Steel (1997)

I actually liked this movie (as did my kids). Surprised by the vitriolic reviews. I found Steel to be a campy, playful movie. Nobody took themselves seriously and just had fun with it. The kids loved Shaq....found him a big, endearing sweet guy. I guess if you were expecting a pricey high tech, serious super hero movie, you'd be disappointed. This is a warm hearted superhero spoof. Lighten up and enjoy!

This movie is a thing of true beauty coming off the Oscar winning movie Where Shaq dresses like a genie this movie only gets better the acting is amazing the plot great and the writing shocking with many twists. Don't listen to any other review unless good because this is a modern masterpiece. The greatness of this movie is insane critics bashed it because they were jelly because they will never be as good as Shaquille omg if only this movie had 5 million sequels then I would be able to die happy. This movie was as good as Shaquille free throw ability and that shows how good it is. This movie is better then Kobes whole career and will make you choke on your drink from laughing like the gsw choked and lost a 3-1 lead it's just truly great roger ebert was probably smoking wacky tabacky when he said it was a bad movie

I was fortunate to view this on the terrestrial station Grit & have viewed this crappy Shaquille O'Neal film a few times to actually listen to the atrocious dialogue & learn the cookie-cutter plot, such as Steel's crusade to keep kids away from gangs, which looks similar to that from "The Meteor Man." I had to check the spoiler because those who did see the end oughta remember the "oh brother" moment when Annabeth Gish's wheelchair becoming a deus ex machine-a. Regarding the cast, O'Neal did better in "Blue Chips" even though he was naturally cast as a basketball player. Gish, I think at the time, was better well-known in her recurring role in "The X-Files" but she was also in the good but underrated film "Shag." Richard Roundtree, a.k.a. the baddest mother Shaft, I think is the gadgeteer or Q or something. & Judd Nelson, who was on "Suddenly Susan" that decade, plays the villain. Some factors that's worth recognizing & maybe even admiring are the fact that the Steel costume had to be custom-made for the 7'1" O'Neal & only he had to do his own stunts as there weren't any stunt-men around who were that tall. & I did like the train-yard scene; I admit that of the run-of-the-mill action scenes I see on many movies on TV (Why would I waste much money & time in a noisy cineplex to see these films?), moving those train cars around does take dedication & cooperation from the railroads pre-production. Now since I typed I'm a "Mystery Science Theater 3000" fan in the summary, know that I rank films that were on the show 1 (that damn bad & deserving to be in IMDb's Bottom Rated list) or 2 (merely boring, e.g. the Oscar- winning "Marooned" (or "Space Travelers" on the show)). & regarding all those films I see on TV I rank 'em 3 (bad) or 4 (boring). "Steel" gets 3 stars, but for B-movie fans like me, this is worth watching while doing other activities such as having your phone or electronic device on in your own home unlike a theater. In conclusion, "Steel" is as deplorable as a rusty vehicle (assuming some steel rusts or oxidizes; I never aced high school chemistry), but it's worth viewing a view times for a good MST3K riffs. Here's to RiffTrax or the returning "Mystery Science Theater 3000" getting permission from "Steel" to lampoon Shaquille's film.

John Henry Irons designs weapons for the military. When his project to create weapons that harmlessly neutralise soldiers is sabotaged, he leaves in disgust. When he sees gangs are using his weapons on the street, he uses his brains and his Uncle Joe's junkyard know-how to fight back, becoming a real man of steel........Just to think, in some, weird, alternate universe, Steel would have been a smash hit and incorporated into the Nicolas Cage movie Superman Reborn.......Now doesn't that make you want to revisit one of the most underrated Shaq movies ever made?I'm being a little sarcastic about revisiting it, he is truly awful in his role, he looks uncomfortable, lethargic when running, and he has all the grace of a constipated buffalo.But it's the rest of the film that needs to be seen to beggar it's belief......Nelson is wonderfully over the top as the villain spouting lines like 'Eat the hot-dog, don't be the hot-dog' and genuinely giving it his all around all the absurdity.Annabeth Gish spends the majority of the film in a wheelchair, until she modifies it at the end, to the musical lyrics of 'you gotta stand up'Roundtree may as well have been called uncle Shaft, and Irma P. Hall has so ewe it'd obsession about whispering and soufflé.Add a rubber costume, almost real time slow foot chases, and henchmen straight from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and you have this oddity.It's not terrible by any means, it's just too stupidly bonkers to be rubbish, but Shaq was a bad choice to play the titular character, but then again, he's not the greatest hero there was.1997, the year of DC......