You know how many people complain that Hollywood is running out of original ideas? From my point of view, that’s not really the case. However, I must admit, there are times where I partake in that complaint. For instance, when I hear news about a movie in development that’s about a board game. Battleship, anyone? Okay, so that movie apparently had nothing to do with the game itself, but come on. Just hearing the name alone makes us think of the board game. That movie didn’t do so well, but then again, we weren’t really expecting it to be good. Oh, and how about a movie about emojis? Yipes, good luck trying to sit through the whole thing. When movies like that come around, it does make us think that Hollywood is running out of ideas. But hold on, it gets even better.
As of now, there is a Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots movie in the works. Guess who will be playing the lead? Everyone’s favorite bald action star (not Bruce Willis), Vin Diesel. Okay, I really couldn’t believe it when I first heard the news. I mean, I did believe it, but I just thought to myself, “why?”. Isn’t there many other things Hollywood can adapt, including great novels, comic books, and video games? Granted, we know that can go sideways, but a movie based off of another board game? On top of that, just think about what Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots is about.
You have a small ring with two robots in the center, one blue and one red. One is Blue Bomber and the other is Red Rocker. Their objective: to knock the other one’s head off. Whoever does it first, wins the fight. Then once one of their heads goes up, you have to reset and do it all over again. It’s actually pretty fun, but there’s not a lot of finesse or strategy behind it. You just have a buddy take control over one robot and you take control over the other and sock away at each other.
So with that in mind, I just have to ask, how can you possibly take that and turn it into a movie? The best route is to have two CGI robots duke it out in a ring, and probably have some humans controlling them in their corners. Sounds like a cool idea, except it’s been done already. In 2011, we got the best representation of a Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots movie with Hugh Jackman. For the record, I actually really enjoyed it. It was basically Rocky with robots, but everyone loves Rocky, right? Add in some big robots into the ring and you got yourself a run ride. There was a lot of heart, great action, and a believable setting. Reel Steel was basically the closest thing to a Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots movie we’ll ever be getting, but apparently, someone at Hollywood thinks otherwise.
Heck, why not just a straight up adaptation of the game? Well, according to the reports, there is more to the plot than just robots fighting. Joining Vin Diesel on the film is screenwriter Ryan Engle, the writer behind Rampage and The Commuter. Also, according to reports, the short synopsis of the movie involves a father forming an unlikely bond with his son to get a fighting robot into the ring. Sounds to me like Ryan Engle will almost be rewriting the plot to Reel Steel. So Vin Diesel will be playing an absent father (hence the unlikely bond) who develops a relationship with his estranged son by teaching a robot how to fight. Yeah, that sounds a lot like Reel Steel to me.
Okay, is Vin Diesel being told to do this? Then again, he’s a big geek who loves geek things like Dungeons and Dragons, so maybe he’s excited about doing this movie. So maybe this movie can turn out to be great and I hope it does. The game is fun and I like the idea of robots boxing, but to be honest, if we’re really getting this movie, then why not just give us Reel Steel 2?
I remember there was a time when a sequel to Reel Steel was supposed to come. However, that sadly never happened. I don’t remember the specifics as to why, but somewhere along the way, Reel Steel 2 was canceled. The thing is, I still think it can happen. I mean, if Hollywood can greenlight a Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots movie, then why not give us the best representation of that? Reel Steel clearly worked and won over many fans. On top of that, it was just incredibly entertaining with big robots boxing. Heck, why didn’t they just call it Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots? It’s probably because Reel Steel is a more modern, mature title. It was a fitting title, but what really sold it was the human element.
From the sound of these reports, this Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots movie could be using the same exact premise. Now it is a good idea. We’ve seen it before in other movies, but adding it to Reel Steel added some humanity to a movie about robots fighting. For a movie that wasn’t really meant to focus on the humans, it sure did give them a story worth telling. Godzilla vs. Kong, take some notes for the future.
Personally, I think Hugh Jackman’s character still has more to his story. He was a good character and came a long way to rebuilding his relationship with his son. After some time has clearly passed, a sequel where his son is older could be interesting. Maybe his son moved on from the whole robot boxing schtick, but Hugh Jackman’s Charlie was already past his prime. Showing him as an older man, but still needed to train more robots could be interesting. Heck, it’s basically the story of older Rocky, but with robots. That’s really what Reel Steel was and I thought it was cool.
I truly think Reel Steel can be expanded on, not to mention being able to see Hugh Jackman back in action. I think that would be way more interesting to see than Vin Diesel basically doing the same thing in Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots. But, it looks like this movie is happening and I really hope it’s good. That doesn’t mean I haven’t given up hope on Reel Steel 2.
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