By Nicholas Proch

Transformers meets Ali meets Toy Story. Robots, boxing and a tribute to Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots. That’s what Real Steel could have been, but it was not. For that reason alone, this may be worth the price of admission.

Any time that a director can take such a ridiculous idea, such as fighting robots in the year 2020, and make it believable, it’s worth seeing. It’s a testament to both the directing and acting that this film wasn’t completely cheesy.

At times it may have been, but only in a good way. For the most part, it was believable. Set in a time where human boxing has been thrown to the wayside in lieu of robot boxing, where they can rip each other into pieces, it feels real.

This may be because Dreamworks took the time to hire the right cast. It may be because the idea was so original that it couldn’t be corny. Or it may be because of the fact that there was an overwhelming amount of money poured into this film that we’re all distracted by the seamless integration of real action and CGI. It may have been all of those things.

Hugh Jackman (The Prestige, X-Men) and Dakota Goyo (Thor) have the audience in their grasp for the majority of the 127 minutes that you are parked in your seat watching them. It’s not common for a 12-year old to have acting skills like this. At times he dominates Jackman, but only when he really needs to. The rest of the time Jackman is experimenting with his newly found heart that he hasn’t shown in many of his previous attempts.

Directed by Shawn Levy (Night At The Museum, Date Night), he’s starting to flex his box office muscles, and this should be no different. Levy shows that he can portray what his characters are thinking better than most. He hangs on facial expressions and slows dialogue in an uncommon way. This enhances the viewing experience.

There are some drawbacks to having great performances by your leads. The supporting cast doesn’t quite live up to what Jackman and Goyo are doing on screen. They seem fake and unimportant, which is the opposite of the co-stars.

Jackman plays Charlie Kenton. He’s a former professional boxer who has fallen on hard times and can only make a living by fighting his robots underground against other machines. You can picture this as an underground cock-fighting ring, but take away the roosters and drug use and add one-ton robots and whatever it is they take in 2020.

Dakota plays Kenton’s son, who he left at birth. Through a series of circumstances, which become a source of conflict and tension throughout the film, they are stuck together for a summer. During this time you can see their relationship grow and build. It’s more than just a boxing movie, but a reflection of tough times and fatherhood.

If you don’t go into this film with high expectations, you won’t be disappointed. As soon as you start to criticize every action that is done on the screen you will lose interest. If you can take this film for what it is worth and respect the fact that this team of producers has made something unique, you will walk away satisfied.