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Real Steel

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Real Steel
Hugh Jackman in character in a boxing pose in front of a large boxing robot in a similar pose.
Theatrical release poster
Directed byShawn Levy
Screenplay byJohn Gatins
Story byDan Gilroy
Jeremy Leven
Produced byShawn Levy
Susan Montford
Don Murphy
StarringHugh Jackman
Dakota Goyo
Evangeline Lilly
Anthony Mackie
Kevin Durand
Music byDanny Elfman
Production
companies
Distributed byTouchstone Pictures
Release dates
  • October 6, 2011 (2011-10-06) (Australia)
  • October 7, 2011 (2011-10-07) (United States and Canada)
Running time
127 minutes[1]
CountryTemplate:Film US
LanguageEnglish
Budget$110 million[2]
Box office$52,828,105[3] (estimate)

Real Steel is a 2011 American science fiction action film starring Hugh Jackman and directed by Shawn Levy. The film is based on the 1956 short story "Steel" by Richard Matheson, though Levy placed the film in U.S. state fairs and other "old-fashioned" Americana settings. Real Steel was in development for several years before production began in June 11th of 2010. Filming took place primarily in the U.S. state of Michigan. Animatronic robots were built for the film, and motion capture technology was used to depict the brawling of computer-generated robots and animatronics. Real Steel was publicly released in Australia on October 6, 2011 and in the United States and Canada on October 7, 2011. It will be in both conventional and IMAX theaters.

Plot

In 2020, humans have been replaced by robots in boxing. Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman) is a former boxer who attempts to get money in illegal boxing matches between robots to pay his debts to loan sharks. During a fight, Charlie's robot, Ambush, is destroyed by Black Thunder, a bull belonging to Ricky (Kevin Durand). Having made a bet that Ambush would win, Charlie now owes Ricky $20,000, which he doesn't pay before leaving.

While leaving, Charlie is informed that his ex-girlfriend has died, and he has to attend a meeting to decide the fate of his preteen son Max (Dakota Goyo). Max's aunt Debra (Hope Davis) and uncle Marvin (James Rebhorn) want full custody, and Charlie gives it to them in exchange for $100,000 from Marvin, $50,000 of in advance, on the condition that Charlie takes care of Max for three months, while Marvin and Debra are away on a second honeymoon.

Charlie and Max meet with Charlie's friend Bailey Tallet (Evangeline Lilly), who runs the boxing gym of her deceased father, Charlie's old coach. There, Charlie buys a secondhand WRB league robot which competed all over the world, Noisy Boy, and arranges for it to fight the illegal circuit's champion, Midas, despite the discontent of Max, at a venue belonging to his friend Finn (Anthony Mackie). Partly due to his inexperience with Noisy Boy's combinations, Charlie ends up losing control of Noisy Boy and Midas destroys it.

Charlie breaks into a junkyard with Max to steal scraps that he can use to put a new robot together. There, Max falls over a ledge, where he is saved from doom after being snagged by a lodged and buried robot arm. After Charlie pulls him back up, Max uncovers the entire robot, called Atom. On Max's insistence, Charlie takes it back to Bailey's gym, where they discover Atom is a sparring bot that can sustain massive damage, but isn't able to deal out much damage. Max convinces Charlie to get Atom a fight, and upgrades him to take vocal commands using spare parts from Noisy Boy and Ambush.

Charlie and Max take Atom to fight an unsanctioned outdoor match against a robot called Metro, and Atom wins, earning back some of Charlie's money. Atom's string of subsequent wins attracts the attention of a promoter from the World Robot Boxing league (WRB), who offers Atom a professional fight against a robot called Twin Cities. Charlie accepts, and Atom wins again, thanks to Charlie's knowledge of boxing, which allows him to locate a design flaw in Twin Cities. Taking advantage of Atom's subsequent novelty attention, Max challenges WRB champion Zeus, designed by arrogant genius Tak Mashido (Karl Yune) and sponsored by rich Russian Farra Lemcova (Olga Fonda), who accepts, but first tries to buy the upstart Atom.

As they leave the Twin Cities fight, Charlie is attacked by Ricky and his men, who beat him severely, assault Max and steal their money. Feeling guilty, Charlie returns Max to his aunt and uncle so they can protect him, but Bailey (after sharing a kiss with Charlie) convinces him he can be a better father to Max. Convincing Aunt Debra for one more chance, Charlie takes Max to the Zeus-Atom match, Zeus severely damages Atom — while also getting injured, a first for Zeus. In the last round of the five-round match, Atom's vocal receptors are damaged, and he has to fight in shadow boxing mode, copying Charlie's moves from the aisle. After Zeus runs very low on power, Atom begins to heavily damage Zeus, but doesn't win before the round ends, forcing the judges to declare a winner on points. They favor Zeus, but his reputation is tarnished, and Atom has become famous as "The People's Champion".

Cast

Production

Director Levy on set with Jackman in July 2010

Real Steel is directed by Shawn Levy and is based on the 1956 short story "Steel" by Richard Matheson.[4] The film was produced by Touchstone Pictures, DreamWorks, 21 Laps, and Montford/Murphy Productions.[5] The original screenplay was written by Dan Gilroy and was purchased by DreamWorks in 2005 for $850,000,[4] or in 2003 (sources differ).[6] The project was one of 17 that DreamWorks took from Paramount Pictures when they split in 2008.[4] Director Peter Berg expressed interest in the project in mid-2009 but moved on.[6] Levy was attached to the project in September 2009,[7] and Jackman was cast in the starring role in November for a $9 million fee.[8] In the same month, Steven Spielberg and Stacey Snider at DreamWorks greenlit the project.[4] Les Bohem and Jeremy Leven had worked on Gilroy's screenplay, but in 2009, John Gatins was working on a new draft.[6] When Levy joined the project, he worked with Gatins to revise the screenplay.[9]

With Real Steel having a production budget of $110 million,[2] Levy chose to set the film in state fairs and other "old-fashioned" Americana settings that would exude nostalgia and create a warm tone for the film's father-son story.[10] Filming began in June 2010,[11] and ended by October 15, 2010.[12] Locations include areas around Detroit, Michigan, and across the state,[13] including at the Renaissance Center, the Cobo Arena, the Detroit Fire Department headquarters, the Ingham County Courthouse, the former Belle Isle Zoo, and the Highland Park Ford Plant.[14]

Jason Matthews of Legacy Effects, successor to Stan Winston Studios, was hired to turn production designer Tom Meyer's robot designs into practical animatronic props, saying, "We have 26-and-a-half total live-action robots that were made for this film. They all have hydraulic neck controls. Atom has RC [radio-controlled] hands as well.”[15] Star Jackman said executive producer Spielberg "actually said to Shawn, 'You should really have real elements where you can.' ... Basically if they're not walking or fighting, that's a real robot."[16] For scenes when computer-generated robots brawl, "simulcam" motion capture technology, developed for the film Avatar, was used. As Levy described the process, "[Y]ou're not only capturing the fighting of live human fighters, but you're able to take that and see it converted to [CGI] robots on a screen instantaneously. Simulcam puts the robots in the ring in real time, so you are operating your shots to the fight, whereas even three, four years ago, you used to operate to empty frames, just guessing at what stuff was going to look like."[17] Boxing hall-of-famer Sugar Ray Leonard was an adviser for these scenes.[10]

Crew

Marketing

DreamWorks released the first trailer for Real Steel in December 2010.[18] In May 2011, the studio released a second trailer. While the film features boxing robots, Levy said he wanted to show in the trailer "the father-son drama, the emotion, the kind of rousing sports movie, the Americana of it". He said, "We are very much the robo-boxing movie, but that’s one piece of a broader spectrum."[19] In addition to marketing trailers and posters, DreamWorks enlisted the British advertising company Five33 to build large physical displays representing the film as it had done for Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.[20] The studio also collaborated with Virgin America to name one of their Airbus A320s after the film, and one of the film's robots is pictured on its fuselage.[21] On September 19, Jackman appeared on the weekly sports entertainment program WWE Raw to promote the film.[22]

The video game company Jump Games released a fighting game based on the film for Android and iOS devices.[23]

Release

Jackman at the Sydney premiere in September 2011

Real Steel had its world premiere on September 6, 2011 in Paris at the Le Grand Rex.[24] The film had its United States premiere on October 2, 2011 in Los Angeles at the Gibson Amphitheatre.[25] It was commercially released in Australia on October 6, 2011,[26] followed by the United States and Canada on October 7, 2011. For the U.S. release, it was originally scheduled for release on November 18, 2011,[11] but it was moved earlier to avoid competition with the first part of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn.[27] The film was released in 3,440 theaters in the United States and Canada,[28] including 270 IMAX screenings. There will also be over 100 IMAX screenings in territories outside the United States and Canada, with 62 screening on October 7.[29]

Reception

Critical response

Real Steel gained mixed to positive reviews from critics, with the aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes listing 58% of 158 critics giving a positive review, with a rating average of 5.9 out of 10. The website's consensus is, "Silly premise notwithstanding, this is a well-made Hollywood movie: Thrilling and exciting action with just enough characterization".[30] Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, gives the film a rating score of 56, based on 32 reviews.[31] CinemaScore polls reported that the average grade moviegoers gave the film was an A on an A plus to F scale.[32]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times rated the film three out of four stars, saying, "Real Steel is a real movie. It has characters, it matters who they are, it makes sense of its action, it has a compelling plot. Sometimes you go into a movie with low expectations and are pleasantly surprised.[33] Conversely, Claudia Puig of USA Today said that, "Though the premise of fighting robots does seem a plausible and intriguing extension of the contemporary WWE world, Real Steel is hampered by leaden, clichéd moments in which a stubborn boy teaches his childish father a valuable lesson."[34]

Box office

Real Steel has earned $27,319,677 in North America, as of October 9, 2011, and $22,100,000 in other territories, as of October 9, 2011, for a worldwide total of $49,419,677.[35] It had a worldwide opening of $49.4 million and scored the highest IMAX debut for an October release ($4.4 million worldwide).[36] In North America, it made $8.5 million on its opening day and $27.3 million in total on its opening weekend, claiming the number one spot.[37] This was the highest-grossing debut for a boxing film[38] and the second-highest for a sports drama film.[39] It also gained on Johnny English Reborn and other movies to rank first at the overseas box office, by earning $22.1 million from 19 countries during the weekend. It managed first place debuts in Russia ($6.9 million), Hugh Jackman's native Australia ($5.4 million) and Mexico ($3.0 million).[40]

Sequel

In April 2011, DreamWorks announced it was developing a sequel to Real Steel. John Gatins, who contributed to the screenplay for the first film, was hired to write the screenplay for the second.[41] Director Shawn Levy said in September 2011 a sequel depended on the success of the first film and that he would also direct it. The key actors—Jackman, Lilly, and Goyo—would reprise their roles if the studio proceeded with a sequel, though the production schedule would need to match Jackman's crowded schedule.[42]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Real Steel". British Board of Film Classification. August 4, 2011. Retrieved September 26, 2011.
  2. ^ a b Kaufman, Amy (October 6, 2011). "Movie Projector: 'Real Steel' to crush 'Ides of March'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 7, 2011.
  3. ^ "Real Steel (2011)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2011-10-10.
  4. ^ a b c d Siegel, Tatiana; Graser, Marc (November 23, 2009). "Hugh Jackman to star in 'Real Steel'". Variety. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved September 14, 2011. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ McCarthy, Todd (September 28, 2011). "Real Steel: Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ a b c Fernandez, Jay A.; Kit, Borys (September 15, 2009). "Shawn Levy is new man of 'Steel'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 14, 2011. {{cite news}}: |archive-url= is malformed: liveweb (help); Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ Fleming, Michael (September 15, 2009). "Levy in for 'bots of 'Steel'". Variety. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved September 14, 2011. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ "Hollywood's Top 40". Vanity Fair. March 2011. Archived from the original on July 5, 2011. Retrieved October 3, 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ Fleming, Michael (September 30, 2009). "Hugh Jackman boxed in for Levy". Variety. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved September 14, 2011. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ a b Breznican, Anthony (June 15, 2010). "In Hugh Jackman's 'Real Steel,' the robot titans go pugilistic". USA Today. Archived from the original on September 14, 2011. Retrieved September 14, 2011. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ a b McClintock, Pamela (March 15, 2010). "Goyo added to Levy's 'Steel'". Variety. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved September 14, 2011. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  12. ^ Hinds, Julie (October 15, 2010). "Michigan movie clips". Detroit Free Press: C1. Retrieved September 14, 2011. {{cite journal}}: |archive-url= is malformed: liveweb (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help). Abstract only: "Filming has concluded here on 'Real Steel,' 'Transformers 3,' 'Scream 4' and many other productions that made metro Detroit and nearby regions seem like Hollywood Midwest for the past few months."
  13. ^ "Hugh Jackman to Film Real Steel in Michigan". ComingSoon.net. January 22, 2010. Archived from the original on July 23, 2011. Retrieved February 14, 2011. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help) Cited to unavailable Detroit Free Press article, ""Hugh Jackman Coming to Michigan to Star in Big-Budget Sci-Fi Movie", January 22, 2010.
  14. ^ Hinds, Julie (October 1, 2011). "Michigan locations in 'Real Steel'". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved October 4, 2011. {{cite news}}: |archive-url= is malformed: liveweb (help); Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  15. ^ Worley, Rob M. (September 13, 2011). "Bringing Real Steel's Robots To Life". ComicBookResources.com. Retrieved September 28, 2011.
  16. ^ Lovece, Frank (September 29, 2011). "'Real Steel': Rock 'em, sock 'em robots". Newsday. p. C8 of print edition. Retrieved October 4, 2011. (Website requires subscription)
  17. ^ Lovece, Frank (September 29, 2011). "Robots in the ring: Shawn Levy and Anthony Mackie bet on 'Real Steel'". Film Journal International. Retrieved October 4, 2011. {{cite web}}: |archive-url= is malformed: liveweb (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  18. ^ "Film trailer: 'Real Steel' starring Hugh Jackman". The Independent. December 10, 2010. Retrieved September 14, 2011. {{cite news}}: |archive-url= is malformed: liveweb (help); Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  19. ^ Breznican, Anthony (May 10, 2011). "'Real Steel' trailer: Hugh Jackman and director Shawn Levy discuss the human element in their robo-boxing movie". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 14, 2011. {{cite news}}: |archive-url= is malformed: liveweb (help); Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  20. ^ Graser, Marc (May 26, 2011). "Pic promos get physical". Variety. Retrieved September 15, 2011. {{cite journal}}: |archive-url= is malformed: liveweb (help); Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  21. ^ Fernandez, Sofia M. (September 23, 2011). "Hugh Jackman Unveils 'Real Steel' Airplane". The Hollywood Reporter. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  22. ^ Miller, Julie (September 20, 2011). "VIDEO: Hugh Jackman, WWE Stars Spend 6+ Uncomfortable Minutes in the Ring". Movieline. Retrieved September 27, 2011. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  23. ^ Staff (September 23, 2011). "Jump Games releases Real Steel fighting game for Android and iOS". ThinkDigit.com. Nine Dot Nine Mediaworx Pvt. Ltd. Retrieved October 3, 2011. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  24. ^ Staff (September 6, 2011). "'Real Steel' Paris Premiere At Le Grand Rex". Life. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  25. ^ Ford, Rebecca (October 2, 2011). "Hugh Jackman, Evangeline Lilly Attend 'Real Steel' Premiere". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 4, 2011. {{cite journal}}: |archive-url= is malformed: liveweb (help); Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  26. ^ Staff (September 21, 2011). "Jackman a big hit at wrestling show". Sydney Morning Herald. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  27. ^ McClintock, Pamela (October 13, 2010). "DreamWorks' holiday 'War Horse'". Variety. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved September 15, 2011. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  28. ^ "Release Schedule". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 3, 2011. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  29. ^ Vlessing, Etan (October 3, 2011). "Imax To Show 'Real Steel' on 270 Domestic Screens". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 4, 2011. {{cite journal}}: |archive-url= is malformed: liveweb (help); Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  30. ^ "Real Steel (2011)". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved October 9, 2011.
  31. ^ "Real Steel: Reviews (2011)". Metacritic. CNET Networks. Retrieved October 9, 2011.
  32. ^ Kaufman, Amy (October 9, 2011). "Box Office: 'Real Steel' KOs competition, including George Clooney". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 9, 2011.
  33. ^ Ebert, Roger (October 5, 2011). "Real Steel Review". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved October 9, 2011.
  34. ^ Puig, Claudia (October 7, 2011). "'Real Steel' robots do battle with movie cliches". USA Today. Retrieved October 12, 2011.
  35. ^ "Real Steel". Retrieved October 11, 2011.
  36. ^ McClintock, Pamela (2011-10-09). "Box Office Report: Hugh Jackman Starrer 'Real Steel' Wins Weekend with $27.3 Mil". Retrieved October 11, 2011.
  37. ^ "Real Steel". Retrieved October 11, 2011.
  38. ^ "Sports - Boxing". Retrieved October 11, 2011.
  39. ^ "Sports Drama". Retrieved October 11, 2011.
  40. ^ Subers, Ray (2011-10-09). "Around-the-World Roundup: 'Real Steel,' 'Johnny English' in Close Fight". Retrieved October 11, 2011.
  41. ^ Fleming, Mike (April 14, 2011). "DreamWorks Revs Up 'Real Steel' Sequel". Deadline.com. Archived from the original on September 14, 2011. Retrieved September 14, 2011. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  42. ^ Otto, Jeff (September 25, 2011). "Shawn Levy Confirms He'll Direct 'Real Steel 2,' But Will Have To Wait For Busy Hugh Jackman". indieWire. Retrieved September 27, 2011. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
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