Steel

Plot synopsis:
John Henry Irons (Shaquille O'Neal) is a weapons designer who invents high-tech laser guns and protective armor for the United States military. One soldier, Nathaniel Burke (Judd Nelson), decides to show just what Irons' weapons can do and sets one of Irons' laser guns at the highest power setting, firing the device at an abandoned building. However, the weapon backfires and destroys the building the team is situated in. Irons' partner, Susan "Sparky" Sparks (Annabeth Gish), is crushed by a large slab of concrete in the ensuing chaos. In court, Irons reveals Burke's role in the incident and Burke is dismissed from the military. Because his weapons resulted in Sparks becoming a paraplegic, Irons resigns in disgust. Meanwhile, Burke hatches a plot to sell Irons' weapons to criminal gangs, recruiting a video arcade manager to help him carry out this deed.Irons witnesses a bank robbery organized by gang members wielding Burke's modified guns; they escape before he can interrogate them on where they obtained the weapons. The gang does not tell Irons anything when confronted directly in their hideout. Irons visits Sparks in a veteran's hospital and takes her to his own assembled laboratory, where he hopes he and Sparks can create weapons needed to combat the criminals. With the help of Uncle Joe (Richard Roundtree), they forge a suit of armor and the weaponry necessary for Irons to carry out his war on crime and become the vigilante "Steel". However, during his crusade against crime, Irons is pursued by the cops and is forced to return to his lair. The next night, the robbers arrange to rob another bank. Irons, as Steel, tries to stop them, but is hindered by the robbers' weapons. When Irons returns to his grandmother's (Irma P. Hall) house, he is arrested.Meanwhile, Burke prepares to auction off all his modified weapons to every criminal organization in the world over the Internet. When Irons is released from jail, Sparky is captured by Burke's thugs. Irons, as Steel, attempts to infiltrate Burke's headquarters, but is captured himself in the process. When Burke continues with the auction, he is tricked by Steel, which allows him and Sparks to rebel and destroy Burke's lair. Burke himself is killed when a laser he fires towards Steel reflects back towards him due to Steel's suit.

Tags: violence, blaxploitation

Review:
of 7'1 basketball player Shaquille O'Neal.Commendably, the film does actually have three clear acts, and Steel's emergence, though underplayed, doesn't happen for over forty minutes.
"I did the metalwork," he explains, "I especially like the shaft." Cue lots of double-takes and knowing glances, with Roundtree looking round, hands in the air, proclaiming "what?"The special effects are reasonable for tv movie land, but, as this is (pinch me, I must be imagining it) a real cinema movie, they're quite cheap.
Garbage superhero movie based on the Superman spin-off character, Steel.
It's basically like a B-movie, unintentionally hysterical version of Superman (which makes sense, since apparently Steel is based on a DC comic series which was an offshoot of the Superman Funeral for a friend storyline) , except Steel's only discernible superpowers are: being tall, having a metal suit that makes him walk slowly, and uttering unfunny catch phrases that are so bad you have to bust out laughing.
The effects are not-so-special, and are in fact quite terrible, which is ironic because so is the plot, the acting, and generally everything else in this so-called movie (read : vehicle to make some money off Shaq's name).
Sure, the acting is bad, the special effects are amaturish, the direction incompetent, the story sadly changed from the comic book, and the screenwriting lame, lame, lame, but the casting is interesting in a drug induced sort of way.
Moving around in a suit made of steel sounds impossible.Fortunately, the 7-foot tall vigilante in this action movie has the strength to manipulate his metal pants.When a weapon he designed for the army causes an accident that cripples his friend, Sparky (Annabeth Gish), John Henry Irons (Shaquille O'Neal) retires.With Irons gone, a duplicitous army officer, Nathaniel Burke (Judd Nelson), begins selling Irons' lethal inventions to the criminal underworld.When Irons' gets wind of this, he recruits a now wheelchair bound Sparky and Uncle Joe (Richard Roundtree), to help him wage war against Burke and his cronies in an impenetrable armoured suit.Based on the DC Comics character inspired by Superman, Steel's armour has many chinks: namely Shaq's acting abilities and its insufferable script.
O'Neal is John Henry Irons, a military weapons specialist who's just been discharged and returns home to enjoy civilian life with his family until one of his corrupt ex-compatriots (Nelson) uses his military training to deal high-tech weaponry on the streets.
He's aided by wheelchair-bound hottie Annabeth Gish and an aged Richard Roundtree as his off-the-wall Uncle Joe.Our hero's climactic showdown with the one-dimensionally evil Nelson is incredibly cheesy, as are many scenes, but the film has its heart so firmly in the right place you'll be more than a little lenient.
As usual, what Shaq lacks in talent he makes up for in charm and a deep likability that seeps right through the screen.STEEL is an uncomplicated film that seems custom-made for little boys, who will absolutely adore it.
The story revolves around John Henry Irons, played of course by Shaq, an army Lieutenant who worked on the creation of high tech sonic weapons along with Susan Sparks, played by Annabeth Gish, and Nathaniel Burk played by Judd Nelson.
Irons with the help of Susan referred to as Sparky and Iron's Uncle Joe played by Richard Roundtree build their own crime fighting weapons as well as a head to toe...well except for his face...outfit of steel.
The acting does get rather bad, it feels like a grade school play, and the jokes get far too reality based as so many people have pointed out.
They made reference to the man of steel so many times that it would not have taken much to create Iron's character following the death of Superman.
The story moves along at a good pace, and I thought Judd Nelson played a kick butt bad guy...although he played it almost sarcastically, it fit the movie really.
The father figure killed by the bad guys, the tech whiz buddy that makes all of Steel's gear, the big bad evil high tech corporation, the sidekick in the wheelchair with the touching scene in which Shaq denies help her back up after she falls out onto the floor, and enough horribly brain dead one liners to choke several giraffes..
Action: terrible, Script: horrible, Acting: pathetic, Effects: amazingly lame, Unintended Comedy Value: medium-highThis movie will be with me in my misery for a long time to come..
There was "The Last Son of Krypton" (actually a computer program who believed he was Superman and took an extreme approach to fighting evil), the Cyborg Superman (actually a villian who took advantage of the opportunity), the Young or Teen Superman (a clone given a semblance of Superman's powers, now known as Superboy in the coming soon TEEN TITANS comic), and an armored man called "The Man of Steel."The Man of Steel was John Henry Irons, an inventor who was recruited by a weapons manufacturer to design for him.
After Superman's return, John modifies his armor and shortens his code-name to Steel.Now, I can understand why the legal matters won't let them use Superman in this movie, but what is this with a motorcycle, no cape, no flight.
It's bad nobody told him to not to touch the equipment.With TV movie production values (Kenneth Johnson just is not meant to work on the big screen), a ridiculous premise (yeah sure, Shaq designed these highly advanced weapon systems), and a cast that found themselves literally overshadowed by the star of the film (you have to feel sorry for Richard "Shaft" Roundtree) it's amazing the movie ever saw the light of day.
Downright asinine attempt at making Shaq a bankable movie actor with this awful film about a former Army scientist who battles evil in a steel suit.
Shaq, as the movie poster refers to him as, plays John Henry Irons, a weapons designer for the military.
My ramblings aside, Irons picks himself back up, grabs an old army buddy and Shaft (not kidding), makes himself the absolute worst looking superhero attire ever (it makes the Bat Nipples look like the Mona Lisa), dons himself Steel, and comes back to save the day, equipped with a huge sledgehammer (Triple H's inspiration), magnetic shield, and advice (once again, not kidding).
This movie does have some classic one liners like "Y'all stay cool now." a line Shaq delivers to a couple of old people he returns a stolen purse to, and my personal favorite, "Well, dip me in sh__t and roll me in breadcrumbs!".
First, let me say, I am a huge fan of the original "Steel" comic book series, and was really looking forward to this movie coming out.
The origin of "Steel" centers around on Superman saving his life, and John Henry Irons' whole existence is based on paying tribute to his hero.
To take those (and other) characteristics away make this just another generic superhero.Shaq's wooden acting aside, "Steel" failed to capture even a hint of the brilliance and nobility of the "Superman" spin-off comic.
first of all I would like to say that Im a huge fan of the comic book.John henry irons is the man of steel.
The story is ludicrous and often makes no sense...that is, when there is an actual story to follow, and the dialogue is so bad, that they have to resort to stealing lines from other, far better, action movies!!
Burke's "wisdom" to his gang member is absolutely laughable, and especially don't miss Shaq's awful "cool, just like you" at the beginning.Steel did some things right; some parts they tried to make funny were genuinely funny, and the plot was pretty interesting.
I thought we had hit rock bottom with Batman & Robin in '97 regarding comic-book movie adaptions, but then I discovered this amazing production that takes it even further, oh boy..The story starts with our main action hero John Henry Irons (played by professional basketball player Shaquille O'Neal) who is in the army creating and testing new super-weapons.
The special effects look awful, those super-weapon look like cheap firework and the Steel suit is comparable to what you could wear to a larp event.
Steel is an awful movie but it's so bad that you should watch it for the laughs.
Since I'm not daring brave the over-crowded theaters for fear of being over-run by Avengers fan-boys (and fan-girls), I decided to pop in my 14-year-old VHS copy of "Steel" and relive 1997 like it was just 15 years ago (which, in fact, it was)."Steel" is the live-action adaptation of the second-tier DC Comics character co-created by Louise Simonson and Jon Bogdanove, with NBA star Shaquille O'Neal playing the titular steel-armored, non-super-powered superhero whose real name is John Henry Irons in his civilian identity.I'm not really a fan of the movie anymore (most readers will remember that I'm largely a Marvel Comics reader), but I find the history of the original comic book character to be quite fascinating: as yet another proud, positive black-American superhero in comics, John Henry Irons is a brilliant former weapons designer for a private arms-manufacturing company whose life is saved, both literally and metaphorically, by the mighty Man of Steel himself, Superman.
Ironically, a later incident with the powerful super-villain Doomsday costs Superman his life, and Irons's life is changed forever when he decides to don a powered suit of armor of his own making - much like Marvel Comics' Tony Stark/Iron Man - and fight crime himself as Steel (with Superman's logo blazoned mightily on his chest as a reminder of his inspiration) and wielding a powerful sledgehammer, too.The 1997 live-action adaptation removes any mention of Superman (or his apparent death), except for a tattoo O'Neal has on his arm, and goes forward with its own origin story.
This time out, Irons is a weapons designer for the U.S. Army and when an ambitious rival, Nathaniel Burke (Judd Nelson), is involved in an accident that kills a U.S. senator and leaves his best friend Susan "Sparky" Sparks (Annabeth Gish) a paraplegic, Irons resigns from the military in disgust.Irons (whose name is reportedly inspired by the legendary black-American folk hero John Henry) returns to his home in Los Angeles, only to discover that street gangs are out committing brazen bank robberies using the exact same, albeit heavily modified, weapons he designed.
As he dives deeper into his investigation, he discovers that his old rival Nathaniel Burke (who has since recruited young neighborhood street kids to do his bidding) is behind the robberies and the deadly new weapons out on the street."Steel" is pretty cheesy and campy, and I don't mean that in a good way.Unlike most people, I don't think Shaquille O'Neal is that lousy an actor.
At least here, I think he seems perfect for the part of John Henry Irons/Steel; it's just a shame that the rest of the movie, as written and directed by Kenneth Johnson ("V"), is just not very good.
Judd Nelson relishes his role as a stereotypical villain, but it's really Annabeth Gish as the physically handicapped yet resilient gadgeteer Susan Sparks who really seems to shine the most in what could have been a very limiting part.I sense that a remake/reboot is, or soon probably will be, in the works sometime in the near future, and that is one "Steel" I just "may" (italicized) fork over $7.50 at my local movie theater to see.
I enjoyed the antagonistic Nathaniel and the impress Henry family.Yes, the music is not the best, but it's not awful.The Bottom Line: An enjoyable action movie experience!
Certainly NOT a ringing endorsement!When the film begins, John Henry Irons (Shaquille O'Neal) is in the army and there is a test of a new super-weapon.
So, it's up to John to create his own super tools--with not only a high powered neutralizing gun but a steel suit to protect him from Nathaniel's evil weapons.So is it terrible?
With the exception of Blade and the Punisher,this movie is added to the list of bad movies about good comic book characters.
I dunno why do so many people knock this one down immensely it's no where as bad as so many people have said(& no I'm not a fan of b-movies or shaq.) This film has plenty of good humor & amazing design.
OK so Judd nelson(jack of suddenly susan & hot rod(believe or not) of transformers the movie) did play his part well but he's not exactly the idea of an terrorist villian (so many people expected the villian to be a supervillian but the film ended up as having a terrorist as the villian) & sure the story had a major difference to the comic, but just because movies place in more than just a li'l bit of artistic license doesn't always make a movie bad (which I can say for the movies of SMB & street fighter) so there my 2 cents for right now..
There is no Superman, no Doomsday, almost nothing from the DC universe in the film, except the character itself.This is not a bad thing especially since the Steel comic could have been created with out having come from Superman.
The plot line of where and how Steel comes to be is a close approximation of what a Superman-less origin might have been.I don't think its a movie that wants to be any more than it is which is a fun little romp in a super hero sort of way.
I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys action movies not just fans of Steel from the comic books.
By the way, Shaq is a NYPD POLICE DETECTIVE IN REAL LIFE, which probably added to his nuances in his performance as the modern day knight in shining armor John Henry Irons, (THE FIRST IRON MAN?) STEEL!
The movie is pretty bad if we go by film standards and conventions but you can enjoy it as a light, not-to-be-taken-too-seriously kinda movie.Steel doesn't have any relation to Superman in this movie, except for the S-sign tattoo that Shaq has on his arm (which leads me to believe it was one of the reasons for him to be cast as Steel)Steel is your typical run-of-the-mill superhero movie.
Sure Shaq is a bad actor but this movie he was actually trying, unlike Kazaam!.
While Steel he actually tried his best, even if you hate this movie you have to admit the music is really good.
He's got no range, no gravitas, and he's so odd looking in the context of a 'normal' film world that he is actually rather repellent.I know, I know - Shaq is a celebrity, and celebrity sells.Some of the problem is that the director and screenwriter paid millions of dollars to cast a 7 foot 2 inch man in the role of an armored, high tech superhero, and then they threw the premise away on story elements and fight scenes that utterly waste the idea's potential.The DC superhero "Steel" was incredibly powerful, and resourceful: he could fly via boot jets, he fired big steel spikes from wrist launchers, he could pick up and throw railroad box cars, his armor could withstand mortar bursts and artillery fire, and his 'homing' hammer was the neatest visual gimmick since Captain America's shield.And he had a deeply resonant spiritual side as well - he was a man who was brought back from death itself by Superman and destiny, who took up his armor to fight the good fight in a world that needed heroes more than ever.Instead of all this great potential appearing on the screen, we get a big doofus with a bulletproof suit who runs around on foot and uses his hammer like a gun.If I wanted to really frustrate myself, I would imagine the black actor who played the Commander of Deep Space Nine (Avery Brooks) being cast in the role of Steel, and the millions of dollars that went into Shaq's salary being spend on cool SFX and CGI, so that Steel could fight sprawling high tech battles with the bad guys from under the sea to the edge of space, with building, bridges and tanks being flattened like tin foil and and attack helicopters getting knocked out of the sky by the hammer.
Well watch this movie and you will find out.What makes shaq think he can act?
Steel is a superhero movie starring Shaq as the hero.
"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.
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.
Overall, it's an average superhero film plot.The original story of Steel was based on the comic book Death of Superman.
Given the way others cashed on the Death of Superman, the film could have been far worse.The reason why its one of my favorite movies is Steels realistic, cheap and simple armor.
Shaq Can't Act. Shaquille O'Neal was a better basketball star than he was an actor.
Nevertheless, "Steel" isn't a bad movie.