At first glance Real Steel might appear to be a futuristic sci-fi movie. The giant boxing robots give that impression, but first impressions aren’t always correct. In fact, aside from the robots everything about the movie takes place in current (or at least the very near future) times. Real Steel is really sort of a hybrid of Over the Top and Rocky, mixed with a dose of high tech effects, resulting in a family movie. Instead of a human being, we have a boxing robot named Atom.
Much like Rocky in the 1976 film, Atom is not well-suited for professional fights. He was actually designed to be a sparring partner to the bigger, badder professional fighting robots. However, Atom is found abandoned in a robot scrap heap by a lonely pre-teen boy named Max (Dakota Goyo). Max sees potential in Atom and convinces his robot boxing manager dad (Hugh Jackman) to let Atom fight. At its core Real Steel is about loyalty and commitment. While it doesn’t quite deliver the emotional impact it aims for, Real Steel still manages to be an enjoyable movie.
Charlie Kenton (Jackman) is a former professional boxer and is now struggling robot boxing promoter. He’s looking to make a quick buck with his boxing robot in the amateur fighting circuit. When his champion robot is destroyed in a bull fight, he needs forty-five grand to get a new one. He turns to his boxing gym owner girlfriend Bailey (Evangeline Lily) for help, but she doesn’t have the cash. That’s when Kenton’s long lost son Max comes along.
Kenton didn’t know he had a son, who is now eleven, but the court system has tracked him down after the death of the boy’s mother. The court wants him to either take responsibility for the boy or terminate his parental rights. Max’s aunt wants to take custody, so Kenton is all too eager sign the boy away until he finds out the aunt’s husband has money. The husband is none too eager to take the kid on the fancy vacation he had already planned. Instead he works out a deal with Kenton to take Max for the summer in exchange for the money he needs for the robot.
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