Bruno Sammartino wrestled an orangutan, “Superstar” Billy Graham and Tracy Smothers wrestled bears and Ambush fights an enormous bull at a carnival sideshow. Unlike Sammartino and Graham, however, Ambush does not live to fight another day after the bull victoriously dismantles the giant robot in the opening scene of Real Steel.

Max (Dakota Goyo, left) and Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman, right) prepare Noisy Boy for battle in "Real Steel."

Set in a not-so-distant future where cell phones are a bit flashier, freight trucks are slightly sleeker and robots provide the combat carnage that fight fans were never truly able to find in flesh-and-blood boxing, wrestling and MMA matches, Real Steel takes the Rock ’em Sock ’em Robots concept and gives it a cheer-for-the-underdog Rocky treatment. Only the underdog in this movie is Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman, aka Wolverine from the X-Men movies, aka the guy who helped Zack Ryder defeat WWE United States Champion Dolph Ziggler on Raw a few weeks ago), a former fighter-turned-con artist who will hustle anyone for a quick buck. That includes his  son Max (Dakota Goyo, aka young Thor from Thor), who becomes barter material after unexpectedly entering Charlie’s life after 11 years of estrangement.

What Charlie lacks in character (he’s not only a conman, but not a very good one as he continues to rack up more and more debt with sleazy promoters), he makes up for in his in-ring accomplishments. But in a world where robots have taken the place of humans in the ring, that no longer means very much. That is until he and his son find a decrepit older robot that, much like Charlie in his prime, proves to have enough heart (albeit mechanical) to hold his own against bigger bots.

Despite Charlie’s absence, the apple hasn’t fallen far from the tree as Max proves to have a stubborn, all-or-nothing mentality similar to his father’s. Together, the father, son and robot (a somewhat WALL-E-like warrior named Atom) work their way from seedy underground fight clubs all the way up to the colossal World Robot Boxing league. But not without some additional struggles as Charlie’s deceitful past keeps catching up with him in the form of vindictive debt collectors, custody-seeking relatives and the like.

Atom (left), takes it to undefeated WRP Champion Zeus in "Real Steel."

While the story is predictable and sappy (especially when Max tells his father, “I want you to fight for me. That’s all I’ve ever wanted” towards the film’s end), and the idea of having robots that are advanced enough to fight like humans in a world where the same advanced technology doesn’t appear to be used in more productive ways, Real Steel is successful at providing the type of violent escapist fun typically reserved for the summer movie season. Plus, there are giant robots with names like Zeus and Noisy Boy that beat the fluids out of each other.

Real Steel. Directed by Shawn Levy. Starring Hugh Jackman, Dakota Goyo and Evangeline Lilly. Rated PG-13. www.steelgetsreal.com.