Main Cast: Shaquille O'Neal, Annabeth Gish, Judd Nelson, Richard Roundtree, Irma P. Hall
Release Year: 1997
Country: US
Run Time: 97 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG13
Plot
Low-rent, poorly-lit superhero action is the order of the day in this film from television director Kenneth Johnson -- who makes several references to his series Alien Nation throughout the course of the movie. NBA basketball superstar Shaquille O'Neal stars as John Henry Irons, a weapons designer and metallurgical genius who is developing a new sonic weapon for the military with the help of Sparks (Annabeth Gish), a computer whiz. When an accident caused by unscrupulous superior Nathaniel Burke (Judd Nelson) leaves Sparks paralyzed, Irons quits his job in disgust. It turns out later that Burke has begun mass-producing the weapon and selling it to terrorists and L.A. street gangs, so Irons and Sparks team up with Uncle Joe (Richard Roundtree), a junkyard artist, to create a suit of armor and a gadget-packed sledgehammer. Irons dons the suit and becomes known as the superhero Steel, who kicks criminal posterior all over the city with his impenetrable get-up and high-tech gizmos. Before long, Burke's comeuppance is in the offing. Although specific references to it were excised between the source material and script, the original DC Comics version of Steel was a spin-off of the Superman comics series. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
Gershon Ginsburg - Art Director, Shana Landsburg - Casting, Laura Adler - Casting, Mark Allan - Co-producer, Catherine Adair - Costume Designer, Venita Ozols-Graham - First Assistant Director, Kenneth Johnson - Director, John F. Link - Editor, Bruce Binkow - Executive Producer, Shaquille O'Neal - Executive Producer, Leonard Armato - Executive Producer, Mervyn Warren - Composer (Music Score), Gary Wissner - Production Designer, Mark Irwin - Cinematographer, Quincy Jones - Producer, Joel Simon - Producer, David Salzman - Producer, Susumu Tokunow - Sound/Sound Designer, Mario Roberts - Stunts, M. James Arnett - Stunts Coordinator, Jon Epstein - Stunts Coordinator, Kenneth Johnson - Screenwriter, Kevin Bartnof - Foley Artist
