Real Steel is an engaging film about the world of boxing in the year 2020, when the sport no longer permits human fighters. Instead, the boxing industry features bouts between 1,000-pound robots, leaving pugilists such as Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman) in the lurch. The movie — reportedly inspired by a 1963 episode of Twilight Zone, and adapted to the big screen by John Gatins — ranges from action-packed boxing scenes to the emotional drama of paternal relationships. It's an underdog story that's virtually a cross between Rocky and Cinderella Man.
Charlie Kenton is an experienced loser, always seemingly out of luck. In a stark scene depicting the hole he's dug for himself, at the beginnng of the movie he awakes with a hangover, surrounded by empty beer bottles — and his first compulsion is to take another sip of beer.
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