DAPs Magic Disney News – by Mr. DAPs
In Real Steel, Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman) once was a fighter. Those days behind him; he finds himself a small time promoter, struggling to make ends meat. Every direction he looks, things are going wrong. Then his estranged son Max moves in with him for the summer. With the destruction of his newest robot, Kenton finds himself building a new one from spare parts found in a junk yard. This robot gets a second chance in the ring and Charlie gets a second chance with his son Max. This is the classic underdog story, but with robots.
Picture and Sound:
The picture for Real Steel really was impressive. Clearly the folks at Disney knew who their demographic was, technology loving guys who dig these kinds of details. The colors were great, the details of the robots made sense, and it didn’t look crazy digital. The latter can drive me crazy! An equal amount of attention to detail was made on the audio track as well. The sound was great but more importantly, it made sense. The picture was presented in 1080p and sound was 7.1 DTS Master-Audio.
Bonus Features:
There were a few extra bonus features included with Real Steel. They include the following:
- Real Steel Second Screen: Ringside with Director Shawn Levy – In this bonus feature, Director Shawn Levy goes through the movie from your laptop or iPad. I REALLY like this technology. I tend to get bored just watching a movie and always have to be doing something else to keep my attention, this fits the bill perfectly!
- Countdown to the Fight – The Charlie Kenton Story – Here is a mockumentary about Charlie, Atom, and Max leading up to the big fight. It’s nice to see something a little bit out of the ordinary.
- Making of Metal Valley – This is a pretty good look at what went into making the big scrap/junk yard where Atom was eventually found.
- Building the Bots – A brief look at how robots are built both from a digital standpoint and also in the real world. This one was incredibly short and felt lacking.
- Sugar Ray Leonard: Cornerman’s Champ – A look at how Sugar Ray Leonard contributed to the film. It offers a good view of how this boxing legend helped Hugh Jackman really become the fighter who has been around the block many times.
- Deleted & Extended Scenes – A look at some of the scenes that didn’t make it into the movie and of course parts of scenes that didn’t make it into the movies. These are great for big fans of the movies but in general, I find myself tiring of these bonus features.
- Bloopers – These are at least not too long at just over a couple of minutes in length.
- Audio Commentary – This appeared to be only on the DVD. I’m not entirely sure why they made this choice. It IS included with the Blu-Ray but I’m not sure why it wasn’t just put on the Blu-Ray disc.
Overview:
Real Steel is an enjoyable movie with very honorable themes/lessons included. One friend mentioned that it was just like Rocky, but with robots. Yes, I definitely can see where he got that but I would amend that analysis and say that Rocky has better music. However, it does have excellent visual effects and a cast that compliments them well. And while it is predictable, who doesn’t like a good underdog story? I am hesitant to give this movie a full hat tip as I really don’t know that my sisters would enjoy it, based on the basic premise. However, if you do like a good action flick and you like Hugh Jackman, definitely go out and get this one and definitely get it on the Blu-Ray!
