Real Steel is about a boxer who builds a robot that competes in underground robot fights. That's expected enough, but the weird part is it's ... supposed to be compelling, too? Or devastating? A harsh examination of the human condition? Something. The new Hugh Jackman film wants to be more than a derby of futuristic cyborg carnage; it wants to be a character drama, which is why I've taken to calling it To Kill a Mockingborg and Sophie's Droid. Sound ridiculous? Wait until you see the three LOLiest moments from the new Japanese trailer.
3. Evangeline Lilly's surprised, but dismissive reaction to the robot: "I've never seen anything like it before." Is she referring to the giant, glow-eyed terminator in the den? Because it is kind of weird. Now, back to cooking.
2. This exchange happens; Son: "What are we looking for?" Hugh: "Anything I can use to put a fighting robot together!" Oh! Will this tennis racket do? Sounds like sardonic non-sequiturs between characters in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. "What are we doing?" "Oh, it's a familiar dance, monkey nipples!" But that's the joy of Real Steel: It's real.
1. And of course, the moment when it's revealed that the robot possesses my single favorite borg feature: feelings. "Can you understand me?" asks the precocious kindergartener, adding, "Your secret's safe with me." What is the robot's secret?!? My vote is for bulimia.
Also, I'm laughing so hard that I'm weeping in front of teen baristas at a Glendale Starbucks. Glad we had this time together.
[via Rope of Silicon]