Real Steel - Blu-ray Review

4.7 Stars (out of 5)

Synopsis

In a future world where flesh-and-blood boxers have been replaced by towering mechanized fighters, pugilist-turned-promoter Charlie Kenton reconnects with his estranged son, Max, to convert a discarded machine into a World Robot Boxing contender. (Buy Now $24.99)

Listen to the review

Starring:

Hugh Jackman, Evangeline Lilly, Kevin Durand, Anthony Mackie, Hope Davis, Dakota Goyo, James Rebhorn, Karl Yune, Olga Fonda, Marco Ruggeri

Director:

Shawn Levy

Blu-ray Release Date:

January 24, 2012

Subtitles:

English SDH, French, Spanish

Rating

Overall rating weighted as follows:
Audio 40%, Video 40%, Special Features 20%, Movie - its just our opinion so take it with a grain of salt

Audio 4.9 Stars (out of 5)

Dolby and DTS Demo Discs used as basis for comparison

• Subwoofer – 5.0 Stars
• Dialog – 4.5 Stars
• Surround Effects – 5.0 Stars
• Dynamic Range – 5.0 Stars

English: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, French: DTS-HD HR 7.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1

If robots the size of cars fought in your living room, this is what it would sound like. Each hydraulic powered punch lands with crushing heavy thuds. The booming thumps of robot footsteps are reason enough to earn a 5 on subwoofer performance. This film is filled with tight deep rumbles, if your couch doesn’t move watching this consider getting new speakers. Rear channels also get into the action ranging from soft ambient sounds of rain, crickets, and thunder to louder effects like roaring crowds, ring announcers, and of course robot on robot action. Every once in a while a line or two is hard to hear during the fights, but that’s my only gripe in this otherwise great audio presentation.

Video 4.9 Stars (out of 5)

Spears & Munsil Benchmark Blu-ray Edition used as basis for comparison

• Color Accuracy  - 5.0 Stars
• Shadow detail – 4.5 Stars
• Clarity – 5.0 Stars
• Skin tones – 5.0 Stars
• Compression – 5.0 Stars

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC, Resolution: 1080p, Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1, Original Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1

This movie looks gorgeous on Blu-ray. Colors are vivid and warm and help show off the paint jobs of the brawling robots. There are even a few beautiful landscapes of golden wheat fields, mountain ranges, and green forests that visually show contrast between the robots and nature. The video has very little film grain and is clean and smooth. Beard stubble, chipped robot paint, bricks, pebbles in mud, and Evangeline Lilly’s freckles all look stunning due to this Blu-ray’s clarity. Dark colors look great but at times are a little too dark for the shadows, but show no signs of compression issues.

Bonus Features 4.0 Stars (out of 5)

• Real Steel Second Screen: Ringside with Director Shawn Levy.
• Countdown to the Fight -- The Charlie Kenton Story (1080p, 13:51): A short video with in-charater cast members discussing the story of Charlie, Max, and Atom leading up to the fight with Zeus.
• Making of Metal Valley (1080p, 14:14): In depth look at making a key scene in the film.
• Building the Bots (1080p, 5:38): A look at designing original robots.
• Sugar Ray Leonard: Cornerman's Champ (1080p, 6:19): Discusses some of the contributions Sugar Ray Leonard added to the film.
• Deleted & Extended Scenes (1080p, 17:49): One extended scene and an entire storyline that was deleted.
• Bloopers (1080p, 2:36).
• DVD Copy (includes audio commentary track).
• Digital Copy.

Movie – 4.0 Stars (out of 5)

Review

When I first saw previews for this film, I chucked thinking that it was just a glorified version of Rock’Em Sock’Em Robots. Boy was I wrong. I’ve seen it three times now, and I like it more every time. It’s a fun futuristic boxing movie that I can watch with my family. At its heart the film is about the touching relationship between a father and son. It also has a great message about seeing potential and value in discarded or forgotten things. The action scenes are exciting and somehow make you care about the robots in the ring. All the robot’s boxing movements in the ring are fluid due to motion capture and coaching from Sugar Ray Leonard himself. The actor’s performances are solid and charismatic. Hugh Jackman did a great job of transforming his character from a jerk into a caring father believable. Considering that this film almost received a perfect score on audio and video, this Blu-ray can be considered a great choice to show off any home theater system.