Steel (1997)

John Henry Irons designs weapons for the military. When his project to create weapons that harmlessly neutralize soldiers is sabotaged, he leaves in disgust. When he sees gangs are using ... See full summary »

Director:

Kenneth Johnson

Writers:

Louise Simonson (comic book series), Jon Bogdanove (comic book series),

Stars:

Shaquille O'Neal, Annabeth Gish, Judd Nelson

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Shaquille O'Neal	...	John Henry Irons / Steel
Annabeth Gish	...	Susan Sparks
Judd Nelson	...	Nathaniel Burke
Richard Roundtree	...	Uncle Joe
Irma P. Hall	...	Grandma Odessa
Ray J	...	Martin (as Ray J.)
Harvey Silver	...	Lamont
Charles Napier	...	Col. David
Kerrie Keane	...	Sen. Nolan
Eric Pierpoint	...	Major
Tembi Locke	...	Norma
Thom Barry	...	Sgt. Marcus
Gary Graham	...	Detective
Eric Saiet	...	Young Cop
Hill Harper	...	Slats

Storyline

John Henry Irons designs weapons for the military. When his project to create weapons that harmlessly neutralize 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."

---

Plot Keywords:

gang | soldier | junkyard | fight | military | 

---

Taglines:

Man. Metal. Hero.

---

Genres:

Action | Crime | Sci-Fi

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some superhero action violence

Details

Official Sites:

Hotmovienews.com Warner Bros.

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 August 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Shaq Steel

Filming Locations:

Downtown Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$16,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$870,068 (USA) (15 August 1997)

Gross:

$1,686,429 (USA) (5 September 1997)

Company Credits

Production Co:

DC Entertainment, Quincy Jones-David Salzman Entertainment, Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Steel is a DC Comics character. In the comic book, he was directly inspired by Superman when the Man of Steel saved his life (both literal and metaphorically). Since then, John Henry Irons sports Superman's shield as a homage to KalEl. At the movie, the existence or not of Superman is not touched, but John is related to the last son of Krypton via his tattoo.

---

Goofs

Steel's armor is supposed to be made from steel which he's forged himself. Despite this the armor and helmet flexes as if made from painted rubber throughout the movie.

---

Quotes

Uncle Joe: Well, dip me in shit and roll me in breadcrumbs.

---

Connections

Referenced in Doctor Dolittle (1998)

---

Soundtracks

"More Trife Life"
Written by Prodigy (as Albert Johnson) and Havoc (as Kejuan Muchita)
Performed by Mobb Deep

User Reviews

One of the worst movies I've ever seen, and I've seen quite a few.

James Berardinelli gave this 2/4 stars - more than he gave "Trees Lounge." I find that hard to believe. This is one of the worst films I have ever seen in my entire lifetime, and I've seen quite a few.

It's yet another comic-book-adaptation based on a series that was unpopular to begin with. Shaq does his Attack as Steel, a superhero who runs around very slow in a heavy metal suit.

Whereas Spidey and Batman, et al, all have their special powers, Steel really just has a bulletproof metal suit - the "wire shooter" is a rip-off of the device used by Michael Keaton in "Batman." It attaches itself to a building and up, up and away he goes! However, the device moves at an astonishingly slow pace. Why didn't the cops just shoot him instead of standing there for over thirty seconds (yes, I counted) watching him pulled up into the air by a thin thread?

No matter. This movie is awful. Not even Richard Roundtree can save it.

And what's with the wheelchair lady?

Why, Bender, why?