Yet another film that universal praise had made difficult to approach but thankfully The Fighter gets pretty close to living up to the hype.
Based on the life of 'Irish' Micky Ward (Mark Wahlberg) and his rise to world light welterweight champion.
Ward has always lived in the shadow of his half-brother Dicky Eckland (Christian Bale) who was a successful boxer before his life deteriorated through drug use.
Eckland took on the role of Ward's trainer but he never realised his potential under his brother's guidance and his mother Alice's (Melisso Leo) management.
When Dicky is thrown in jail and publicly embarrassed through a documentary, Micky is given the chance to sever ties with his family's management and take the shot at a title before it is too late.
Good performances from Wahlberg and Bale, and Amy Adams as Ward's love interest Charlene help keep The Fighter's early documentary-style from completely annoying you until they get into the nitty-gritty of the story.
I have to say Bale was very good in the role that has so far won him a Golden Globe but his character is almost unbearable at times - he never shuts up, is all over the place physically and you just want to belt him. That's probably the point and aside from the fact that Bale has again lost a heap of weight to get into a role (as he did with The Machinist prior to his Batman days) all this will probably win him an Oscar.
Based on the life of 'Irish' Micky Ward (Mark Wahlberg) and his rise to world light welterweight champion.
Ward has always lived in the shadow of his half-brother Dicky Eckland (Christian Bale) who was a successful boxer before his life deteriorated through drug use.
Eckland took on the role of Ward's trainer but he never realised his potential under his brother's guidance and his mother Alice's (Melisso Leo) management.
When Dicky is thrown in jail and publicly embarrassed through a documentary, Micky is given the chance to sever ties with his family's management and take the shot at a title before it is too late.
Good performances from Wahlberg and Bale, and Amy Adams as Ward's love interest Charlene help keep The Fighter's early documentary-style from completely annoying you until they get into the nitty-gritty of the story.
I have to say Bale was very good in the role that has so far won him a Golden Globe but his character is almost unbearable at times - he never shuts up, is all over the place physically and you just want to belt him. That's probably the point and aside from the fact that Bale has again lost a heap of weight to get into a role (as he did with The Machinist prior to his Batman days) all this will probably win him an Oscar.
Wahlberg was always made to play a boxer - his body has hardly looked any different since his Marky Mark days so it wasn't a real stretch for him to get the physical side convincing. He is an under rated actor at times and while some of his roles are a bit puzzling (e.g. The Happening) he's a pretty solid performer these days.
The Fighter is a very good film, overall. There were things that didn't sit well with me but it is apparently an authentic look at living in a place like Boston and the extended Ward family will both amuse and frighten you.
An 8 out of 10, I don't think it was nearly as good as The King's Speech but, having said that, they were different types of movies. Well worth seeing.
The Fighter is a very good film, overall. There were things that didn't sit well with me but it is apparently an authentic look at living in a place like Boston and the extended Ward family will both amuse and frighten you.
An 8 out of 10, I don't think it was nearly as good as The King's Speech but, having said that, they were different types of movies. Well worth seeing.
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