We have been writing about Shawn Levy's Real Steel for around two months now, and I still can't help but giggle each time I read something about it (it's a manly giggle, but still). The film reads like a simple boxing story, but it is as though an executive was listening to the pitch and then asked, "can all of the characters be robots?" and the writer replied, "why the hell not?" Not scared of being typecast as the guy with the human exterior and metal interior, Hugh Jackman has been circling the project for a while, and it now appears that the casting is established.

Variety is reporting that Jackman is now officially attached to the project in which he plays a former boxer-turned promoter who discovers a discarded robot who he tries to turn into a champion At the same time, he also learns that he has an 11-year old son who he is tries to reconnect with.

The film is based on a short story by Richard Matheson, but, as far as I can tell, still has a lot of holes, mostly having to do with improving a discarded robot's fighting ability. In the Variety article, it mentions that the "discarded" robot always seems to win, but that simply begs the question as to why he was discarded in the first place (is Bender not the only robot with a drinking problem?) As for training, how far is skill going to take our metal friend before he is put into the ring with a Mack truck? From a completely superficial view of the film, I would guess that it is more about money and parts that make a robot a successful boxer, and considering Jackman's character is broke, I expect the film to last a grand total of fifteen minutes until our scrappy young fighter is taken down by this.