Real Steel is a very multi-layered movie, and it should appeal to everyone. It is a fast-paced action and has the heavy sound effects of a good action movie and a touching father-boy story to go along with it. The movie's humor is dry but not forced with just enough wit to keep Gen-Y types entertained.
I will not divulge much here in the hopes that you will get to see it yourself. Overall, the soundtrack (Danny Elfman) coupled with great visual effects and amazing play on light in the cinematography of the movie ties in the story pretty well.
The main characters, Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman), Max Kenton (Dakota Goyo), and Balley Tallet (Evangeline Lilly), made the movie extremely fluid to watch, and there was no fault in their on-screen chemistry.
The film shoots in and out of bright and dark scenes pretty quickly, and the mood of the set is reflected very well in the lighting of the movie. There was a scene of Jackman and Goyo in a park where it was lit unnaturally, but other than that, there was no fault in the technical aspects of the movie that I could point out.
The story ducks and weaves appropriately, and assumedly the movie is set in 2020/2030 as references to "back then" (e.g., 2016) were rife. It is an excerpt of both Kenton's (Jackman and Goyo) lives, and most of it focuses on fighting robots. The movie ends well, and the cinematography, props, and CGI is very well thought out. If you love an underdog, David vs. Goliath movie - this one's definitely for you.
Great movie and there's something in the film for everyone - you won't regret it!