when he’s not completely believable.

The DVD and Blu-Ray combo comes with a range of bonus features. On the DVD you’ll find bloopers, an audio commentary and the featurettes “Making of Metal Valley” and “Building the Bots.”

The Blu-ray also comes with a new application called “Real Steel Second Screen.” This app allows you to interact with the movie on an iPad or other Internet-connected device while watching it on your Blu-ray player. Just start the Blu-ray movie, then sync Real Steel Second Screen with the film automatically by following the easy onscreen instructions. Once connected, you’ll be able to explore interactive galleries, dive into activities, and learn interesting facts about the scenes you’re watching.

The features include extensive additional bonus content such as branching pods that explore the revolutionary look, sound, and flair of the film; plus the cutting-edge technology used to create the fights. You’ll be able to interact with exclusive Flick to Screen features by “flicking them” from your iPad to the TV screen.

Examine awesome 360-degree turnarounds of the robots and panoramic views, peel away the layers of effects in a shot with a progression reel and go behind the scenes to learn how the movie was made. You can also connect with Facebook and/or Twitter through Real Steel Second Screen while watching the movie to share the experience with family and friends. Other Blu-ray features include “Countdown to the Fight — The Charlie Kenton Story,” “Sugar Ray Leonard: Cornerman’s Champ,” plus deleted and extended scenes. Real Steel is available on DVD and Blu-ray January 24th. ~Alexandra Heilbron