real steel essay

Movie Reviews

Tv/streaming, collections, chaz's journal, great movies, contributors, it's easy to love atom, a likeable underdog.

Now streaming on:

"Real Steel" imagines a near future when human boxers have been replaced by robots. Well, why not? Matches between small fighting robot machines are popular enough to be on television, but in "Real Steel," these robots are towering, computer-controlled machines with nimble footwork and instinctive balance. (In the real world, 'bots can be rendered helpless on their backs, like turtles.) It also must be said that in color and design, the robots of "Real Steel" are glamorous and futuristic-retro enough to pose for the cover of Thrilling Wonder Stories.

The movie's story, however, is not from the future but from the past, cobbling together Rocky's rags-to-riches trajectory and countless movies in which estranged fathers and sons find themselves forced together and end up forging a deep bond. Hugh Jackman stars as Charlie Kenton, a former boxer who is now hanging onto the fringes of the fight game as the owner-operator of a ramshackle robot he tours with. It's no match for the competition, and when the desperate Charlie replaces it with another battered veteran, it can't even outfight a real bull.

Even during these early fight scenes, however, it's clear than the movements of the robots are superbly choreographed. My complaint about the battling Transformers of the movies series is that they resemble incomprehensible piles of auto parts thrown at each other. Fast cutting is used to disguise the lack of spatial continuity. "Real Steel," however, slows down the fight action enough so that we can actually perceive it, and the boxing makes sense.

OK, OK, it doesn't completely make sense, because when one of these behemoths slugs the other with a right cross to the jaw, we're wondering (1) shouldn't one of those punches cause as much damage as a car wreck, and (2) why do robots have jaws? For that matter, why are they humanoid at all? "Real Steel" doesn't pause for logical explanations. In this world, robots do the work that human boxers used to do. (Sugar Ray Leonard was a consultant on the fight scenes.) The director is Shawn Levy , who didn't endear himself to me with the "Night at the Museum" movies, but gets on base with this one.

If the movie were all robot fights it might be as unbearable as — well, a Transformers title. Drama enters in the person of Charlie's son, Max Kenton ( Dakota Goyo ), a smart, resilient pre-teen who, like all kids, seems to have been genetically programmed to understand computers, video games and all allied fields. Charlie is a very bad absent father, and as played by Hugh Jackman, he is actually mean toward his boy. Charlie's sister ( Hope Davis ) and her husband ( James Rebhorn ) plan to adopt the boy, but in a complicated arrangement, Charlie first has to take care of Max for a summer.

This Max is some kid. He loves robots. During a scouting expedition in a 'bot junk yard, he comes upon an ancient training robot named Atom literally covered in mud and convinces his dad this relic still has fighting potential. Amazingly, it hasn't entirely rusted away, and father and son rehab it and teach it some new tricks. One of its abilities is a "mirror mode," which allows it to mimic the motions of its controller. Since Charlie is a has-been boxer, Max has faith that Atom can win as his dad's avatar.

All of course leads up to a big match with a fearsome juggernaut named Zeus. To my amazement, this fight scene is as entertaining and involving as most human fights, and the off-screen story (involving Zeus' odious owners) adds interest. It's hard to hate a robot, but not its owners.

Curiously, however, it's easy to love Atom. With his blue eyes glowing behind a face of steel mesh and his skinny, muscular body facing off against giants, he's a likable underdog. Steven Spielberg was one of the producers of this film, and knowing of the research he put into making E. T. lovable, I wonder if screen-testing was used to help design Atom. You wouldn't say he looked cute, but there is something about him that's much more appealing that his shiny high-tech rivals.

"Real Steel" is a real movie. It has characters, it matters who they are, it makes sense of its action, it has a compelling plot. This is the sort of movie, I suspect, young viewers went to the " Transformers " movies looking for. Readers have told me they loved and identified with their Transformers toys as children. Atom must come close to representing their fantasies. Sometimes you go into a movie with low expectations and are pleasantly surprised.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

Now playing

Great Absence

Brian tallerico.

My Spy The Eternal City

Christy lemire.

Sorry/Not Sorry

Matt zoller seitz.

Peyton Robinson

The Last Front

Film credits.

Real Steel (2011)

Rated PG-13 for some violence, intense action and brief language

127 minutes

Dakota Goyo as Max

Hope Davis as Deborah

Hugh Jackman as Charlie Kenton

Evangeline Lilly as Bailey

Kevin Durand as Ricky

James Rebhorn as Marvin

Anthony Mackie as Finn

• John Gatins

Directed by

Latest blog posts.

A Look Back at MUBI FEST CHICAGO

2024 XL Film Festival & Summit – Highlights of its Sophomore Year

Locarno Film Festival 2024: By the Stream, Toxic, Drowning Dry, When the Phone Rang

In Memoriam: Alain Delon

Advertisement

Supported by

Movie Review | 'Real Steel'

Bare-Knuckle Bots, Showing Their Mettle in the Boxing Ring

• Share full article

By Stephen Holden

• Oct. 6, 2011

You can only imagine the hyperbolic win-win pitch for “Real Steel” that brought this robot boxing movie to the screen: “Transformers” meets “E.T.” meets “Rocky” meets “The Champ,” starring Hugh Jackman of “X-Men” and directed by the “Night at the Museum” hotshot, Shawn Levy . Those are the supposedly surefire selling points behind this entertaining, something-for-everyone contrivance, set in the near future and embellished with flagrant product placement for Dr. Pepper.

An underdog drama with clanging metal-on-metal action, “Real Steel” feels scientifically programmed to claw at your heart while its battling robots, which have a semblance of human personality, drum up your adrenaline. That said, I’m not sure that the movie itself has more than a semblance of a heart.

One thing missing is a genuine love story, although “Real Steel” throws in a perfunctory romance between Mr. Jackman’s Rocky Balboa-like character , Charlie Kenton, and Bailey (Evangeline Lilly), his former sweetheart who owns a boxing gym that doubles as a robot workshop. Charlie is a down-and-out former boxer turned sleazy fight promoter on the underground robot boxing circuit in a world where machines have replaced humans as prizefighting combatants.

The E.T., or R2-D2 character, is a slender, blue-eyed almost-human robot of an earlier generation named Atom, rescued from a junkyard and adopted by Max (Dakota Goyo), Charlie’s estranged 11-year-old son. At one point Max, a video game maniac, swears to his new toy, “Your secret’s safe with me.” We never learn that secret, but the boy and the machine seem to have a telepathic understanding.

Charlie is a nasty piece of work who reluctantly agrees to look after Max after the boy’s mother dies. He refuses to do so, however, until the husband of Max’s Aunt Deborah (Hope Davis), his official caretaker, slips him a wad of desperately needed cash. The smart, aggressive Max is furious that he was “sold” and gives his father a hard time in the first weeks that his guardians are on a vacation in Europe.

Because Charlie is a much colder fish than the lugs played by Sylvester Stallone and Mickey Rourke (I would have preferred Russell Crowe or the younger Mel Gibson as Charlie), the character is a bit of a problem for the film. Even after he warms up and becomes an enthusiastic dad who defers to his son, he is more shark than cuddlesome papa bear.

Despite Mr. Goyo’s winningly feisty performance, the movie belongs to the Transformer-like bots, surrogates for their owners, who operate them by voice-activated remote control. These bouts offer a disturbing picture of the modern human-machine relationship, in which people are relegated to the sidelines.

The bloodthirsty (or, I should say, scrap-metal-thirsty) crowds that go berserk don’t seem to notice the difference. Violence, after all, is violence. That fighting is as viscerally exciting when practiced by machines as by humans is one of the movie’s subliminal messages. The matches are high-tech, post-Nascar demolition derbies.

“Real Steel” is based partly on Richard Matheson’s 1950s short story “Steel,” which was later adapted into an episode of “The Twilight Zone,” starring Lee Marvin. The movie’s story is credited to Dan Gilroy and Jeremy Leven, its screenplay to John Gatins. All things considered, it is a well-wrought piece of entertainment, confidently paced, although its necessary subplots are little more than dutiful filler sandwiched between fight sequences.

As you watch the robots pummel one another — they range from 7 feet 6 inches tall to 8-foot-5 and have names like Ambush, Midas and Noisy Boy — you have the same slightly sickening feeling as when watching humans beat one another to a pulp. That old question about brutal combat, mortal or not, arises: why is it necessary?

The robots are cartoon characters, more like professional wrestlers than like boxers. One of the most formidable is a two-headed bot named Twin Cities.

Yesterday’s Vision Of Tomorrow

View Slide Show ›

Because Atom has a special feature called “the shadow mode,” in which he pantomimes human movement, the boy and his toy develop a crowd-pleasing dance act as a prelude to the smash-’em-up contests. As Charlie prepares Atom for the ultimate duel with a stomping, green-eyed monster named Zeus, it is Max’s bright idea that Charlie pull himself into fighting shape and guide Atom by pantomime from outside the ring. Charlie finally has his chance to be the champion he never was.

As much as “Real Steel” is an escapist pop confection, it forces you to consider the evolving relationship between humans and machines at a time when robots are replacing people in the workplace and in war. The movie doesn’t question our ever-deepening love affair with technology and foolish trust in it. As increasing numbers of people are kept mobile through spare parts, whether flesh, plastic or metal, we are ourselves becoming more droidlike every year. Behind it all is a collective fantasy of invulnerability, omnipotence and eternal life. “Real Steel” at least acknowledges that machines require maintenance to be superhuman.

The movie ultimately leaves you simultaneously exhilarated and tainted with the suspicion that you’ve been had: that “Real Steel” is itself a product of artificial intelligence, with no real humanity.

“Real Steel” is rated PG-13 (Parents strongly cautioned). Some violence and intense action.

Opens on Friday nationwide.

Directed by Shawn Levy; written by John Gatins, based on a story by Dan Gilroy and Jeremy Leven and the short story “Steel,” by Richard Matheson; director of photography, Mauro Fiore; edited by Dean Zimmerman; music by Danny Elfman; production design by Tom Meyer; costumes by Marlene Stewart; produced by Mr. Levy, Don Murphy and Susan Montford; released by DreamWorks Pictures. Running time: 2 hours 8 minutes.

WITH: Hugh Jackman (Charlie Kenton), Dakota Goyo (Max Kenton), Evangeline Lilly (Bailey), Anthony Mackie (Finn), Kevin Durand (Ricky), Hope Davis (Deborah Barnes), James Rebhorn (Marvin Barnes), Karl Yune (Tak Mashido) and Olga Fonda (Russian Robot Owner).

Movie Review: ‘Real Steel’

• Copy Link URL Copied!

“Real Steel” is “Rocky” with robots that look like “Transformers,” managed by a “Raging Bull” washout in need of a “Cinderella Man” comeback that’s complicated by “The Champ” and “Paper Moon” sorts of parent-child issues, with a sweet bit of “Wall-E”-styled scrap metal who never pulls his punches. Perhaps “Reel Steal” would be the better title.

As it happens, this recycled reclamation of underdogs saga is neither as bad as it sounds nor quite as good as it could be, although the 9-year-old bruiser next to me pummeled the armrest, spilled his soda and screamed “awesome” through every one of the fight scenes. I took that for an endorsement, one I think the family film crowd not bothered by a little rough language will second.

The film stars Hugh Jackman, Evangeline Lilly, Dakota Goyo and Atom as, respectively, the-down-on-his-luck-former-boxer-turned-fighting-robot manager, the almost-given-up-on-romance-but-I-can-fix-any-broken-bot-you-drag-in-here beauty, the I-wish-I-had-a-better-dad-but-at-least-he’s-in-the-robot-game kid and the won’t-someone-just-believe-in-me blue-eyed boxing bot.

Out of that lineup the name to remember is Goyo’s. He’s a cheeky Canadian youngster with soulful eyes that move from mischief to sadness with a remarkable ease. Earlier this year, he nailed the fierce action opening of “Thor” as boy Thor. In the role of 11-year-old, newly motherless Max, he is the saving grace of “Real Steel,” helping not only to bring out the humanity in Atom — Max just knows the bot has the circuitry of a champion — but sparking a flicker of life in Jackman, who’s had a tough time getting his acting to outshine his muscle-flexing prowess and his model good looks (see the “X-Men” franchise for the first, celebrity fashion spreads for the rest).

Director Shawn Levy, of course, deserves some of the credit for what works (and blame for what doesn’t). As a filmmaker, Levy has specialized in comedy, typically bringing a certain polish and proficiency, but not the panache (“Date Night,” “Night at the Museum”). With “Real Steel,” he moves into the action game. Maybe metal should be his métier, because Levy, with Sugar Ray Leonard adding some punch to the boxing sequences, makes you actually care about the robots, or at least Atom.

Despite all the threads that seem plucked from other films, “Real Steel” was inspired by a 1963 “Twilight Zone” episode based a sci-fi short story by Richard Matheson. Writer John Gatins, who has a string of hard-knocks redemption stories to his credit, adapted it for the big screen and does a decent job of keeping the dialogue lean and mean, which helps because the plot’s so predictable.

The time frame has been slightly fast-forwarded to 2020 and from the looks of it the economy has only gotten worse, with veteran cinematographer Mauro Fiore (“Avatar”) capturing a down-market Americana that feels depressingly real. Meanwhile, mass entertainment has gone to extremes, replacing hard bodies with steel robots so that boxing can be even more brutal. Like video games, humans hold the controls, they just don’t have to feel the pain.

Charlie (Jackman) is a consistent loser on the circuit, carting around his bots — and pieces — in an 18-wheeler, making bad bets and usually running out rather than paying up. The one slip-up that surprises him is Max, the son he fathered and had forgotten.

The kid’s aunt (Hope Davis) wants custody; her rich beau (James Rebhorn) wants a kid-free trip to Europe, and Charlie wants to make a fast buck. So a backroom deal puts money in Charlie’s hands and Max in his care for the summer. The kid’s no pushover, he wants a piece of Charlie’s take, and after he discovers Atom in a garbage dump, this young bot boxing fanatic wants a shot at getting his guy into the game. And thus the journey toward enlightenment begins.

It’s a grungy world of double-dealing with villains of various stripes, the requisite fighting foes to root against with the two-headed Twin Cities, the weirdest; the high-tech monstrous Zeus, the best. The fights do go on and on, but they’re more exciting to watch than what Michael Bay’s managed with “Transformers.”

As Charlie, Jackman is mostly surface gloss — he knows how to work a greasy tee and a bad attitude, glaring and growling at everyone. He softens slightly with Lilly’s Bailey (so nice to see her bruised, buff beauty back since “Lost” wrapped). But it is with Goyo that Jackman warms up. Their father-son spats, truly some of the film’s best sparring, is what gives it heart. Not “Rocky” heart, or “Raging Bull” heart, mind you, but “Real” enough.

[email protected]

More to Read

Review: In ‘The Fall Guy’ with Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, what’s a stuntman to do? Shake it off

May 2, 2024

Review: Kinetic ‘Monkey Man’ announces a bold new action director, one you already know

April 4, 2024

The movies went soft on AI. ‘The Matrix’ reminds us why it’s so dangerous

March 31, 2024

The biggest entertainment stories

Get our big stories about Hollywood, film, television, music, arts, culture and more right in your inbox as soon as they publish.

You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.

Former Los Angeles Times film critic Betsy Sharkey is an award-winning entertainment journalist and bestselling author. She left the newsroom in 2015. In addition to her critical essays and reviews of about 200 films a year for The Times, Sharkey’s weekly movie reviews appeared in newspapers nationally and internationally. Her books include collaborations with Oscar-winning actresses Faye Dunaway on “Looking for Gatsby” and Marlee Matlin on “I’ll Scream Later.” Sharkey holds a degree in journalism and a master’s in communications theory from Texas Christian University.

More From the Los Angeles Times

‘Pachinko’ returns with Season 2, a more muted but necessary chapter in the series

Commentary: ‘The Acolyte’ broke new ground. Why its cancellation is bad news for the future of ‘Star Wars’

Entertainment & Arts

Hell hath no fury like a librarian scorned in the book banning wars

Hollywood Inc.

Will Al Michaels’ third season on Amazon Prime’s ‘Thursday Night Football’ be his last?

The Definitive Voice of Entertainment News

Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood Reporter

site categories

Real steel: film review.

The hokey bot-boxing melodrama stars Hugh Jackman as a down-on-his-luck dad attempting to reconnect with his spunky long-lost son.

By Todd McCarthy

Todd McCarthy

• Share on Facebook
• Share to Flipboard
• Send an Email
• Show additional share options
• Share on LinkedIn
• Share on Pinterest
• Share on Reddit
• Share on Tumblr
• Share on Whats App
• Print the Article
• Post a Comment

Hugh Jackman stars in the film, opening Oct. 7. Stacey Snider says the film is "a sizable bet for us."

Rocky the Robot would have been the most accurate title for this bot-boxing melodrama, which feels like a mashup of spare parts from Transformers , The Champ , Star Wars and Sylvester Stallone’s series, among other cash cows of various vintages. Attempting to tell a heartwarming tale of the redemption of a washed-up fighter in a sports world dominated by metal-crunching mechanical pugilists, this punishingly predictable tale will test whether sci-fi action fanboys can stomach having their cherished genre infiltrated by sentimental hokum about a down-on-his-luck dad and his spunky long-lost son. The likeliest box-office outlook is a split decision.

Related Stories

How ryan reynolds and disney's marketing spell turned 'deadpool & wolverine' into r-rated magic, 'alien: romulus' wins busy box office weekend with $41.5m opening, $108m globally.

PHOTOS: ‘Real Steel’ First Look: Hugh Jackman in DreamWorks’ Robot Boxing Film

The Bottom Line This story of a washed-up boxer's redemption through robot boxing is made of nothing but recycled parts.

Guided by a large and august creative team seemingly dedicated to making a film without a speck of originality, this DreamWorks production for Disney is based on the 1956 short story “Steel” by Richard Matheson , who seven years later adapted it for an episode of  The Twilight Zone . In it, Lee Marvin starred as a former boxer who, in a future world (1974) in which human boxing has been outlawed and replaced by android combatants, disguises himself as a robot to fight a mechanical opponent.

With Steven Spielberg and DreamWorks on board, the Transformers connection is felt heavily, even if the bots are neither so enormous nor numerous. In fact, the first ramshackle tin can of a fighter promoted by bottom-feeding hustler Charlie Kenton ( Hugh Jackman ) isn’t even strong enough to put up a fight against a live bull at a Western county fair in the film’s opening action sequence.

As close to the gutter as Mickey Rourke was at his ebb in The Wrestler , Charlie is crude, argumentative and dumb. He’s not even sensitive, willing to care temporarily for his 11-year-old son by an ex-girlfriend who has just died only in exchange for cash. Abusive toward the kid, Charlie lucks out in that the great-looking blond boy, Max ( Dakota Goyo ), is a whiz with machinery, just the guy to help bring a robot to fighting trim.

Greeting Max’s efforts at seeking love and approval with gruff rejection, Charlie scrapes up some low-end bouts, first with a bot that gets destroyed then with a makeshift old sparring robot named Atom that looks like it belongs on Tatooine. After a couple of amazing victories, the relatively slight machine with bright-red eyes acquires a following, and father and son eye a long-shot match against the undefeated Zeus, a towering black thing controlled by a filthy-rich Russian superfox ( Olga Fonda ) and a vain Japanese designer ( Karl Yune ).

It goes without saying that gruff Charlie eventually will succumb to his inner dad and embrace Max, but it’s a big problem that Charlie is genuinely unlikable. Impatient, defensive and rude, he’s thoroughly deficient in redeeming human qualities. Max is forced to tolerate him, but not for a moment is it credible that his comely former girlfriend Bailey ( Evangeline Lilly  of Lost  fame) would still hang around her late dad’s old Dallas gym, which she allows Charlie to use as a robot workshop, and welcome such a loser back into her life. Working hard to deliver the accent and externals of an American “street” character, Jackman doesn’t provide Charlie with a glimmer of heart until the very end. It’s easy to imagine, say, Mel Gibson of 15 years ago giving such a role just the right balance between jerk and hidden softie, but Jackman’s Charlie comes off as almost entirely abrasive, someone you’d go out of your way to avoid.

Taking up the slack to an extent is young Goyo, recently seen in Thor, who is natural and unaffected in front of the camera and instantly winning.

Despite the preprogrammed feel of John Gatins ‘ script ( Dan Gilroy and Jeremy Leven get story credit, despite the foundation provided by Matheson’s original), director Shawn Levy , in a change of pace from his usual comedies, makes sure the old Rocky underdog charge sets when the climactic bout gets under way. With the slim Atom looking like he has as much of a chance against Zeus as Pee-wee Herman would against the Rock, it’s hard not to engage with the momentum as it swings wildly from one extreme to the other. Charlie, enacting outside the ropes the moves he wants Atom to make, summons all of his boxing knowledge to achieve something through this mechanical proxy that he never quite pulled off in the ring. The ending has the right feel of resolution, but it’s still a question how much of a rooting interest audiences will take in robots trying to send one another to the junkyard.

Loaded with enough product placement to make Jerry Lewis proud, Real Steel is technically seamless.

Opens: Oct. 7 (Disney) Production: Touchstone, DreamWorks, 21 Laps, Montford/Murphy Prods. Cast: Hugh Jackman, Dakota Goyo, Evangeline Lilly, Anthony Mackie, Kevin Durand, Hope Davis, James Rebhorn, Karl Yune, Olga Fonda Director: Shawn Levy Screenwriters: John Gatins, story by Dan Gilroy and Jeremy Leven, based in part on the short story “Steel” by Richard Matheson Producers: Don Murphy, Susan Montford, Shawn Levy Executive producers: Jack Rapke, Robert Zemeckis, Steve Starkey, Steven Spielberg, Mary McLaglen, Josh McLaglen Director of photography: Mauro Fiore Production designer: Tom Meyer Costume designer: Marlene Stewart Editor: Dean Zimmerman Music: Danny Elfman PG-13 rating, 127 minutes  

THR Newsletters

Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day

More from The Hollywood Reporter

Berlinale unveils new selection committee, energacamerimage fest: ‘shogun’ star hiroyuki sanada to receive inaugural best tv series performance honor, revamped edinburgh film festival unveils award winners, sphere is circling back to u2 with immersive concert film ‘v-u2’ co-directed by the edge, sarajevo film festival: how serbian star mirjana karanovic learned to expect the unexpected, ariana grande recalls paparazzi using hang-gliders to fly over ‘wicked’ set: “i couldn’t believe my eyes”.

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

In a near future where robot boxing is a top sport, a struggling ex-boxer feels he's found a champion in a discarded robot. In a near future where robot boxing is a top sport, a struggling ex-boxer feels he's found a champion in a discarded robot. In a near future where robot boxing is a top sport, a struggling ex-boxer feels he's found a champion in a discarded robot.

• John Gatins
• Jeremy Leven
• Hugh Jackman
• Evangeline Lilly
• Dakota Goyo
• 569 User reviews
• 343 Critic reviews
• 56 Metascore
• 2 wins & 6 nominations total

Top cast 99+

• Charlie Kenton

• Bailey Tallet

• Tak Mashido

• Farra Lemkova

• Little Sister
• Littlest Sister

• Bill Panner

• Large Texan Man
• San Leandro Gentleman #1

• San Leandro Gentleman #2

• ESPN Boxing Commentator
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

More like this

Did you know

• Trivia Each of the robots were built both in real life and CGI. For certain shots with animatronics, they were controlled by more than twenty puppeteers.
• Goofs Given that Hugh Jackman is left-handed, Atom is seen at times mirroring Charlie rather than mimicking him. In many scenes, especially in the fight between Atom and Zeus, Atom is clearly fighting right-handed while Charlie is shadow boxing left-handed. This is perhaps the reason why Atom is seen to be alternating between mimicking and mirroring even though according to how shadow boxing is explained in the film he should be only mimicking. This is also easily seen, though, when you notice the person running the shadow function either facing Atom or not. The shadow apparently mirrors when the operator is facing him and in mimic when not.

Max Kenton : The People's Champion? Sounds pretty good to me.

• Connections Featured in Trailer Failure: Conan, Real Steel, and Final Destination 5 (2011)
• Soundtracks All My Days Written and Performed by Alexi Murdoch Courtesy of Zero Summer Records By arrangement with Nettwerk Music Group

User reviews 569

• hitchcockthelegend
• Jul 26, 2012
• Why did Farra (Zeus' owner) want to buy Atom, an old generation sparring robot?
• What is the first song in this movie?
• October 7, 2011 (United States)
• United States
• DreamWorks (Canada)
• Stream Real Steel officially on Disney+ Hotstar Indonesia
• Real Steel: The IMAX Experience
• Mason, Michigan, USA (Ingham County Courthouse)
• Dreamworks Pictures
• Touchstone Pictures
• Reliance Entertainment
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• $110,000,000 (estimated)
• $85,468,508
• $27,319,677
• Oct 9, 2011
• $299,268,508

Technical specs

• Runtime 2 hours 7 minutes
• Dolby Digital

Related news

Contribute to this page.

• IMDb Answers: Help fill gaps in our data
• Learn more about contributing

More to explore

Recently viewed.

Screen Rant

127 minutes

Your changes have been saved

Email is sent

Email has already been sent

Please verify your email address.

You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.

Your Rating

Reviews (0).

Have You Watched It?

Be the first to leave a community review!

Hugh Jackman

Dakota goyo, evangeline lilly, anthony mackie, kevin durand, seasons (4).

Season 1 (2016)

Season 2 (2018), season 3 (2022), season 4 (2026), users reviews (125).

We want to hear from you! Share your opinions in the review below and remember to keep it respectful.

Your comment has not been saved

Latest Stories

Hugh jackman's underrated 2011 sci-fi that's now a netflix hit is everything transfomers should have been, hugh jackman's underrated sci-fi movie becomes global netflix hit, real steel tv show gets positive update as adaptation of hugh jackman sci-fi movie lands writers, underrated hugh jackman sci-fi movie sequel gets hopeful response from director 13 years later, related titles.

eternal sunshine of the spotless mind

BABY REINDEER

Review by Brian Eggert October 4, 2011

According to Real Steel , Dreamworks’ new sci-fi family film, over the next 8 years, the sport of boxing will fade away only to be replaced by high-tech robot death matches where remote-controlled automatons punch each other into scrap metal. If you’re thinking this sounds like “Rock’em Sock’em Robots: The Movie,” then you’d be right—although the film has no direct correlation to the toy, aside from obvious similarities in concept. We learn that a video game- and violence-obsessed culture demands more carnage, and only robots that tear each other limb from limb can provide it. Given that Comedy Central’s show BattleBots was canceled years ago due to waning interest, and that the current state of robotics is nowhere near the advances suggested here, the unlikely notion that, by 2020, such developments will come to fruition sours any prospective credibility.

Based “in part” on the 1956 short story Steel by Richard Matheson (author of stories that inspired I Am Legend  and The Box ), the script by John Gatins does little to improve its source (curiously, Dan Gilroy and Jeremy Leven receive story credit). Originally adapted into a 1963 episode of The Twilight Zone starring Lee Marvin, Matheson’s story and the more concise show version had enough sense to explain that boxing was outlawed, making robot fights a necessary replacement. Instead, director Shawn Levy’s film, produced by names like Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis, uses this setup to retread worn-down sports movie conventions in an entertaining, if nauseatingly familiar way. Herein are common underdog elements from Rocky and Over the Top , with the clanging metal bouts of 1990’s Robot Jox re-ornamented by the machines from Transformers for effect(s).

Hugh Jackman plays Charlie, a fast-talking hustler and former boxer who fights robots at county fairs and underground venues. After an opening scene involving an eyebrow-raising tussle between Charlie’s bot and a bull, Charlie discovers an estranged former lover has died and she has left their now 11-year-old son in his custody. Plucky, smart-mouthed kid Max (Dakota Goyo) is quickly signed over to the lover’s sister (Hope Davis), except for the coming summer months, during which Charlie has to begrudgingly babysit. Charlie wants nothing to do with the boy, his mind set on earning his fortune as a promoter and rekindling a flame with robo-gym owner Bailey (Evangeline Lilly) in a perfunctory love subplot. But Max proves to know much more about robots than his dad would expect. Scrounging for parts in a dump, Max unearths an abandoned sparring bot called Atom (pronounced “Adam” throughout), a machine not meant for title bouts but rather to coach the bigger guys.

Of course, being a kid, Max uses his fine-tuned knowledge of video games and robotics to engineer Atom with voice-recognition software and augments its already useful shadow-boxer feature. Using Charlie’s skill as a fighter to train the mindless bot, they take their find on the road and earn a name for themselves as unlikely winners. Charlie shows Max how to control his new toy with a fancy keypad, and before you know it, they’re in the big leagues against the current champion, Zeus, who’s backed by two ultra-rich, glaring-eyed villains: designer Tak (Karl Yune) and his bankroll Farra Lemcova (Olga Fonda). It all ends with a “David and Goliath” fight that gets the blood flowing, even if the fighters have motor oil running through their veins. Throughout, Charlie calls the boy “Kid,” and Max calls his dad “Charlie,” until the end when, as expected, they’re hugging and teary-eyed and finally call each other by their father-son titles.

Humans would seem to drive the story as they place their aspirations in the victory of their robots, but the action takes place in the ring as slick bot designs smash each other into bits during emotionless battles. Spielberg’s A.I. Artificial Intelligence is the grown-up brother to this comparatively dim “family” effort (PG-13 violence and language may be too much for younger viewers), exploring several of the same themes with greater detail and artistry. For example, Real Steel ’s bouts recall the “Flesh Fairs” from A.I. , where hordes of screaming human fans drool as robots are ripped apart. Spielberg imbued his “mecha” with human qualities, however, bringing into question humanity’s jealousy toward the perfection of a robot lifeform. But Levy’s robots have no personalities for themselves, despite his (woefully ineffective) attempts to imply a human dimension with ponderous shots of Atom’s glowing, unresponsive eyes. Atom never moves unless told to do so by voice command or shadow-boxing mimicry, yet the characters say they know there’s something more, something self-aware under Atom’s metal exterior. We never see what that might be. One keeps hoping the story will bring another dimension to the robots, but no evidence is offered to contradict their presence as empty fighting machines.

A combination of top-notch CGI and animatronic designs by Jason Matthews bring the robots to physical life—there’s not a moment in which we’re not entirely convinced these bots are tangible, even if their complete lack of personality makes any hope for connecting to them impossible. Fortunately, the actors have more personality. Goyo (who appears in Thor as the young hero) steals the show, lending Max a spitfire persona that somehow offsets Charlie’s awfulness. Indeed, Charlie’s complete disregard for his responsibilities as a parent makes him a despicable character, even though he finally surrenders to his fatherly instincts and reforms. Jackman’s energetic performance and general amicability as a performer wash over the character’s abrasive qualities—he belittles Max and abandons him in a dangerous situation more than once—but just barely. Had another actor been cast, the role wouldn’t have worked, and audiences would find themselves struggling to care.

But why worry about things like character and story logic when flashy robot battles showcase your film? Much about Real Steel relies on surfaces, from the production’s admirable polish to mindless robot punch-outs designed to entice gamer crowds. And thanks to several arena settings, a wealth of product placement informs audiences that ESPN and Bing are still alive and well in 2020. Superficiality drives the production, which like Atom, is recycled from leftover parts into a glossy new entity; though, unlike Atom, this film does not do the unexpected, even for this admitted sucker for boxing movies. A resoundingly optimistic, syrupy finale adheres to the subgenre’s formula to the letter and promises an already-in-development sequel to progress (if box-office receipts turn a profit). Mainstream audiences will no doubt gather around its blatant commercialism, but few will see this as anything but a tired old cast re-pressed and coated with a shiny new layer of wax.

Related Titles

The Definitives

• In Theaters

Recent Reviews

• Blink Twice 3 Stars ☆ ☆ ☆
• Strange Darling 3 Stars ☆ ☆ ☆
• Alien: Romulus 2.5 Stars ☆ ☆ ☆
• Skincare 3 Stars ☆ ☆ ☆
• Sing Sing 3.5 Stars ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
• Borderlands 1.5 Stars ☆ ☆
• Dìdi 3 Stars ☆ ☆ ☆
• Cuckoo 3 Stars ☆ ☆ ☆
• The Instigators 2 Stars ☆ ☆
• Trap 2.5 Stars ☆ ☆ ☆
• Patreon Exclusive: House of Pleasures 4 Stars ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
• Patreon Exclusive: La chimera 4 Stars ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
• Deadpool & Wolverine 3 Stars ☆ ☆ ☆
• Starve Acre 3 Stars ☆ ☆ ☆
• Twisters 2.5 Stars ☆ ☆ ☆

Recent Articles

• The Definitives: Nocturama
• Guest Appearance: KARE 11 - Hidden Gems of Summer
• The Labyrinth of Memory in Chris Marker’s La Jetée
• Reader's Choice: Thanksgiving
• Reader's Choice: Perfect Days
• The Definitives: Kagemusha
• The Scrappy Independents of Mumblegore
• Reader's Choice: Creep 2
• Reader's Choice: The Innkeepers
• Reader's Choice: The House of the Devil

Essaying the pop culture that matters since 1999

The 10 Things We Learn About the Future in ‘Real Steel’

Get ready to have your sons/nephews/classmates/local neighborhood kids going gonzo for Real Steel , the latest lame cinematic statement from that motion picture antichrist, Shawn Levy. As the man responsible for the reprehensible Night at the Museum films, as well as the equally awful Pink Panther remake, his mangled Midas touch remains intact. Though horribly uneven and spotty in both an action and/or adventure sense, this otherwise cracked crowdpleaser will have those prone to snips and snails and puppy dog tails running to their local Wal-Mart to lap up the latest battling robot action figures. And when the video game comes out – especially for the motion control possibilities of the Wii and Kinect – a whole new generation of console coach potatoes will be born.

But perhaps the most appalling thing about this supposed slice of future shock is its lack of forward thinking. This is a world where several products that we know today – Dr. Pepper, ESPN, Nokia – still exist, where the advances we wanted for 2001 are still nowhere to be seen 26 years later (the movie is set in 2027, it seems). The planet is not more multicultural, white people appear to still be the majority, and robots have reached the point where they can mimic human fisticuffs – but yet they aren’t used as a labor or time saving force. Indeed, it’s as if the script, supposedly partially based on Richard Matheson’s short story, forgot that it was set sometime in the not too distant future and simply fudged a few tech geek tweaks.

So along with learning what it feels like to waste $10.50 at the local Cineplex, here are the top 10 things we learn about 2027 in Real Steel . Most of them are obvious. A few are fascinating. All become part of this movie’s lunatic lameness, beginning with the backdrop:

Whenever our former pro pugilist, Charlie Kenton, goes cruising across America on his various get rich via robot boxing schemes, he has the roads all to himself. Long stretches of highway and byway pass without a single vehicle along the horizon. Even when he enters a big city like Atlanta, he has the streets to himself. About the only place we find people? The massive sports arenas where the bouts take place…or the abandoned zoo where such underground matches also occur.

Whenever a character pulls out his or her trusty communication device to call up a roadmap, web search, and in dire situations, a phone call, their device looks like a sheet of glass with random metal pieces adorning its front. Imagine a tablet made out of doll house window and festooned with proto-Apple accessorizing, and you get the idea. Can’t imagine that they withstand the impact of a drop from several feet…or a stiff breeze.

When Charlie finally allows his abandoned son to fight his scarp heap robot in a major contest, he makes it very clear that the boy needs to work on a outer ring routine to get paying customers jazzed up about his junk pile. Watching him shuffle around one day, he suggests a bit of dancing. So naturally, when the lad gets a chance to strut his pre-pubescent stuff, he looks like a double for a certain 2011 tween icon. It’s hard to say what’s more nauseating – the kid copping moves from the Biebe…or the robot mimicking every move precisely.

For years now, Ultimate Fighting has argued that it is more popular than regular boxing…and it has a point. After all, no one knows who the latest heavyweight champion is, but everyone knows Kimbo Slice, right? Apparently, by turning the former king of sports into a vague video game using oversized controllers and 10 foot tall toys, the homoerotic element of mixed martial arts is nullified, resulting in a new fascination which has little to do with sweaty, muscled men rendering each other horizontal until one gives up in submission.

6 – 1

Like regular boxing, a robot can win on points, via a technical knock-out, or a true KO. The only way they appear capable of the latter is to cause their opponent to suffer a kind of major computer or power source malfunction. They can beat each other senseless, and yet survive, just to have their potential victory vanquished via a software bug or hard drive crash. And then there is the various baffling bells and whistles they can employ. In the end, cricket makes more sense.

It’s good to know that, several decades from now, there will still be deadbeat dads. It’s also refreshing to see well to do adoptive parents bartering for a boy child like rug merchants in Marrakesh. Charlie needs money, and Max’s aunt apparently needs a kid to hug – that is, until he turns unctuous and rebellious. The price for the privilege? $100,000 – an in future money, that must be like 75 smackers. And no one seems phased by this concept. No one.

Charlie’s son Max has a lot of flaws – he’s uber-precocious, doesn’t respond to half-assed parenting all that well, and when given the chance, will grab the microphone in the middle of a major robot boxing match and challenge the reigning champion and its rich Eurotrash owner with juvenile taunts. But his biggest personal defect? The boy DOES NOT LIKE CHEESEBURGERS! Again, a grade school aged male says, point blank, that he doesn’t like CHEESEBURGERS! Is there no god in the future as well???

Again, Charlie travels a lot in this movie. Apparently, he can’t get fights near the gym where his harried gal pal lives, and doesn’t believe in short jaunts to neighboring areas. Instead, he must make his way across vast swaths of America in what appears to be a converted food truck…and there’s no question that gas and other petroleum byproducts are still important. While we do see a set of solar panels, we eventually learn they are used to keep Max’s robot Atom charged up and ready. Good news for all of you who enjoy global warming and turmoil in the Middle East.

When we first meet our fallen idol, he’s not sitting in some gym bandaging his wounds or working on his comeback. No, he’s using his latest black market acquisition to entertain a local country expo – and this time, his ‘bot will be battling against a…bull? Yep, in keeping with the son of the soil simplicity of all things carnival, Charlie books his fighter against an actual animal – not a robotic steer or a hologram of same. An actual cow. Apparently, all those ASPCA commercials they show late at night on VH1 and Current have no affect on what happens in the future.

• Jun 19, 2021

5 Life Lessons That taught Me by The Movie "Real Steel"

We, people in this world aren't perfect. We make mistakes and having outburst emotions that we couldn't control instantly. Also we fail sometimes which we feel like stopping and not trying again. And to not repeat the mistakes we've done and to go on in life, there are 5 life lessons from Real Steel that will hit you hard and give you an unforgettable life lessons that may lead you to be a better person.

1. Stay focus because it's important.

From the Real Steel film directed by Shawn Levy, Charlie (Hugh Jackman) was skillfully controlling his robot to fight the bull that was already losing but his eyes went transfix to one of the woman in crowd that made him lose focus and so his robot lose in the fight.

Focus and concentration is really important because even if you are confident and very skillful in what you're doing, if you lose your focus, you'll struggle and ended up losing.

2. Losing is part of a competition. So never lose hope.

As Charlie met his son, Max they went to a robot boxing battle in Crash Palace with a new robot named Noisy Boy that fought with Midas. Charlie controls the robot and Midas receives hard punches. Yet at the end, Charlie and Max lose the fight that made Charlie decides to stop. But as they tried to find robot parts, Max found Atom and they tried to used him in a fight and they won.

Yes, failing or losing is part of a competition. But it doesn't mean that we shouldn't go on just because we failed. We need to believe in ourselves and do better next time to win.

3. Don't exchange happiness for money.

Max and Charlie was invited by Farra who is the funder of robot Zeus who offers a high amount of money to purchase Atom. Charlie got dazzled and was about to agreed when Max opposed him and walks out irritatedly. They argued and Max told him that he wants them to fight than to sold their precious robot, Atom. Charlie realized everything he have done when Max went back to his aunt Debra.

Truly that you can't get the happiness in exchange of money. It is a life lesson that people must realize because if not, instead of being happy, you will feel miserable for losing something precious and losing someone whose more important than the money.

4. Becoming a father is difficult but it's more difficult to be a father.

After Charlie talk and have misunderstanding with Max. Charlie realized the things he did that hurt Max. And as he went home, Kate made him realize that Max is his son and he should do what is right and best for him. So Charlie went to Max and admitted his mistakes and pleased him to come back.

Becoming a father is difficult but the responsibility isn't ending there. You should love your child and start being a real father because it's what a real man does, to be a better person for him and for his child.

5. Passion can drive you to achieve what you want in life.

At the end of the story, Charlie and his son Max with their robot named Atom went to a Robot Boxing fight with the Mighty Zeus. Atom was knockdown at first by Zeus yet he stood to not end the fight. As round 4 came, Max pleased Charlie to use his passion in boxing in order for robot Atom to use shadow fight mode to fight Zeus. Charlie accept and faced atom to see his boxing moves and they won the fight that made the whole crowd appreciate Charlie's passion that leads him with his son to have a better life.

• Young Pilipinas Listicles

Related Posts

A Museum for Larry Alcala: 5 Reasons His Work Deserves a Permanent Home

Quarter-life diaries: 5 workouts for the on-the-go young professionals

Five reasons why we need proportionate funding for sports development

Common Sense Media

Movie & TV reviews for parents

• For Parents
• For Educators
• Our Work and Impact

Or browse by category:

• Movie Reviews
• Best Movie Lists
• Best Movies on Netflix, Disney+, and More

Common Sense Selections for Movies

50 Modern Movies All Kids Should Watch Before They're 12

• Best TV Lists
• Best TV Shows on Netflix, Disney+, and More
• Common Sense Selections for TV
• Video Reviews of TV Shows

Best Kids' Shows on Disney+

Best Kids' TV Shows on Netflix

• Book Reviews
• Best Book Lists
• Common Sense Selections for Books

8 Tips for Getting Kids Hooked on Books

50 Books All Kids Should Read Before They're 12

• Game Reviews
• Best Game Lists

Common Sense Selections for Games

• Video Reviews of Games

Nintendo Switch Games for Family Fun

• Podcast Reviews
• Best Podcast Lists

Common Sense Selections for Podcasts

Parents' Guide to Podcasts

• App Reviews
• Best App Lists

Social Networking for Teens

Gun-Free Action Game Apps

Reviews for AI Apps and Tools

• YouTube Channel Reviews
• YouTube Kids Channels by Topic

Parents' Ultimate Guide to YouTube Kids

YouTube Kids Channels for Gamers

• Preschoolers (2-4)
• Little Kids (5-7)
• Big Kids (8-9)
• Pre-Teens (10-12)
• Teens (13+)
• Screen Time
• Social Media
• Online Safety
• Identity and Community

How to Help Kids Build Character Strengths with Quality Media

• Family Tech Planners
• Digital Skills
• All Articles
• Latino Culture
• Black Voices
• Asian Stories
• Native Narratives
• LGBTQ+ Pride
• Best of Diverse Representation List

Multicultural Books

YouTube Channels with Diverse Representations

Podcasts with Diverse Characters and Stories

• Common Sense Says
• Parents Say 38 Reviews
• Kids Say 83 Reviews

Common Sense Media Review

Predictable but fun fight movie has lots of robot action.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that this futuristic action drama with a heart is equal parts Rocky and RoboCop . There are tons of brutal (if gripping) scenes of robot combat, some of which gets pretty intense. And it's not just the robots who get into brawls; a beating leaves a key character bloodied. One…

Why Age 12+?

Plenty of noticeable product placement from brands including Coca-Cola, ESPN, HP

Language use (some of which is by the kid) includes "s--t," "ass,

Tons of scenes, some fairly intense, show robots beating other robots up. While

An adult swigs beer in front of children; at one point, he's drinking soon a

One kiss and a few scantily clad women at a boxing match.

Any Positive Content?

The movie has a lot to say about redemption and forgiveness between a father and

Charlie won't win Father of the Year anytime soon (at least not for most of

Products & Purchases

Plenty of noticeable product placement from brands including Coca-Cola, ESPN, HP computers, Nokia, Capitol One, Cadillac, bing, Xbox, and Sprint.

Language use (some of which is by the kid) includes "s--t," "ass," "damn," "crap," "bitch," "hell," "oh my God," and "suck."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Violence & Scariness

Tons of scenes, some fairly intense, show robots beating other robots up. While the robots are the primary pugilists here, the machines' bouts take place in front of audiences drunk with bloodlust, and there's one nasty human beatdown that happens in front of a child and leaves a main character bloodied and immobilized.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

An adult swigs beer in front of children; at one point, he's drinking soon after waking up.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Positive Messages

The movie has a lot to say about redemption and forgiveness between a father and his son. It also makes you think about how we cast aside older models (computers, cell phones, people) for flashier, newer varieties, often forgetting that there's value in what came before. It also suggests that people should be confident in their gifts and use them judiciously.

Positive Role Models

Charlie won't win Father of the Year anytime soon (at least not for most of the movie), but he does redeem himself. And Max is kind, forgiving, resilient, determined, and self-motivated; he's quite a kid.

Parents need to know that this futuristic action drama with a heart is equal parts Rocky and RoboCop . There are tons of brutal (if gripping) scenes of robot combat, some of which gets pretty intense. And it's not just the robots who get into brawls; a beating leaves a key character bloodied. One of the main characters (played by Hugh Jackman ) is pretty abhorrent when the movie begins; he's introduced as an irresponsible mess who can't be bothered to care for his own son. He drinks and swears in front of the boy (words include "s--t" and "damn") and even goes so far as to "sell" him (or at least his parental rights) -- though he does change over the course of the movie, which ultimately has a message about redemption and forgiveness. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Parent and Kid Reviews

• Parents say (38)
• Kids say (83)

Based on 38 parent reviews

Really enjoyed the movie

What's the story.

It's 2024, and one-time boxer Charlie Kenton ( Hugh Jackman ) has no shame. He owes everyone money, and he abandoned his son, Max (Dakota Goyo), long ago. All he cares about is the next pay-off at the next match he arranges for the two-ton boxing robots that he pieces together from scrap parts. It's a life, if not a fulfilling one. But then his ex-girlfriend dies, leaving his son alone. His ex's sister ( Hope Davis ) desperately wants to adopt Max, so Charlie sees an opening: Why not make a deal with her husband for $100,000 for signing his parental rights over? But first Max must stay with Charlie until his aunt and uncle return from a European tour. Charlie hopes to leave his son with the daughter of his old coach ( Evangeline Lilly ), but Max isn't having any of it: He wants to join Charlie on the road. Before they know it, they're training what appears to be a genuine, previous-generation model championship fighter called Atom. But there's more than a bout at stake.

Is It Any Good?

REAL STEEL doesn't break new cinematic ground; it's an amalgam -- like the robots featured in it -- of many other movies (imagine Rocky meeting RoboCop ). Can the audience predict what comes next, considering that it borrows so much from every other fight film (with a little father-son drama thrown in for good measure)? Duh.

Yet REAL STEEL is surprisingly enjoyable -- as long as you dial down your expectations. Yes, it's shlocky, but Goyo and Jackman share a believable chemistry, and the young actor is just plain terrific. (Lilly doesn't have much to work with, though what she does reminds us how great she is.) It's hard to believe how carried away you can get cheering on a pair of robots in a ring. Expect it to happen, so our advice is to just go with it.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about Charlie and Max's relationship. How do they compare to other fathers and sons you've seen in the media? Are they relatable characters? Role models?

How do you feel about boxing, especially when it's all-out like the fights choreographed here? Does the violence have less impact since the robots are the ones primarily involved?

Movie Details

• In theaters : October 7, 2011
• On DVD or streaming : January 24, 2012
• Cast : Dakota Goyo , Evangeline Lilly , Hugh Jackman
• Director : Shawn Levy
• Inclusion Information : Female actors
• Studio : Walt Disney Pictures
• Genre : Action/Adventure
• Run time : 126 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG-13
• MPAA explanation : some violence, intense action, and brief language
• Last updated : June 14, 2024

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Suggest an Update

What to watch next.

Cinderella Man

Great Sports Movies

Kids' sports games.

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

Log in or sign up for Rotten Tomatoes

Trouble logging in?

By continuing, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes.

Email not verified

Let's keep in touch.

Sign up for the Rotten Tomatoes newsletter to get weekly updates on:

• Upcoming Movies and TV shows
• Rotten Tomatoes Podcast
• Media News + More

By clicking "Sign Me Up," you are agreeing to receive occasional emails and communications from Fandango Media (Fandango, Vudu, and Rotten Tomatoes) and consenting to Fandango's Privacy Policy and Terms and Policies . Please allow 10 business days for your account to reflect your preferences.

OK, got it!

• About Rotten Tomatoes®
• Login/signup

Movies in theaters

• Opening this week
• Top box office
• Coming soon to theaters
• Certified fresh movies

Movies at home

• Fandango at Home
• Prime Video
• Most Popular Streaming Movies
• Certified Fresh Movies
• What to Watch New

Certified fresh picks

• 81% Alien: Romulus Link to Alien: Romulus
• 88% Between the Temples Link to Between the Temples
• 100% Daughters Link to Daughters

New TV Tonight

• 93% Chimp Crazy: Season 1
• 100% Pachinko: Season 2
• -- That '90s Show: Season 3
• -- OceanXplorers: Season 1
• -- Classified: Season 1
• -- Reasonable Doubt: Season 2
• -- The Anonymous: Season 1
• -- Face to Face With Scott Peterson: Season 1
• -- Wyatt Earp and the Cowboy War: Season 1

Most Popular TV on RT

• 78% Star Wars: The Acolyte: Season 1
• 92% Bad Monkey: Season 1
• 100% Dark Winds: Season 2
• 96% Industry: Season 3
• 54% The Umbrella Academy: Season 4
• 86% Average Joe: Season 1
• 100% Supacell: Season 1
• Best TV Shows
• Most Popular TV
• TV & Streaming News

Certified fresh pick

• 92% Bad Monkey: Season 1 Link to Bad Monkey: Season 1
• All-Time Lists
• Binge Guide
• Comics on TV
• Five Favorite Films
• Video Interviews
• Weekend Box Office
• Weekly Ketchup
• What to Watch

All Quentin Tarantino Movies Ranked

Andrew Garfield Movies and Series Ranked by Tomatometer

What to Watch: In Theaters and On Streaming

Awards Tour

Verified Hot: Honoring The Films with the Highest Verified Audience Scores

Introducing the Verified Hot Audience Badge

• Trending on RT
• Verified Hot Movies
• Re-Release Calendar
• Popular TV Shows
• Renewed and Cancelled TV

Where to Watch

Watch Real Steel with a subscription on Hulu, rent on Prime Video, or buy on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV.

What to Know

Silly premise notwithstanding, this is a well-made Hollywood movie: Thrilling and exciting action with just enough characterization.

Critics Reviews

Audience reviews, cast & crew.

Hugh Jackman

Charlie Kenton

Evangeline Lilly

Bailey Tallet

Dakota Goyo

Anthony Mackie

Kevin Durand

More Like This

Related movie news.

• DOI: 10.33633/LITE.V12I1.1093
• Corpus ID: 58400663

SUBTITLING STRATEGIES IN “REAL STEEL” MOVIE

• Naomi Ventria Nauly Simanjuntak , Achmad Basari
• Published 30 March 2016
• Linguistics

Tables from this paper

18 Citations

Subtitling strategies used in the croods movie, subtitling strategies used in inside out movie, subtitling strategies and translation accuracy in the malay to english translation of “ejen ali: the movie”, subtitling strategies in big hero 6 movie, subtitling strategies of swear words in deadpool one & deadpool two film.

• Highly Influenced

AN ANALYSIS OF SUBTITLING STRATEGIES IN CLASH-A-RAMA ANIMATION SEASON 1 EPISODE 1, 2 AND 8

English-indonesian subtitling strategies of lara jean’s utterances in “to all the boys: always and forever” movie on netflix, european journal of applied linguistics studies-issn 2602-0254, an analysis of the subtitle of simile and personification in anna karenina (2012) movie, the translation of slang words in to all the boys i’ve loved before movie, 27 references, subtitling strategies of translation in babel film, topics in audiovisual translation, routledge encyclopedia of translation studies, the constraint of relevance in subtitling, a linguistic theory of translation : an essay in applied linguistics, the theory and practice of translation, a textbook of translation, the subtitling of film : reaching another community, pengantar teori terjemahan / maurits d.s. simatupang, subtitling - a new university discipline, related papers.

Showing 1 through 3 of 0 Related Papers