Real Steel

Pix and storylines from 'Real Steel' are rolling out. Movie stars Hugh Jackman, Evangeline Lilly, and Dakota Goyo, is directed by Shawn Levy (Date Night, Night at the Museum), written by Leslie Bohem and John Gatins.

Story concerns a washed-up boxer, Charlie Kenton (Jackman), whose career fizzles when fighting robots take over the ring and nobody wants to see (human) people box anymore. Kenton gets a chance at a comeback, both as a fighter and a father, by building a fighting robot with his son Max (Goyo).

This first still looks very Photo-shopped, and the CGI has a thick, unfinished quality. Some parts are too glossy, while other elements are too pastel. The action isn't very organic. It lacks something. Jackman's finger pointing would be more appropriate if he was portraying a commander in the field pointing to a distant spot where he wants something (like artillery, or a mobile hospital) set up. It's as if the ring is huge, maybe 100 feet corner to corner. The gesture doesn't have the intimacy usually found in boxing movies.

This looks more like a mock-up than a finished product.

Hope coming materials have more heart. Current release date November 18, 2011.