Real Steel (2011)

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

Director:

Shawn Levy

Writers:

John Gatins (screenplay), Dan Gilroy (story)

Stars:

Hugh Jackman, Evangeline Lilly, Dakota Goyo

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Hugh Jackman	...	Charlie Kenton
Dakota Goyo	...	Max Kenton
Evangeline Lilly	...	Bailey Tallet
Anthony Mackie	...	Finn
Kevin Durand	...	Ricky
Hope Davis	...	Aunt Debra
James Rebhorn	...	Marvin
Karl Yune	...	Tak Mashido
Olga Fonda	...	Farra Lemkova
John Gatins	...	Kingpin
Sophie Levy	...	Big Sister
Tess Levy	...	Little Sister
Charlie Levy	...	Littlest Sister
Gregory Sims	...	Bill Panner
Torey Adkins	...	Large Texan Man

Storyline

In the near future when people become uninterested in boxing and similar sports, a new sport is created - Robot boxing wherein robots battle each other while being controlled by someone. Charlie Kenton, a former boxer who's trying to make it in the new sport, not only doesn't do well, he is very deeply in the red. When he learns that his ex, mother of his son Max, dies, he goes to figure out what to do with him. His ex's sister wants to take him in but Charlie has first say in the matter. Charlie asks her husband for money so he can buy a new Robot in exchange for turning Max over to them. He takes Max for the summer. And Max improves his control of his robot. But when the robot is destroyed, they go to a scrap yard to get parts. Max finds an old generation robot named Atom and restores him. Max wants Atom to fight but Charlie tells him he won't last a round. However, Atom wins. And it isn't long before Atom is getting major bouts. Max gets Charlie to teach Atom how to fight, and the ...

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Plot Keywords:

robot | boxing | robot battle | arena | boxing movie | 

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Taglines:

Champions aren't born. They're made.

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Sci-Fi | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Noisy Boy robot has LEDs on its fists that spell out in Japanese characters words like Doom, Pain, Oblivion, The End, etc.

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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.

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Quotes

Charlie Kenton: What do you want from me?
Max Kenton: I want you to fight for me! That's all I ever wanted!

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Connections

Featured in Sugar Ray Leonard: Cornerman's Champ (2012)

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Soundtracks

Busy Child
Written by Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland
Performed by The Crystal Method
Courtesy of Outpost Recordings/Geffen Records
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

Rocky with Robots

This movie was quite entertaining. It's a bit strange because of the fact that robots fight instead of humans. With that said, the robots are perfectly anthropomorphized so you feel like they are men.

But the special effects are robot fighting are only worth about a 6/10. Hugh Jackman's struggle to be a good father is actually well-acted out, both by him and the kid. The heroine role is also acted out well by a very beautiful woman.

This is not a perfect movie, but it captures many human emotions and seems to be a good movie for family-oriented people to flock around for an emotional, Rocky-like romp.

Details

Official Sites:

DreamWorks [Canada] (French)

Country:

USA India

Language:

English Ukrainian

Release Date:

7 October 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Real Steel: The IMAX Experience

Filming Locations:

Yankee Air Museum

Box Office

Budget:

$110,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$27,319,677, 9 October 2011

Gross USA:

$85,468,508

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$299,268,508

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dreamworks Pictures, Touchstone Pictures, Reliance Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

127 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital Datasat

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1