Real Steel

Real Steel (2011) is a DreamWorks sci-fi drama you can watch online on iFILM. Director Shawn Levy sets the story in a near-future where human boxing has been outlawed and replaced by bouts between two-tonne remote-controlled robots. Hugh Jackman plays Charlie Kenton, a washed-up ex-fighter now scraping by on the underground robot-boxing circuit.

After losing his last machine in a bad bet, Charlie is forced to take custody of Max (Dakota Goyo), the eleven-year-old son he walked out on years ago. Max pulls a battered old sparring bot called Atom from a junkyard scrap heap. The robot can shadow a human's movements exactly — which gives the kid an idea. Evangeline Lilly plays Bailey Tallet, Charlie's trainer friend who keeps the whole operation from falling apart. The script is based on Richard Matheson's 1956 short story "Steel," adapted by John Gatins.

The film grossed nearly $300 million worldwide on a $110 million budget. The ring fights are spectacular, but the real bout is between a father and a son figuring out if it's too late to mean something to each other. Stream Real Steel (2011) on iFILM.