Real Steel

Real Steel is a 2011 American science-fiction sports film starring Hugh Jackman and Dakota Goyo and co-produced and directed by Shawn Levy for DreamWorks Pictures. The film is based on the short story "Steel", written by Richard Matheson, which was originally published in the May 1956 edition of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, and later adapted into a 1963 Twilight Zone episode. Real Steel was in development for several years before production began on June 24, 2010. Filming took place primarily in the U.S. state of Michigan. Animatronic robots were built for the film, and motion capture technology was used to depict the rodeo brawling of computer-generated robots and animatronics, respectively.

Plot
Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman) used to be a prizefighter but lost his chance to win a title when heavy, towering robots took over the boxing ring. Now working as a small-time promoter, Charlie pieces together scrap metal into low-end fighters, barely earning enough to make it from one underground venue to the next. After hitting rock bottom, Charlie reluctantly teams with his estranged son, Max (Dakota Goyo), to build and train a championship robot for a last shot at redemption.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) Great musical score by Danny Elfman.
 * 2) Great soundtracks like "'Till I Collapse" by Eminem and Nate Dogg.
 * 3) Good acting for the most part.
 * 4) Many heartwarming moments, such as the scenes where Charlie and Max meet Atom for the first time.
 * 5) The action scenes are good.
 * 6) Hugh Jackman and Dakota Goyo give great performances as Charlie Kenton and Max.
 * 7) Great CGI that is really cool to look at especially with the fight scenes.
 * 8) Lots of funny moments.
 * 9) Zeus is a good and interesting villain due to its dominance. Instead of Zeus being like a wannabe dictator, or a killer, or a psychopath or a threat who wants to destroy the world, its an unstoppable force.
 * 10) *His design also has a very nice, sleek look that suits his character.
 * 11) The trailers are great.
 * 12) Likable characters such as Charlie Kenton, Atom and Max.
 * 13) *Atom is unique among the other robots in the movie where he not only looks cool but also cute and adorable.
 * 14) All the robots look cool.
 * 15) The scenes where Max and Atom dance are cool and memorable.
 * 16) "Anything I can use to put a fighting bot together."
 * 17) Despite being about 9 years, it has really aged well.
 * 18) "Oh she's pissed"

Bad Qualities

 * 1) Despite being based on Rocky, it feels more like a Rip-Off, only just with Robots.
 * 2) While the Music is good, it is rather repetitive at times.
 * 3) Plot Hole: Most of the robots barely get any backstory, making them uninteresting. The movie never explains how Zeus became the WRB Champion at all as well, also it never explains why Twin Cities has two heads and what happened to Atom before it was discovered by Charlie and Max.
 * 4) While it is shown that Charlie is quite terrible at Robot-Boxing(Controls-Wise), Ambush should've killed the Bull with ease, this is metal against bone after all.
 * 5) Max Kenton can be somewhat unlikable at times, most notably when he gets prideful (The Zoo when he says "We owned!" and his "Challenge" towards Zeus, which was a bad-call).
 * 6) There are a number of mean-spirited moments in the film.
 * 7) Misleading Poster: It shows Ambush on the poster, like if that robot were to play a big role in the story, but in reality it gets "Ambushed" by a bull in the beginning of the film.
 * 8) *Speaking of the poster, why is Atom taller than Ambush?

Reception
Real Steel received mixed reviews from critics, as well as positive reviews from audiences, with criticism for the formulaic nature of the plot and the fact that elements remained unresolved or were predictable, but also praise for the musical score, visual effects, action sequences and acting performances. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 60% based on reviews from 231 critics, with an average rating of 5.91/10. The website's consensus is, "Silly premise notwithstanding, this is a well-made Hollywood movie: Thrilling and exciting action with just enough characterization.". On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score score of 56 out of 100, based on reviews from 34 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore during the opening weekend gave the film a grade A, on a scale from A+ to F.