REAL STEEL (Rated PG-13)

Though a comparison to “Transformers” is inevitable, the action-packed “Real Steel” is so much more than robots engaged in full-on, brutal destruction of each other.

“Real Steel” is more like the original “Rocky,” focused on a boxing competition where the underdog hero makes a comeback and gives his all.

The setting is the near distant future, where the public’s thirst for violence and carnage is greater than what mere mortal athletes can give.

The boxing world has evolved, if you will, to the point where robots have replaced the pugilists and the boxing ring has no limits in regards to personal safety.

Hugh Jackman’s Charlie Denton is a washed-up boxer who is forced, by circumstances, to hustle as a small-time robot fight promoter.

Traveling the back roads of rural America in his truck hauling a broken-down robot, Charlie tries to stay a few steps ahead of debt collectors and other unseemly characters.

The seamy underground boxing venues include a traveling carnival where Charlie’s second-rate robot is even no match for livestock.

Though he is constantly on the run, Charlie finds his life more complicated by the sudden death of his ex-wife; he discovers that he has a 12-year-old son.

The boy’s aunt (Hope Davis) wants custody of the boy, but first Charlie strikes a cash deal so that he’ll babysit his estranged son Max (a winsome Dakota Goyo) for the summer.

At this point, “Real Steel” is no longer just the story of a peripatetic fight promoter looking for his next payday at a venue not sanctioned by World Robot Boxing.

The underdog boxing story involves an alienated father-son duo reluctantly teaming up to rebuild and train a scrap-heap robot and turning it into a boxing contender.

At another level, the storytelling is grounded in a tale of redemption for the lost and forgotten souls of the father, his son and the abandoned machine they intend to revive.

Max names his junkyard robot “Atom,” which needs serious repair work. Charlie finds suitable help at the boxing gym where he once trained.

The gym is now run by the deceased owner’s daughter, Bailey (Evangeline Lilly), Charlie’s longtime friend and apparent possible love interest.

Appearing undersized and physically vulnerable, Atom does not look like the type of robot to survive a bout with machines larger and more imposing.

But cunning and guile may prove more important. The robots are operated by humans using computers and remote control devices.

The father-son team debut Atom at an underground site. To their surprise, he wins the fight and then keeps winning other bouts, and in the process establishing a reputation.

Soon enough, Atom enters the ring against established contenders at sanctioned robot boxing venues. He keeps on winning.

Meanwhile, the world champion robot is an enormous machine aptly named Zeus, a fearsome black robot that is described as “The Death Star.”

Not only has Zeus never been beaten, but also, no other robot has even survived beyond the first round with him. Does it take much to envision the Zeus-Atom showdown?

Zeus’ owners are the villains. Tak Mashido (Karl Yune is the calculating robot engineer. The striking beauty Farra Lemkova (Olga Fonda) is cold and merciless; she also looks like a Kardashian sister.

As to be expected, the big fight day comes, with challenger Atom, against all odds, going up against the formidable, undefeated Zeus. The result may be more surprising and satisfying than you would expect.

“Real Steel” has nicely choreographed fight scenes, thanks in part to Sugar Ray Leonard’s role as the film’s boxing consultant.

To be sure, “Real Steel” has plenty of hard-core action, but in the end it is a gratifying, warmhearted story that is ultimately about salvation. It’s a much better film than I had anticipated.

DVD RELEASE UPDATE

The NBC network has just canceled “The Playboy Club,” after airing only three episodes. The peacock network has had much better luck with “Chuck.”

To my surprise, “Chuck: The Complete Fourth Season” is being released on Blu-ray and DVD, complete with all 24 episodes. That can only mean that “Chuck” is just now starting its fifth season on the fall season.

An action-comedy/spy-drama hybrid, “Chuck” is about a computer nerd working a dead-end job at an electronics chain store.

In the first season, Zachary Levi’s Chuck found that his brain became the repository of CIA and National Security Agency secrets.

The fourth season has Chuck in love with his handler, Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski). His mom also comes in from the cold, escaping the evil control of an international arms dealer to become part of Chuck’s spy life.

As always, Chuck is trying to keep his professional and personal worlds separate. On some days, he outwits assassins and hordes of black-clad martial arts bad guys.

Not unexpectedly, the Blu-ray edition contains an exclusive interactive experience special feature.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.