People seem to think Hugh Jackman deserves better than a boxing robot movie. But seriously, is his starring in Real Steel any worse than his appearances in Van Helsing, Swordfish or pretty much anything else he’s done since breaking out as Wolverine in the first X-Men movie? Sure, he’s an entertaining Oscar host, and he’s apparently very enjoyable on the stage. But try to name one movie he’s really good in that warrants him roles better than a robot boxer trainer in a silly sci-fi sports flick directed by Shawn Levy. And don’t say The Prestige, because that film wasn’t great for any doing of his.

Interestingly enough, Real Steel, which has a very ’80s-action-film-sounding title, is being produced by Steven Spielberg, who also oversees the Transformers movies. Are robots his new aliens? Okay, I guess Transformers are also aliens, and before that he’d already given us alien/robot crossovers like *batteries not included and (sort of) Artificial Intelligence: A.I. (because so many people think those robots at the end of the film are aliens). But in all likelihood, Real Steel will be released in summer 2011, which has just been announced as when we’ll also be getting Transformers 3.

Although I have no interest in seeing either of these movies, I can’t wait to see which of the dueling Spielberg-produced robot blockbusters wins the season’s box office. Maybe Spielberg can even ready Indiana Jones 5 by then, too, and include robots in it. After the ridiculousness of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, I wouldn’t be surprised by such an idea.

Check out what the other film blogs are saying about Jackman signing on to Real Steel after the jump:

• Lane Brown at Vulture thinks Jackman’s choosing his movie roles terribly:
  

  Who is advising this man’s career, Terry Gilliam? Also, will it be weird for Jackman to have to sing about three of his own films in his opening number at the 2011 Oscars?

• Elisabeth Rappe at Cinematical would like to see Jackman in something better:
  

  I would love to see Hugh Jackman in a boxing movie. It seems like he’s long past due for one given his physical prowess, and he’d be a good fit for a Cinderella Man sort of tale. Unfortunately, he’s decided to pursue the sport through robots and Shawn Levy, as Variety reports that he’s in line for Real Steel. [...] I really wish Jackman would take some time and pick another film like The Prestige or The Fountain, and steer clear of the goofy popcorn concepts.

• Rodney at The Movie Blog was hoping for a little more action for Jackman’s role:
  

  Hugh Jackman has had a lot of physical roles which he does really well. So when I heard he could be fighting robots in “Real Steel” I was instantly curious, but it appears he is in talks to star in a film about battle robots for sport. He wouldn’t be fighting them himself.

• Matt Goldberg at Collider doesn’t seem to mind the premise so much as the director Jackman’s supposedly slumming for:
  

  Why are talented actors working with Shawn Levy?  I guess Steve Carell and Tina Fey must love “Cheaper by the Dozen” so that’s why they would take their off-season time to make “Date Night”.  And now we discover it’s possible that Hugh Jackman sits down and watches “Night at the Museum” every night as it inspires him to greatness.  Well now Mr. Jackman gets to live the dream as he’s now in talks to star in Levy’s next movie, “Real Steel”.

• Scott Gwin at Cinema Blend believes Jackman will at least make the movie better:
  

  What do you get when you mix Rocky and Robot Jox? I’m not entirely sure, but it sounds an awful lot like what Dreamworks has planned for Real Steel. If it sounds hokey to you, you might take some solace (or despair…take your pick) in the fact that Hugh Jackman is in talks to star.

• Dave Davis at JoBlo.com thinks Jackman is simply a fan of metal:
  

  Hugh Jackman seems to be fond of alloys — four times being laced with adamantium metal, and now he’s ready for some REAL STEEL.

• Oly Lyttelton at The Playlist wonders if Jackman isn’t trying to make his other films look better:
  

  In an attempt to prevent “Van Helsing” and “Wolverine” from being the stupidest movies of his career, Hugh Jackman is in talks to star in Shawn Levy’s robot boxing movie “Real Steel.”

• Screenhead initially thought the casting was a bad idea and then changed their minds:
  

  The idea of putting Hugh Jackman in a role featuring enormous battling robots  is an idea that makes me question if my medication is sufficiently strong, but then I read about it in a few movie websites–including right here–and suddenly things start to make sense.

• S.T. VanAirsdale at Movieline sees this as a bridge between Best Picture bait and mindless blockbuster:
  

  The underdog battles toward a championship while Jackman’s character bonds with the 13-year-old son he never knew he had. Who knew that the sweet spot between Million Dollar Baby and Transformers could be so very, very sweet?

• David Oliver at CHUD.com attempts to imagine what Real Steel will be like:
  

  Upon hearing news about a project that Hugh Jackman is circling, regarding robotic boxing, one could describe it as Rocky meets Surrogates.  But considering how the latter movie just did, one might not.

• Vince Mancini at FilmDrunk has more comparisons to help us imagine the film:
  

  So basically, it’s like Rocky meets Wall-E meets Three Men and a Baby.  Why didn’t I think of that? “You don’t undastand, Chahley! I coulda been a contenda!  It coulda been somebody!  Until dem no good robots come and gimme a one-way ticket ta palookaville.”  (*jazz hands*)

• Mark at I Watch Stuff may have the best pitch yet (I’d see this version):
  

  Dreamworks is hoping to get the film shooting by May, and John Gatins and Levy currently are working on the third draft for the script in preparation. Keep at it, guys. With seven months until production, I know you’ll figure out a way to make it believable when, inexplicably, the robot refuses to fight and Jackman has to put on a robot disguise and win the match, earning the respect of his son and himself (and robotkind).