Full Movie Reviews
Rating of
4/4
Why Did I Just Watched It Now
Rod - wrote on 11/01/2013
Brothers Micky and Dicky face obstacles in life encountering conflicts between family, career, and love all inclusive in the world of boxing.
***
I think this film is perfect! beautiful cinematography, very moving story, and a powerful cast. I'm not a fan of boxing, but seeing the movie, I knew and felt like I was really watching a boxing fight and I enjoyed all the thrill and drama with it. Kudos to the director David O. Russell! Wahlberg, Adams, Leo did very good performances, but on top of everything, Christian Bale was the best, indeed! He really deserved the Academy recognition playing an equally challenging and magnificent character, Dicky. A very well-written screenplay. Moving, touching, and making the best sense of an inspiring true-to-life story. What more can we ask for? …
Rating of
3/4
Packs an Awesome Punch!
MovieAddict - wrote on 05/16/2012
Mark Wahlberg excels as the up and coming boxer struggling with a stuttering boxing career and living in the limelight of his older brother Dickie (Christian Bale) who trains and manages him with the best intentions, yet with no clout to take Micky into the bigger leagues where he belongs. His mother, Alice, (Melissa Leo) who runs the family with an iron fist, refuses to recognize it, as does her husband, George Ward (Jack McGee) and his gaggle of sisters (too many to mention). Alice only seems interested in promoting Dicky which doesn't help matters. Micky meets a brazen barmaid, Charlene (Amy Adams) and they start to see each other, she is strong-willed, just like his mother, and you can see conflict coming. After his brother's incarceration Charlene convinces him to change managers, …
Rating of
3.5/4
One Of The Best Boxing Movies Ever
Alex - wrote on 01/07/2011
Christian Bale deserves an Oscar. Probably his best performance. He is dynamic, believable, and worthy of every award he gets. Despite his crappy choices recently, this one makes up for it. Great performances aside, this is a really good movie. Not your typical sports movie. The setting is incredibly real, the characters are real. Half the time, it felt like I was watching a documentary.
The cinematography is what kept this movie interesting. It was somewhat unique. At times it felt like a documentary (as I said above) and other times, it felt like cinema. I think this brought an edge to the movie, unlike many other sports and boxing movies.
Though this is no Raging Bull, it is definitely one of the top 3 boxing movies of all time. The melodrama was not over blown, and the ending …
Rating of
3.5/4
The Fighter Delivers
sgoods533 - wrote on 12/18/2010
The movie is sufficiently paced and provides occasional humor to provide entertainment value. The story does not seem overly-sensationalized as "based on actual events" sometimes are. The acting is superb and believable, especially Amy Adams and Christian Bale. Bale is brilliant as a manic, law-scouffing, crackhead. Just the fact that he must have lost at least 40 lbs. for the role tells you something about his focus on the role. Wahlberg once again plays the underdog, feel good character well, much as he did in Invincible. I enjoyed the movie and understand the awards nominations it will and has already garnered. I believe there are some award winning acting performances, although I'm not sure it is an award winning movie. There is just not enough that sets it apart. It is …
Rating of
4/4
You had a hard enough time being you
patjohnson76 - wrote on 12/13/2010
One of my favorites of the year. A strong cast round out this movie about Micky Ward, a boxer from the economically depressed Lowell Massachusetts trying to make it as a professional boxer. While boxing does serve as the motivator for Micky, it's his relationship with his family that really stand out here - Bale succeeds as his crack-addicted delusional brother who thinks he's staging a comeback for himself, Leo stands out as Micky's incompetent mother/manager, and Adams is strong as Micky's girlfriend who finally opens his eyes to his possibilities. With all these great performances, it would be easy to overlook Wahlberg as Ward himself, and its a shame, because this is one of his best roles.
On a side note, as a former resident of Lowell Mass, I have to say they really got the …
