Dir: Shawn Levy
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Dakota Goyo, Evangeline Lilly
Synopsis: In the future, human boxing has become obsolete. Now, giant robots beat each other to death in the ring, giving the baying crowd what they want: carnage. Ex-boxer Charlie finds himself caring for his son Max and together, they find and train an outmoded robot to rise through the ranks of the robot boxing scene.
Verdict: If one thing must be said for this film, it is this: robots beating the crap out of each other is just the side story to a father-son bonding film. Although having said that, the robots beating the crap out of each other is very fun to watch.
You start off by meeting Charlie (Jackman), the ex boxer turned robot trainer/operator who i found myself taking an instant dislike too. Jackman plays the obsessive, gambling, debt ridden Charlie exceedingly well and gradually reduces it as the relationship between him and his son Max (Goyo) grows stronger. There is much inevitability in this film, making it quite predictable as far as plot goes, from the used again and again dad-who-wasn't-there growing to love his son, to the Rocky-esque bout at the end of the film.
Goyo does a superb job of playing Max. He manages to pull off a character who, all at once, is the same as his father but completely different, and instantly likable. This liking is taken further as he grows closer to both his father, and Atom, their junkyard robot. It is nice to see that at the end of the film, he and Charlie's love interest Bailey (Lilly) aren't watching the robots in the ring, but Charlie as he controls Atom and going back to his boxing roots.
Atom, despite being both a CG and an animatronic model is a whole other character. It looks constantly hopeful due to a weld (or some other kind of marking) on his face which makes it look as though it's smiling, and as the characters grow to love it, so did I.
The use of the Avatar special effects team makes this film so much better in terms of special effects than things like Transformers. And the film seems to benefit from the choice to not shoot in 3D, as it helps the focus remain on the emotional story, rather than the giant hunks of metal punching each other into oblivion.
No comments:
Post a Comment