Set in the near future, where robot boxing is a top sport, a struggling promoter feels he's found a champion in a discarded robot. During his hopeful rise to the top, he discovers he has an 11-year-old son who wants to know his father.
Only those with a heart of tin could resist.
Rocky with robots? It’s not quite in Balboa’s weight class, but Real Steel at least has some heft. There’s barely a story beat among the beat-downs that you won’t expect, and sometimes the saccharine gets in the way of the spectacle, but on the whole this is enjoyable family entertainment.
Big, dumb, but certainly fun.
With a lot more focus and a smart re-write, Real Steel could have been a neat companion piece to J J Abrams’s recent Spielberg-aping sci-fi adventure Super 8. Instead, like Atom itself, the lights may be on but there’s no evidence of a soul behind the flicker.
Engaging performances make up for daft metal action plot.
It's an incredibly cynical movie, written and acted by robots, and boasting the most flagrant piece of product-placement for a certain soft drink.
This is designed for 13-year-old boys who spend more time gaming than they ever do watching movies.
If it isn't a knockout of a film it does secure a victory on points.
Real Steel does deliver some effectively co-ordinated fight sequences thanks to director Shawn Levy being canny enough to hire Sugar Ray Leonard as an advisor, but the corny father-son stuff is so wet it short-circuits its mechanical heart.
Three films in one.
Think Rocky meets Transformers - with full-fat cheese.
Shawn Levy’s film punches above the usual emotional weight for a Disney movie, and that’s where the problems start.
There's a certain poverty of imagination at work.
Sounds exciting, doesn't it? It isn't.
Real Steel cast and crew talk Sugar Ray Leonard's touch
Hugh Jackman trains with Sugar Ray Leonard for new movie
Real Steel: It's just like Rocky--with robots
General release. Check local listings for show times.