Real Steel Review

Messages: The movie has a lot to say about redemption and forgiveness between a father and his son. It also makes you think about how we cast aside older models (computers, cell phones, people) for flashier, newer varieties, often forgetting that there's value in what came before. It also suggests that people should be confident in their gifts and use them judiciously.

Role models: Charlie won't win Father of the Year anytime soon (at least not for most of the movie), but he does redeem himself. And Max is kind, forgiving, resilient, determined, and self-motivated; he's quite a kid.

Violence: Tons of scenes, some fairly intense, show robots beating other robots up. While the robots are the primary pugilists here, the machines' bouts take place in front of audiences drunk with bloodlust, and there's one nasty human beatdown that happens in front of a child and leaves a main character bloodied and immobilized.

Sex: One kiss and a few scantily clad women at a boxing match.

Language: Language use (some of which is by the kid) includes "s--t," "ass," "damn," "crap," "bitch," "hell," "oh my God," and "suck."

Consumerism: Plenty of noticeable product placement from brands including Coca-Cola, ESPN, HP computers, Nokia, Capitol One, Cadillac, bing, Xbox, and Sprint.

Drinking, drugs and smoking: An adult swigs beer in front of children; at one point, he's drinking soon after waking up.