Synopsis
Charlie Kenton is a washed-up fighter who retired from the ring when robots took over the sport. After his robot is trashed, he reluctantly teams up with his estranged son to rebuild and train an unlikely contender.
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Cast
- Hugh JackmanCharlie Kenton
- Dakota GoyoMax Kenton
- Evangeline LillyBailey Tallet
- Kevin DurandRicky
- Anthony MackieFinn
- Hope DavisAunt Debra
- James RebhornMarvin
- Karl YuneTak Mashido
- Sophie LevyBig Sister
- Tess LevyLittle Sister
Recommendations
- 80
Arizona Republic
There's a little "Kramer vs. Kramer" here, a dash of "Transformers" there, and it's all topped with big heap of "Rocky." But it's hard to argue with the results, because, at times, Real Steal is close to a knockout. - 75
Observer
Like "Moneyball," this is real movie making that packs a solid entertainment punch. - 70
Variety
The uncanny thing about Real Steel is just how gripping the fight scenes are; Sugar Ray Leonard served as a consultant to the motion-capture performers responsible for pantomiming the machines' moves. - 70
Boxoffice Magazine
Although the marketing looks like "Transformers 4," Real Steel is the real deal, a Rocky with robots that ought to have audiences standing up and cheering. - 63
Slant Magazine
If familiarity is endemic to this feel-good drama, there's nonetheless also something to be said for competent amalgamation and regurgitation of tired genre tropes. - 60
Time Out
Executive-produced by Steven Spielberg, the movie's special effects are seamless and far more cleanly cut than any of Michael Bay's hash. But the element that lingers longest is a subtle strand - also woven into last week's "Take Shelter" - of recessionary anxiety. - 60
Village Voice
Based very loosely on a short story by "I Am Legend" author Richard Matheson, Real Steel in fact comes closer to road-bonding movies featuring children and hesitant papas: "Paper Moon" or "Over the Top," say. - 58
Tampa Bay Times
Real Steel is sci-fi without the science, and the fiction is strictly 20th century, straight out of Rocky knockoffs.
