(Cruise)... is assisted by a fine supporting cast that includes, besides Pike, Jenkins and Herzog, David Owelolo, Jai Courtney and Cruise's old buddy, the great Robert Duvall who, at age 81, continues to amaze.

Gary Ross, who directed Seabiscuit, manages to get this nag out of the starting gate and across the finish line with no major blunders, but without much in the way of inspiration, either.

Sloppy and all over the place. Alex Cross is the abomination. Your normal action flick, turned into a droopy boring "comedy".

Sloppy and all over the place. Alex Cross is the abomination. Your normal action flick, turned into a droopy boring "comedy".

Weak humor and vanilla plotting have replaced legitimate drama, pathos, and character development.

Thanks to an admittedly corny script, some amazing fight scenes, and a terrific cast, "Real Steel's" actually a winner by split decision.

Thanks to an admittedly corny script, some amazing fight scenes, and a terrific cast, "Real Steel's" actually a winner by split decision.

This isn't the worst performance Eastwood has given in his 57-year career, but it's his least inspired in about a decade.

If anything, this series has gotten dumber and more inert as it has progressed, with this last one finally reaching over into an extended wallow in camp.

A genuinely funny and touching film that, in less than a decade, has established itself as a timeless classic.