Real Steel is a 2011 American science fiction action film starring Hugh Jackman and co-produced and directed by Shawn Levy. The film is set in the near future, where robot boxing is a top sport, and tells the tale of a struggling promoter, Charlie Kenton, who 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, Max Kenton, who wants to know his father.
Plot[]
In the near future, where human boxers have been replaced with robots, former boxing champion-turned-struggling promoter Charlie Kenton owns the fighting robot Ambush. In Texas, Charlie takes an offer by fellow promoter and carnival runner Ricky to fight a bull. Despite a good start, Ambush ends up destroyed by the bull, and as Charlie attempts to flee from Ricky to avoid having to pay up, two court executives inform him that his ex-girlfriend had passed away, and Charlie is required to attend a hearing to negotiate taking custody of his estranged son Max. At the court, Charlie agrees to cede custody of Max to his aunt Debra and her husband Marvin after he secretly negotiates $100,000 in return from the latter. Marvin agrees on the pretense that Max spends the summer with Charlie while he and Debra are on vacation.
After Marvin and Debra drop Max off at Charlie's home, a former gymnasium run by his friend Bailey Tallet, the daughter of his former boxing coach, their first meeting is off to a rough start. After Max meets Bailey, Charlie uses half of the money he acquired from Marvin to buy a new robot, the once-famous WRB (World Robot Boxing) robot Noisy Boy, who has a voice command function. Charlie and Max take Noisy Boy to Crash Palace, an underground boxing arena run by Charlie's friend Finn, where Charlie boldly decides to take a fight with the top robot boxer, Midas; the fight ends up disastrous as Noisy Boy is brutally destroyed. After leaving Crash Palace, Charlie takes Max to salvage replacement robots in a junkyard. While searching, Max slides down a muddy cliff, but is stopped by a robot arm buried in the dirt. With Charlie refusing to help, Max digs the robot out and takes it with him back to the gym.
Max discovers the robot, named Atom, is a sparring bot with a special "shadow function" that allows him to directly copy and memorize the fighting styles of its handler or opponent. Charlie is doubtful of Atom's success in a fight but begrudgingly agrees to set up a match against robot Metro. Despite a rocky start, Atom delivers a powerful uppercut, causing Metro to malfunction and destroy itself, winning the match. Max then integrates Noisy Boy's voice command into Atom's systems, convincing Charlie to streamline Atom's moves, in return that he does an opening dance in another fight. With Charlie's moves, the father and son lead Atom into numerous victories in underworld matches, which leads to them earning their debut fight in the WRB against the national champion, Twin Cities.
At the arena, Farra Lemkova and Tak Mashido, the creators of the undefeated WRB champion, Zeus, offer to buy Atom to the highest bidder. Despite Charlie's insistence, Max declines. At the fight, Atom gains a good start, but Twin Cities takes the offensive until Charlie spots an opening to escape the corner and win the fight by knockout. Elated by their success, Max publicly challenges Zeus to a fight. Before the two leave, Ricky and his henchmen appear, attacking them and taking their winnings as payback for Charlie bailing on him. Dejected and believing that Max is better off without him, Charlie calls Debra and Marvin to take him home with them. Upset, Max confesses that all he wanted from Charlie was to fight for him and be there as a father. Charlie returns to the gym after Max leaves, where Bailey convinces him to make up with his son. Charlie visits Debra's home, where he apologizes to Max and convinces Debra to let Max join him in a fight against Zeus Charlie had organized.
The fight soon begins as Zeus dominates the first round, but Atom stands firm, stunning the audience, whereas Ricky, who bet against Finn that Atom would lose in the first round, is cornered by him and bookmakers. The fight progresses as Atom continues fighting back against Zeus to no avail. Soon, a fierce blow damages Atom's voice-recognition, barely surviving the penultimate round. With no other way, Max convinces Charlie to use Atom's shadow function to fight in his stead. In spite of being nervous to fight, Charlie agrees as he throws a few punches before deciding to hold back, letting Zeus continue its onslaught until its power core is depleted, slowing him down and allowing Charlie to direct Atom into a fierce counterattack. Zeus, left heavily damaged, is saved by the final bell, where the champion wins by decision.
Mashido and Lemkova are left humiliated by their near loss, while Max, Charlie and the crowd celebrates Atom's close victory against Zeus, dubbing him the "People's Champion".