Weekend Movie Reviews: Reel Steel, Man on a Ledge & Goon

Even in resigning he couldn't do it the right way....

On a day when most of my thoughts about politics are already out there (Romney sucking and getting his ass kicked in that debate, Mc-Liar being called out for his illegal and underhanded actions but immediately before and right after his resignation, Gary Bettman made to look like the fool that he is), I felt it was time to turn my attention to some movies that caught my attention recently both on DVD and on TMN.

I forewarn you that if you haven’t seen any of these, please stop reading now. Since these are all older flicks, it stands to reason that most of you have already seen these movies but I just wanted to warn you beforehand.

Let’s start with...

A surprise hit but it had all the elements of another boxing movie...

 

 

Starring Hugh Jackman, Evangeline Lilly and newcomer Dakota Goyo, the premise of the story is basically similar to Rocky. I even remember some of the TV trailers had reviewers calling it Robot Rocky, and they really were not far off on that assessment. Set about 10 years in the future, an outdated, underpowered robot (Atom) “trained” and controlled by a down on his luck loser (Charlie Kenton played by Jackman) and his estranged 11 year old son Max (Played by Goyo).  Max has particular attachment to the robot given the fact that Atom saved his life in the junkyard that he and Charlie had broken in to in order to steal parts for Charlie’s other robots.

The subplots are actually what give this movie much more character and heart then you would expect. Charlie is not a likable guy when we first meet him. He is solely driven by money and even uses his son to get $50,000 (up front) out of Marvin (Max’s mother’s sisters’ rich husband) so that he will “babysit” Max for the summer before signing away his parental rights to them (not before making it seem as if he was going to make Max a ward of the state of Texas). This after he finds out that Max’s mother had passed away from cancer and has a say in what happens to his young son. 

 This scene (not in the movie) gives you an idea of where 

the real heart of this movie lies...

Upon getting the cash, Charlie goes and spends it on a robot boxer that he hopes will replace his previously destroyed robot and his lost income. As well, he is now in debt to a former rival he had placed a wager against in the opening sequence of the movie, a character that we see again later on in the movie. There is also one other person he owes money to as we find him preparing to receive his new robot and his son at Tallets’ Gym, owned by Bailey Tallet (Played by Lilly). She plays the daughter of Charlie’s former trainer from back when he used to be a boxer himself. Clearly there is a history there between them, despite the age difference, and because of that history, she has been much more lenient on him with regards to what he owes her.

Max is clearly in a state of sadness and hurting from the death of his mother. He shares a love for robot boxing with his father which gives them something in common, along with Bailey who helps Charlie by being his robot techie. After having his newly purchased robot destroyed (mostly due to his arrogance and not knowing how to properly use it), Charlie is again broke and with no way to repay his debts. Frustrated, he and Max end up breaking into a junkyard in search of spare parts to try to fix one of the two destroyed robots Charlie owns. Max nearly dies when the edge of the cliff he was on (unknowingly) gives way. He is saved by a mysterious arm protruding from the earth. Charlie, finally displaying some fatherly love for his son, grabs him off the arm overlooking a treacherous cliff.

Max becomes convinced that the sparring ‘bot he unearthed worth much more and the two become inseparable. In an especially poignant moment, Max and Atom bond and it becomes clear that there is more to Atom then just a collection of gears and circuits. Right from his first fight, with Charlie clearly against it, Max and Atom start showing Charlie that there is more that they can be together. Atom seems to listen to Charlie’s instructions as Max uses his controls.

After surviving his first fight, Max begs Charlie to start training Atom in his style (after having incorporated systems from both of Charlie’s previous robots into Atom’s operating system). The training and subsequent victories seem to bring father and son together as Charlie starts to bond with his son. He even begins to repay his debt to Bailey (who had had a fight with Charlie before he and Max had left on his winning streak). His winning lands them a shot at a World Robot Boxing League fight.

 

Their relationship is also vital in making this futuristic movie realistic

After a shocking victory, Max grabs the mic and openly challenges the World Champ to a fight. Right after the fight, Charlie’s old gambling debt comes back to haunt him as he is attacked by 3 guys led by Ricky (the former boxing rival to whom he owed $20,000 from the beginning of the movie). Beaten and robbed, Charlie begins to realize that the way he has been living his life would place Max in danger in the process. Finally starting to feel like a father seemed to scare Charlie as his first instinct was to get Max away from him and back to his now legal guardian, his aunt Debra (played by Hope Davis).

 In one of the more touching scenes of the film, Charlie tries to explain to Max why it’s best to have him live with his aunt by saying,  “You deserve better then me…. It’s better this way”. Before he leaves with her Max tells Charlie that all he ever wanted was for him to fight for him.

Charlie drives all the way back to Texas from New York just to see Bailey and after an emotional exchange and a passionate kiss, he leaves but not before another touching exchange between Charlie and Bailey where she asks him “you drove 1200 miles for a kiss?” eliciting a response from Charlie of 2 words: “Worth it” as a tear falls down her cheek.

In another Rocky parallel, the Champ (Zeus) gives Atom (The “nobody from nowhere”) a shot at the title. Charlie ends up going and getting Max back from Debra (with her permission) to fight the “Ivan Drago” of Robot boxing. Rocky, er, I mean Atom is a massive under dog and early on in the fight, he is getting pounded. Then the movie seems to take from several Rocky movies.

We all remember Drago's reaction here....he, along with the whole world, was shocked

First, Atom comes up with a surprise upper cut while being pounded on which stuns the champ, just like in Rocky IV how Rocky shockingly does the same to Drago as we hear the announcer screaming out “He’s cut!!! He’s CUT!!  As you watch that scene (if you have seen Rocky IV) you will see the similarities. Then, in the final round, as Atom is again being pounded on, Zeus seems to run out of power, just like in Rocky III how Rocky made Clubber Lang punch himself tired by taunting him to try to knock him out before finally coming out strong and knocking Clubber out himself. Finally, just like the end of Rocky, Atom loses a fight that was much closer than it should have been, embarrassing his opponents camp in the process leaving things wide open for a sequel (which is in the works). 

 Looks like a cool scene but it's actually a flaw in the movie....

mirror mode should have meant Atom used his Left, not his right...Yes, I nitpick

For all the Rocky comparisons, its more than just an updated knockoff.  The subplots, while not explained in great detail, give the viewer enough of a back story that you start to care about the characters, a real problem in a lot of movies being made right now.

From all accounts, the sequel will go on a slightly different tangent as it will focus more on Atom’s creation and the Robot underworld. The 3 main characters will be returning so at the very least, unlike some sequels, it will have the same base to start from for part 2.

Regardless, Real Steel was a success at the theaters and a massive success in DVD sales because it resonated with both kids and adults. Out of 5 Stars, I would give it a 4. There were some inconsistencies in the final fight scene that need to be explained better and possibly in the 2^nd movie they will be.

Good cast, good story, well executed....HORRIBLE title

Starring Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks, Ed Harris and Edward Burns, I remember seeing the trailers for this movie and writing it off as just stupid. So, as it is now on rotation on TMN, I figured what the heck. I will see what it’s really about.  Well, it is about a whole hell of a lot more than just a potential suicidal jumper. Bad Cops, a funeral, a jail break, Stolen (or not stolen) Diamonds, a heist, a redemption story for 2 other cops and a distraction later you have a decent thriller that was doomed from the start because of a stupid movie studio giving this movie an idiotic and uninspired title. Jumper would have been a better title, or On the Edge or Over the Edge or even Living on the Edge. The title really took away the potential this movie had.

  A cop ends up behind bars for stealing a $40 million diamond, breaks out of prison at his father’s funeral and a month later is “suicidal” at a hotel on the ledge. Except that nothing is as it seems. Worthington’s character (Nick Cassidy) ends up having Dirty cops hunting him down, a corrupt “Donald Trump-like” figure played by Ed Harris he accuses of framing him and a broken police negotiator (played by Banks) intertwining and seemingly having their own agendas. Even his former partner, played by Anthony Mackie (who was also in Real Steel as Finn) are playing things in completely different ways then you would think.

 

Sam and Elizabeth had some good chemistry in this flick

Nothing is at it seems in this cop thriller (which, for some reason is listed on TMN’s guide as a horror movie…WTF?!?!) which has some decent performances from pretty much everyone involved. I really think, like so many other movies that have been coming out lately, Hollywood has lost the touch on how to market anything other than big budget movies. Even with some of those, they sometimes make mistakes (John Carter? Cowboys and Aliens?).  In this case, they just didn’t have a clue as it could have had a decent theater haul had it been marketed properly. Instead, it barely broke even. With a budget of $42 million and an overall take of $46 million, this movie should have made a lot more money than it did. It’s a good plot, good actors and a great setting. I would give this movie a 3.5 rating out of 5 Stars. This movie is yet another example of Hollywood not knowing what they had when they brought this movie to market.

A second example of this is the next and final movie I will review.

 A little more depth to this movie then you would have thought

This movie set off alarm bells all over the country as it came out just after Derek Boogard, Rick Rypien and Wade Belak were found dead in separate events last summer.  It is clearly a hockey movie but what most people don’t now is that it was loosely based on the life of a real life Minor League Hockey enforcer Doug Smith and his book, Goon: The True Story of an Unlikely Journey into Minor League Hockey.  For people who just saw the TV spots, they didn’t see what the real story was and that’s a shame. This movie is more than just about the hockey violence. If anything, the game action is used to show to what extent Glatt would go to protect his teammates.

Written by Jay Baruchel (who plays Doug’s foul mouthed best friend Pat), this movie is about a regular American guy named Doug Glatt (Played by Sean William Scott). He is a lovable dimwitted security guard/hockey fan with fists of steel, who gets into a fight at game and is asked to play on the local low level, semi-pro team. He can’t skate worth a lick but just through his presence alone he is able to help the team start to turn things around.

The coach works with him tirelessly to the point where he can at least somewhat stand out on the ice. As he improves, so does the team (with the new found pride they feel and security having someone watching their back).  The coach is so impressed with the confidence instilled by Glatt’s presence, he suggests to his brother that he give Doug a shot with his Pro team in Canada. So off goes Doug to go play in Halifax on a team in desperate need of some protection.

 Canadian Jay Baruchel wrote the script and Sean did

a good job in his portrayal of Doug Glatt

 Their best player, Xavier Laflamme (played by Marc-Andre Grondin) had been concussed by the most prominent enforcer in the league the year before (Ross Rhea played to the tee by Live Schreiber) and had never been the same since. Glatt is brought in essentially to play the “Dave Semenko” role to Laflamme’s Gretzky. Glatt finds time to fall for Eva (played by Allison Pill). Doug’s lack of skill is overshadowed by his kindness and heart as he is welcomed by all on the team except for Laflamme who resents him for almost everything he stands for. Liev Schrieber’s character is another central figure in the movie as he is close to retiring and the movie plays up the potential of “Boss” Rhea passing the baton (as it were) to Doug.

 

 Laflamme, on the right, slowly starts to see what a guy 

like Glatt can do for him and his career

The 2 men even have a heart to heart conversation after Doug is suspended which gives you an idea of the way hockey players actually have a sense of camaraderie even among players that are billed to be enemies. This movie really gives you a sense of why hockey players are different from other athletes. They are willing to sacrifice a whole hell of a lot more than any other athlete and regularly put their lives on the line to “play a game”.

 In the climatic fight sequence, Rhea and Glatt have at it and the 

baton is officially passed on to Doug

The movie itself only made about $6 million in theaters but like many small budget movies, the point of this movie wasn’t to make money but to tell a story about what it is like for minor league enforcers coming up through the system. The side stories of how his parents disapprove and his love interest being a total puck bunny are not really well explained but they are still enough that it gives us a slight amount of insight into just how playing this role can be both a help and a hindrance to the daily life of a professional enforcer.

Out of 5, I would give this movie a 3+. It’s not an Oscar-worthy picture by any stretch but it is worth a look see for both heart-felt and comedic scenes alike.

Even George Laraque, long time NHL Enforcer

had a cameo in the movie

Hope that I was able to help you pick out a decent movie to watch at home this weekend. Next up, I will review Argo in the coming days. Here’s a hint- Ben Affleck should win an Oscar for this one.

Until Next Time…