56
Metascore
34 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80Arizona RepublicArizona RepublicThere'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.
- 70Boxoffice MagazinePete HammondBoxoffice MagazinePete HammondAlthough 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.
- 63Slant MagazineNick SchagerSlant MagazineNick SchagerIf 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.
- 60Time OutJoshua RothkopfTime OutJoshua RothkopfExecutive-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.
- 60Village VoiceNick PinkertonVillage VoiceNick PinkertonBased 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.
- 58Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallTampa Bay TimesSteve PersallReal Steel is sci-fi without the science, and the fiction is strictly 20th century, straight out of Rocky knockoffs.
- 50The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyThe Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyThis punishingly predictable tale will test whether sci-fi action fanboys can stomach having their cherished genre infiltrated by sentimental hokum about a down-on-his-luck dad and his spunky long-lost son.
- 50Orlando SentinelRoger MooreOrlando SentinelRoger MooreJackman gamely does his best, Levy keeps the kid just shy of insufferable and just this side of kid-appropriate in his behavior and language.