Real Steel (2011)
Courage is stronger than steel.
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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| Type | Movie |
|---|---|
| Released | 28 September 2011 |
| Genre | Action, Science Fiction, Drama |
| Director | Shawn Levy |
| Starring | Hugh Jackman, Dakota Goyo and Evangeline Lilly |
| Runtime | 127 min |
| Rated | PG-13 |
| Scores | Rotten Tomatoes (average) 5.9/10 · Rotten Tomatoes 60% · Metacritic 56/100 · TMDB users 7.2/10 |
| Box office | $299 million worldwide |
Where to watch Real Steel
We could not find Real Steel on any of the subscription services we track in the US right now. That changes often; open it in Binge Boss and we will show you where it lands.
Rent or buy
You can rent Real Steel on Prime Video, Google Play, YouTube and Fandango at Home. It is also for sale on Apple TV, Prime Video, Google Play, YouTube and Fandango at Home.
Where to watch Real Steel in 5 other countries
| Country | Streaming on (price a month) |
|---|---|
| Denmark | Prime Video 69 kr DKK |
| Finland | Prime Video €6.99 |
| Norway | Prime Video 79 kr NOK |
| Poland | Prime Video 25.99 zł |
| Sweden | Prime Video 69 kr SEK |
Subscription, free and ad-supported services we track; prices where Binge Boss has a price list for the country. "About" marks a price the service bills in another currency, converted at the day's rate. All countries as data.
What kind of watch this is
Real Steel is a 2011 action drama that swaps human sweat for hydraulic fluid. It runs 127 minutes and treats a boxing match as a family therapy session. The tone is warm enough to forgive the obvious sci-fi trappings, leaning on the father-son dynamic rather than the tech specs. It works because the robot is just a prop for two people learning to talk. A solid pick if you want action that feels like a hug, not a punch.
What the critics said
Critics landed in a comfortable middle ground. Rotten Tomatoes sits at 60% approval as of November 2024, with an average rating of 5.9/10. Metacritic gives it a 56 out of 100, a score it files under mixed or average. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times called it "a real movie" that makes sense of its action. Claudia Puig of USA Today found the premise intriguing but the execution "hampered by leaden, clichéd moments." It is a solid family film that knows exactly where the line between spectacle and sentiment lies, even if it occasionally trips over it.
How it did with audiences
Real Steel pulled in $85 million in the United States and $299 million worldwide. That is a solid haul for a robot boxing movie, even if the robots did most of the heavy lifting. On TMDB, users rate it 7.2 out of 10. The audience seemed to enjoy watching machines punch each other, provided the human wrapper remained reasonably charming. It’s a decent score for a film that spends its runtime telling you how cool its technology is.
If you liked this
TMDB's recommendations for people who watched Real Steel.
Read more: I, Robot
Sources
- Real Steel on TMDB — synopsis, cast, ratings and recommendations
- Wikidata Q261759 — review scores, box office and awards (CC0)
- “Real Steel” on Wikipedia, by its contributors (history) — reception, audience figures and legacy, summarised and adapted here under CC BY-SA 4.0
- Where to watch and prices: Binge Boss, from TMDB watch-provider data (powered by JustWatch) and our own provider list
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