Why did Atom indicate that he could understand Max at the beginning of Real Steel?
In the movie Real Steel, a boy named Max salvages an obsolete sparring robot called Atom and, with the help of his father and the father's mechanic/girlfriend, restores it to working condition. Shortly thereafter, Max goes jogging with Atom, has it pick him up, and asks "Can you understand me?"
The robot, though it has no audio circuitry that we know of at this point of the movie, nods.
The issue is never mentioned again.
What on earth does Atom's nod signify? Is the robot sentient? Is it psychic?
Additional details
The scene takes place at 45:43. Max asks the robot "Can you understand me?" It responds with an ambiguous noise and a slight nod. It does not appear as though Max has triggered this with any nod of his own. "Don't worry," Max continues, "your secret's safe with me."
Later in movie, during the climactic fight with the robot Zeus, it seems as though Atom responds to Max's entreaties to get off the mat, though Max was not wearing headphones or a control mic at the time.
Atom seemed to be looking at himself in the mirror when left alone before entering to fight with league robot "Twin City".
Atom's head was bent, as though in sadness, when Charlie looked him through the rear view mirror of the car after he left Max.
Best Answer
Found a similar question in Sci-fi, and borrowing DavRob60's answer from there shamelessly.
We don't know for sure, and it's intentional: here is a quote from an Interview: ‘Real Steel’ by Director Shawn Levy.
SR: The idea of Atom’s sentience is introduced in the film, but is never fully explored, was that a conscious decision?
I had three versions of the movie. One Atom is alive, confirmed, a soulful, sentient being. Two, we confirm that Atom is just a machine regardless of what this boy believes, and three, maybe. Maybe the boy is right, but maybe he isn’t and we will never know and obviously I went with version three. Because when I confirmed or denied Atom’s consciousness the movie lost a certain magic. I think it’s epitomized in the scene where Atom is alone in the locker room and he’s looking at himself in the mirror. Some people think they see him move, and some people don’t.
Pictures about "Why did Atom indicate that he could understand Max at the beginning of Real Steel?"
What did Charlie tell Max at the end of Real Steel?
Charlie wants to tell Max that he thinks Atom is sentient.Does Charlie Keep Max in Real Steel?
Max Kenton is the son of Charlie Kenton, an 11 year-old boy whose mother died. He was taken into custody for the summer by Charlie, after which he was to go with his Aunt Debra as she had custody. However Aunt Debra let him later go with Charlie for the Zeus fight.Does Atom lose to Zeus in Real Steel?
Atom was defeated by Zeus, in a fight that would see him hailed as the People's Champion. He lost because of the judge's scoring, with him being knocked four times, while Zeus was only knocked down once in the end.Real Steel WRB FINAL Atom Gold Series of fights GOLD NEW ROBOT (Живая Сталь)
More answers regarding why did Atom indicate that he could understand Max at the beginning of Real Steel?
Answer 2
Well according to my theory when max was dancing/practicing with atom in the garden, atom did not respond to max when max was not in front of him. But in the fight with Zeus, Charlie was Shadow boxing...but he was not in front of Atom and hence this indicates that atom could have a brain of himself. i.e He was For Real.
Answer 3
Not to say there aren't some very interesting ideas here... But I think in the end Charlie is very obviously about to say I love you, as indicated by other plot hints like max calling him Charlie throughout the movie and finally calling out dad several times as he pushes through the crowd to reach Hugh Jackson. Also when max begs him to fight the last round he reluctantly agrees saying "are you kidding me with those eyes?" Just an opinion, only from watching the movie. Also the thought of Caroline inhabiting the robot is a really fantastical idea... It is a very interesting thought though something that never crossed my mind. Also in interviews with the director it is clearly stated that the fact that atom may be able to think for himself is an idea purposely portrayed; also it is purposefully put forward as an ambiguous idea in order to "maintain the magic."
Answer 4
I know this is a bit late but I just watched the film and it seems to me like Hugh Jackman is going to say 'I love you'. Nevertheless, I much prefer the idea of him about to say that it wasn't him fighting and Atom was doing it all himself. It'd be a coincidence though that they both threw all the same punches anyway.
Answer 5
I noticed that, at the end of the fight with Zeus and Atom when Hugh Jackman was telling Max "I need you to know", it seemed like he was about to say "I didn't...", but was cut off with Max's remark "your secret's safe with me." My thought was he was about to say "I didn't fight the last round".
Just something I caught and thought could mean something.
Answer 6
Here is my theory: Atom is Max's mom!
You'll get the hind from another movie (Insidious), where they talk about an astral body, it's the same idea. Caroline (Max's mom) had an accident. The broke car was brought in the same dumpyard where Atom was found, and so was her spirit. She saved Max when she saw him fall.
So in this scene Atom's soul (Caroline's soul) could understand him. But Max didn't know that and sent Atom to fight in WRB & UW, not knowing that his mom is being beaten. He also said "mom was the coolest" in one scene, so maybe he figured out the fact about Atom by the dance and such things. When he got the fact about his mom he actually allowed Zeus to win, as he didn't want Atom to be beaten up further. Why didn't he use his famous uppercut and end it? It wasn't Max's or Charlie's, but Atom's! He decided to let Zeus win.
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