The Blu-Ray looks amazing, crystal clear and colorful. And, I’m aware of how dorky this is, but I was quite happy the loading time on the disc was very low. (I hope I’m not the only one to recognize the leaps and bounds Blu-Ray loading times have made. I remember the first Blu-Ray I bought took forever. And by forever, I mean about 10 seconds. But those are 10 seconds of looking at cat and girl photos on the Internet that I won’t get back!)

It’s not packed to the gills with features, but what it does have is pretty good. “Countdown to the Fight: The Charlie Kenton Story” is sort of a behind-the-music video of Hugh Jackman‘s character from the film. You only need to watch it if you’re an “extra features completist.” Otherwise, you can skip it.

“Making of Metal Valley” is a great feature where you see how they created a large sequence in the film. Director Shawn Levy does most of the talking and explaining as they show how they created Metal Valley, which had no real description in the script (isn’t that something of a screenwriting no-no? And is saying no-no a no-no?) Levy gives a lot of credit to his crew for helping create the film, which is nice to see since Hollywood is full of many egotistical directors (COUGH-Michael Bay-COUGH).

The rest of the features are a nice watch. Sugar Ray Leonard has a five minute segment detailing how he helped Hugh Jackman act like a real boxer. “Building Bots” is a cool behind-the-scenes look at how they created the practical and CGI robots. “Real Steel Second Screen” is a feature where you download an app to your computer or iPad, sync it to the film playing on your TV, and watch more extra features while the film plays. It’s a pretty cool feature and something I hope gets included on more Blu-Rays.

And finishing things out are your standard deleted and extended scnes, bloopers, and audio commentary by Levy, who is a fairly charming and interesting guy.

Overall, it’s a great Blu-Ray, It looks phenomenal, and has some fun features you can enjoy. Also, the film provides you with the fun game of “Who is Hotter: Hugh Jackman or Evangeline Lilly?” Man or woman, it’s a tough game.

Jackman plays Charlie Denton, an ex-boxer working the low level robot boxing circuit in the near future.  He’s a jerk. He owes everyone and their mother money, and when his fighter ‘Ambush’ gets demolished in a Texas rodeo, he’s hit rock bottom. This all changes, however, when he receives word his ex wife has died in a car crash, leaving his estranged son, Max (Dakota Goyo), in his custody. With an Aunt eagerly wanting to adopt Max, Denton weasels his way into selling the kid to her rich husband so he can buy the famed robot ‘Noisy Boy’ and continue competing in the circuit. The only problem is, he has to take care of Max for rest of the summer, something he’s not cut out for. But since the kids got an attitude, he forces Denton to take him along for the ride.

As they compete, Denton’s impulsive personality lands him into even more dirt when he gets Noisy Boy destroyed. With no other choice, he takes Max to the scrap yard for a new fighter, where the kid finds ‘Atom’, an old school sparring bot he believes will be their champion. Tension ensues as they both try to make Atom a winner and take him to the big leagues.

You can pretty much see where this is going, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing. Shawn Levy (Night at the Museum, Cheaper by the Dozen) hits us with great boxing matches, stunning shots on the American Heartlands, and most importantl, building a great dynamic between Jackman and Goyo from the start. Not to mention elevating Richard Matheson’s short story (which became a twilight zone episode with Lee Marvin) to a whole new level. There’s plenty in here for both kids and adults to enjoy.

Is Real Steal formulaic? Yes. Does a Limp Bizkit song play during one of the fights? Yes. Is Phil Lamar one of the commentators for the end battle? Maybe. But rest assured, Real Steel is a father-son story first, sports movie second. The only reason we remotely care about what we’re watching is because of the chemistry Jackman and Goyo share on screen, which is superb. Add in a great cast of supporting actors like Evangeline Lily, Anthony Mackie, and the always entertaining Kevin Durand, and you’ve got yourself a piece of good ‘ole Hollywood Cinema.

Cast: Hugh Jackman, Dakota Goyo

Synopsis: A boxing drama set in the near-future where 2,000-pound humanoid robots do battle.

Release Date: October 7, 2011

6 photosEvangeline Lilly

Boxing great Sugar Ray Leonard is the man behind the mo-cap this time, choreographing fight moves with actual boxers (imagine if he played Gollum). Normally I’d make a joke about the spandex and motion-ball outfits, but I value my jaw so I’ll let this one slide. Also featured are stars Hugh Jackman and Anthony Mackie, who do their best to act against nothing. I’m talking about the special effects, you guys. Not Evangeline Lilly.

A word from Evangeline: “I love being outside – that’s where I’m the happiest.”

The first one is for Real Steel, starring Hugh Jackman, and I think it looks pretty cool. The logo is kind of generic, but I like the sports-meets-robots concept. Plus robots are cool, just in general.

The second one is for Friends With Benefits, starring Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake as the titular “friends.” This one is a standard stars-making-kind-of-funny-faces poster, but likeable enough I guess. I take off 10 points for not having any robots though.

Robot Nutshots Galore In ‘Real Steel’ Teaser Trailer

It’s coming out in October, and is directed by Shawn Levy. Were I you, I’d start brushing up on my Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots in preparation for the release date. You don’t want to be embarrassed out there, man.

The knee-jerk reaction to this news is to assume thatReal Steel is REAL-ly good (see what I did there?), but there is a second, more cynical, option: that this is all just publicity for the first Real Steel movie, designed to make people think the movie is actually better than it is. I have no idea if this is plausible, but I do remember reading about the fantastic test-screenings that The Green Hornet had, and that ended up being merely a sort-of-good movie. And besides, when have good test-screenings been a guarantee of success at the box office? But what do I know, I’m a grown man and I’ve never even seen a battling robot before. (Deadline)

Real Steel smashes into theaters Oct. 7, 2011.

Filming began yesterday on Hugh Jackman‘s robo-pugilism adventure Real Steel and we have the first set photos courtesy of USA Today. In the film, Jackman plays a washed up boxer who, along with his son, promotes and coaches a robotic fighter to win a boxing championship. We get a good glimpse at the robot, Noisy Boy, in the first pic and note that this is not a CG character. That’s an honest-to-goodness robot pictured with Jackman. Sure, there is always the danger that it might go haywire and attack the crew, but it’s still far safer than working with “Rampage” Jackson. Once his cold eyes are upon you, you’re already dry-humped. You just don’t know it yet.

CHECK OUT THE PHOTOS AFTER THE JUMP…

_{Dakota is sacrificed to Hollywood.}

Dreamworks has been searching for some bright-eyed, innocent young person to fill the role of Hugh Jackman’s son in Real Steel, and rascal Dakota Goyo emerged “victorious.” He’s not to be confused with Dakota Fanning, the states of North and South Dakota, or the Dakota Reach-Around, this thing that Wookie does. From THR:

DreamWorks, making its first movie under its deal with Disney, issued a public casting call in early February. It also conducted open auditions in Chicago and New York, looking for someone to play a “street-smart, tough, charming kid with a hard, untrusting outer shell which hides a warm enthusiastic spirit beneath.”

And they had to go to Canada to find him. What, there aren’t enough punkass little sh*ts in America to fit your desired Jackman spawn? Gimme five days and I’ll give any kid you pick an untrusting outer shell. …The warm, enthusiastic spirit underneath I cannot guarantee.