(2012-04-26 16:48:44)

Really solid all around

Very solid film. I didn't give it 5 stars because it didn't absolutely blow me away as a film but Christian Bale was phenomenal and Mark Wahlberg/Rachel Adams gave a very solid performance as well. Could watch this one a few times.

jamesdavidhead

(2012-04-26 01:55:52)

Great film

Great profile of the boxer Micky Wards life. The story alsoconcentrates hard on his brother Dicky Eklund, an exboxing/junkie/Micky's trainer. Mark Walberg is excellent as the underachieving boxer who's dominated by his brother, who has hero status inthe neighbourhood for his contentious knockdown of Sugar Ray Leonard inthe 80's, and his domineering mother/manager. Christian Bale surpassesWahlbergs performance as brother Dicky. Dicky is trying to make a comeback in boxing and train his younger brother whilst battling Crackaddiction and fighting his own demons.Some of the boxing scenes are a bit 'too Rocky' for me but this is muchmore than a boxing film. It deals with complex family relationships andit could almost be said that the main focus of the film is on Crackaddiction and how it destroys lives. The fight for the WBU title at theend is a bit overplayed but Hollywood does need a big climax. Overallthough great and believable film. Some 'based on true events' filmsdeviate too much from the truth and thus become un-believable but ithink The Fighter gets the balance just about right.

mixpix33

(2012-04-22 10:38:03)

They brought their A game.

The main actors really put out their best work in this film. It seemedthat Mark Whalberg, the actor he is, took the back seat in this film.His part wasn't weak, it is the others really stepped up in theirperformance level.Christian Bale seems to translate into a complete metamorphosis, toplay the drug addict brother to the protagonist in the film. His partin no way had any flaws; probably one of his top performances ever.The mother, played by Melissa Leo, also a great performance. Though sheis in real life, only 11-14 years older than the actors playing hersons in the movie, she pulls it off; again flawlessly.The others, including Amy Adams, really have it together in this story.The cast ensemble are really good.Though this movie might have a "feel" of a Clint Eastwood production,it in no way resembles 'Million Dollar Baby'. This movie is based on atrue story, each of the main characters having their own lifestruggles, having to need the others support to make their mark inlife. Each of these main characters struggle for their significancethat is part of the mark in their life.Though this movie is probably classified as a "sports" or "boxing"movie, the actual sport has little to do with the fabric of the overallstructure of the story. It is a story of underdogs coming from theruins of their particular neighborhood, working hard to get to wherethey could be on top or within reach of it. There are the usualstruggles & trials, in the trips & falls along the way. How one canrise, just to fall harder & lower than ever before, or to rise, keepingat a plateau until you can finally walk into the sunset with head heldhigh.

Julian Mumford

(2012-04-21 14:50:06)

Bale almost unrecognizable

Christian Bale again suffers for his art, here portraying a characterphysically and emotionally as different from his other roles,"Machinist" notwithstanding, that on occasion, it is difficult to trulybelieve it is him.Mark Wahlberg takes on the less showy role of Welterweight "Irish"Mickey Ward, an aspiring boxer in Lowell, Massachusetts. Living in theshadow of his "coulda been a contender" and "Pride of Lowell" brotherDicky Eklund, who lost to Sugar Ray Leonard but not before he allegedlyknocked him down on the canvas.Eklund does not take the loss well and when we first meet the extendedfamily in 1993, he is at a low ebb, addicted to Crack but just managingto train Mickey as he sets him on his own long road to boxing fame andfortune.Mickey comes from a large family with a bevy of shrill sisters and aperma blond matriarch in the form of Oscar winning Melissa Leo as AliceEklund. Tough as old boots and fiercely protective of her brood, herlong suffering husband George Ward (McGee) is merely along for the rideand to keep the peace as best he can.Following a disastrous fight that he should never have fought, eventsspiral out of control and Eklund finds himself in prison with Mickeyforced to make hard choices for his stalled career.This is a very effective and believable film based on true events. Theperiod setting is good and the acting on display is first rate by allthe supporting actors. Bale is astonishingly good, a bundle of ticks,constantly mugging for the documentary camera that follows him around,his lost dreams permanently etched on his face. He is constantly onlyseconds away from his come back that everyone, apart from himself,knows will never come.A later scene where he is forced to watch "his Hollywood moment" isimpressive in so many ways, realization slowly dawning upon him, hisbravado ebbing away, as he accepts that without real change, his lifeis effectively over.Wahlberg is solid as Mickey, adequate but no more and is really theonly character, along with girlfriend Charlene (Amy Mcadams), that theaudience may actually sympathise with. Mother Alice and her brood areportrayed as monumentally blinkered and ignorant, certainly theiracting, especially Leo, is enough to set your teeth on edge and mayinstill a desire to lob anything handy at the screen, whenever they arearound.Eklund too presents an unlovable figure, he clearly has the biggestcharacter arc to follow and Bale makes no mistakes in sketching him andremains believable throughout. The boxing scenes are well filmed,Wahlberg certainly looks the part and at no time do the bouts appearfake.The story is very linear and follows a well worn path, on occasion youalmost miss the Rocky theme music during the training montages, whichare now almost a clichГѓВ© but are necessary for the story.There is a lot of shouting and realistic swearing, which is entirely inkeeping with the film but on occasion the film does not make for aneasy and enjoyable watch. If you have an aversion to boxing this maynot be for you, whilst not "about" boxing, the film does spend a fairbit of time in and around the ring.Summary Realistic, superbly acted with two Oscar winning turns, this is Rockyfor the new generation but stripped of all glamour and based on a truestory, this is stirring stuff indeed.Recommended as long as the subject matter interests.http://julesmoviereviews.blogspot.com/

Chris.

(2012-04-11 18:22:53)

Here I Go Again

A 'stepping stone' boxer (Wahlberg) must step out of the shadow of hiscontrolling lower socio-economic family whose influence threaten tosquander his talents before he can prove to the world that he's a truecontender. His older brother and mentor (Bale) is a crack-addict andformer boxer who famously knocked down Sugar Ray Leonard in his onlymemorable bout some dozen years earlier; unfortunately, it's hiserratic criminal behaviour that hinder Wahlberg's ascendance to theachievements his brother never attained.Marky Mark shows us again why he's a contender in the thespian lounge,not overshadowed by Bale's tormented soul, a minor hero in his workingclass community, now ravaged by crack addiction. Adams (as Wahlberg'sfeisty girlfriend) is a revelation - and despite her age (36 at thetime), she has the looks and figure of someone ten years younger (can Isay wow?). Lucky guy indeed to have her in his corner. Leo and McGeeare also notable as Micky's step mom and dad each with their own brandof support for their respective children (a colourful brood).The focus on the effects of drug addiction dwarfs any ugliness that isinherent in the boxing industry; the lifestyle and its 'trappings' aredepicted as anything but glamorous. Desperately sad at times, there aremoments of humour, suspense and acute violence and the overall resultis both satisfying and resonating (soundtrack too earns marks;particularly Whitesnake and Hall & Oates). Bale would surely attractaward notice for his portrayal of an endearing, yet painfully tragicfigure who despite talent and potential, found only failure in hissuccess. His brother's triumph is his chance at redemption, and mostwho see this film would surely be in his corner. Highly recommended.

gavin6942

(2012-04-11 02:26:32)

A Solid Film, Better Than I Expected

While many are calling this film a "winner" and positioning it for bestpicture of 2010, I just do not see that. Yes, it is quite good and evenbetter than I expected for a film that is basically the same oldunderdog rises up story.Mark Wahlberg (who looks like Matt Damon) is a decent actor, but it isChristian Bale that steals the show here. Fragile, a little bit crazy,he is not even recognizable as the man who plays Batman. Few if anyactors today put as much effort into becoming their roles than Baledoes, and he is the reason to watch this film -- without him it wouldjust be average.Expect this to get Bale a nomination and probably a win for supportingactor... beyond that, I do not see it.

(2012-04-07 23:36:08)

The Real Rocky

Overview: This film is what I would consider to be the 'Real Rocky' story. It is gritty, it is seedy, and it is real. This film is based on the life of boxer "Irish" Micky Ward (Mark Wahlberg) and his older half-brother Dicky Eklund (Christian Bale). They are two brothers, who are chasing a dream, to be recognized as a boxing champion. Dicky's had his shot and once knocked down Sugar Ray Leonard, as his dream fades, he can still talk the talk, but as reality hits him he turns to the crack house. His habit drives him into criminal activity and eventually jail. While Dicky is in jail, Micky makes some serious strides, partially being motivated by his future wife, Charlene Fleming (Amy Adams) in terms of winning his fights. At the point where he has a shot at a title fight, Dicky is released from prison and makes a serious commitment to stay clean and to assist in training his brother. This is a film about having a dream, and struggling, and making sacrifices to reach the goal and the destiny of your life. To attain the vision of your life. The Brothers: Micky, being the younger grew up in the shadows of Dicky. He looks up to him, but realizes too late that his brother was only selling him smoke and mirrors, as his real interest is crack (that is until he is dried out in jail). Dicky always enjoys being the hero and the center of attention. It's this crave for attention that caused him to be duped into making a HBO documentary on Crack in America. Bale does an exception job acting as a crack head, he looks quite drawn and just a bit punch drunk. In the end, they are able to set aside their differences, come together to work towards a common goal. The Title Fight: The fight of his career was the Welterweight Championship bout with Shea Neary, in London. This fight takes place in 2000. This fight was quite sensational; you should see it for yourself.... so I will not put in a spoiler here. The Conclusion: This film motivates and it shows the strength and resolve of the human spirit. The unwavering determination of Micky is truly to be admired and emulated.

Jack Blackburn

(2012-04-07 07:43:17)

The high quality of the acting belies The Fighter's ordinariness

[3 Stars] "The Fighter" arrived on these shores adorned withnominations and plaudits aplenty. Some went so far as to say that thefilm was "the best boxing film since Rocky", Esquire magazine havingapparently missed "Raging Bull" altogether. It is a shame, therefore,that the actual film should be so thoroughly ordinary.It is not a bad film at all. It is solid, pretty watchable, prettyinteresting fare. The true story of Micky Ward's rise in boxing is oneof those stories which sport throws up that seems born for Hollywood.But, Hollywood this is. The film is clichéd and predictable. It saysvery little but portrays a story of hard circumstances overcome in amanner which is more populist than the film's box office would suggest,the film's harder side counting against it there.It is however nothing extraordinary. David O. Russell certainly bringsan ounce of originality with the frenetic style of the film – fastmoving cameras, numerous cuts, characters jabbering over each other onand off screen – but none of this makes the film more gripping orappears to serve any real purpose. It jogs along following the expectedpath – solid, good, occasionally funny, and unremarkable. The victoriesdo not seem to matter as much as they should. The trials and lows ofthe film are not very affecting. Nothing stands out.That is with the exception of the acting, which is fantastic. ChristianBale has received all of the nominations for his bold and flashyperformance as Micky Ward's crack-addict brother, Dicky Ecklund, andrightly so. After the disappointment of his dull turn in "PublicEnemies", this is Bale back on form. However, as he acknowledged whenaccepting his Golden Globe, he wouldn't have got away with it withoutthe sterling work from Mark Wahlberg, whose understated central turn islead-acting at its best. He is always interesting, always gripping andgives the film its drive. He makes it watchable.In the supporting roles, there is seemingly a great battle going onbetween Amy Adams and Melissa Leo for the supporting actress gongs thisyear, and rightly so. Adams continues to establish herself as anextremely versatile and effective young actress with a great futureahead of her. However, it is Leo who should triumph for herbarnstorming performance of the battle-axe mother of the two brothers.She is absolutely brutal on screen and entertaining. Though hercharacter as written is slightly monotonous, she manages to disguisethis very adroitly.However, the film leaves its audience impressed by the quality of theacting but unimpressed by the film as a whole. Frankly, there arebetter ways to spend seven or eight pounds. Get "Raging Bull" out onDVD, or organise a whip-round so that Esquire can watch "Raging Bull".As for "The Fighter", it shall dimly fade, but the performances willremain as fine examples of the actor's craft.

kunalkhandwala

(2012-04-01 02:53:55)

Certainly packs a winning punch

The inspiring story of an underdog who reaches the limit of physicaland psychological brutality to achieve the ultimate title of achampion, makes Boxing movies such as 'Raging Bull' ,'Rocky' and'Million Dollar Baby' the worthy Oscar legends. But beyond theconventional premise of the underdog, the true story of Micky Ward ofLowell, Massachusetts deals with the battle against his blue-collarfamily whose sheer incompetence and obstinate approach leave him beatenand bruised. Micky is exceptional because his tougher mental andpsychological fights are against adversaries who are closest to him.The Fighter is not only director David O Russell's finest work but alsothe fruit of Mark Wahlberg's relentless pursuit of the Ward story as aproducer and actor. Micky is trained by his half-brother Dicky Eklund (Christian Bale), thepride of Lowell, who, with his wide open eyes, Irish-American accentand inflated pride, walks around town as the legendary boxer whoknocked out Sugar Ray Leonard (who may have tripped and fallen) whilehis footage is being covered by HBO for a supposed documentary markinghis return to boxing. On one hand, Micky is faced with his trainer whois unashamedly untimely and unprofessional due to crack addiction andon the other, he is 'managed' by his obdurate mother, Alice (MelissaLeo), who inevitably wastes his chances in the arena with all thewrong/unfair matches he is coerced into. His only respite is with thebeautiful but unabashed bartender, Charlene, whom his sisters detest asan 'MTV girl'. In Charlene's companionship, Micky finds hope to make itto the big league and an escape from the madness that is the Wardhousehold. Charlene's adamant goal for Micky becomes an unlikely matchfor Alice's authority over his career and while their confrontationsare intense, they also provide the entertainment through the stupidityof the Ward sisters, who in the background, are a loud and obtusehippie bunch. After an ugly row with the Police, Ricky is imprisoned and in hisabsence, Micky enters the arena with a new trainer, professionalmanager, dedicated lover and skills passed on by Ricky to finally seekhis shot at the title.The film is as brilliantly poised in the ring, as it is outside of it.Through some magnificent performances, we are able to feel some emotionfor each of the characters. Amy Adams as the beautiful Charlene, has apractical understanding of Micky's predicament and that makes hercharacter lovable. Melissa Leo as Alice portrays an authoritativetenacity that is easy to hate while the sisters provide theunsophisticated, uneducated look at the whole situation. Mark Wahlbergwent through a transformation to get into Micky Ward's character. Bothphysically and psychologically, he portrays a range of emotions hischaracter goes through and is subjected to. After sustaining 5-6 roundsof beating in the ring, he delivers one decisive blow to knock out theopponent. This is what he learnt from Ricky and this is what heshowcases to us as an actor. He grows with every scene within the movieitself. Then again, this is what he does best. Sturdy and focused, hefights all odds to emerge victorious. But the exemplary performance hasto be that of Christian Bale. He is actually Incredible as RickyEklund. He quickly erases any memory of the Machinist or Bruce Wayneand walks into the loose shoes of the swagger whose pride is hammereddown by HBO's documentary on crack addiction. Being used to placidcharacters so far, he transforms into this heavily accented, slim andblunt character whose demeanor and eccentric ways can only beovershadowed by the athlete in him that eventually trains Micky tosurpass even the best fighters. This has to be the best performance ofBale's career. Recollection of older boxing films is inevitable when it comes to thefight scenes but as Micky and Ricky walk to the ring to the signaturetune of Whitesnake's Here I go Again, the anticipation mounts andthereafter, Russell and the cinematographer deliver each punch with theharmony of agonizing jolts. For those who grew up with posters of'Rocky' in their rooms, The Fighter sure as hell, packs a winningpunch!8.835 on a scale of 1-10.

tieman64

(2012-03-31 14:27:24)

21st Century Schizoid Man

"To know a social class or even a portion of a social class is notsimply a matter of rubbing shoulders with its members, or getting downpat all their mannerisms and language. It has something to do also withunderstanding the class as an objective historical factor, a phenomenonthat goes beyond the level of individual consciousness andself-awareness." - Joanne Laurier The "boxing genre" has now been played with from every angle. Everysituation has been coded, every dramatic arc, shot, theme, line andcharacter thoroughly categorised, codified and now part of cinema'svocabulary. It would take a genius to shake the genre up.The two most interesting recent films in this genre, "Redbelt" and"Rocky Balboa", work for two completely different reasons, "Redbelt" acon game on genre and audience and "Rocky Balboa" a film about asimpleton made by a simpleton which embraces simpleton values. One filmis wholly subversive, the other possessing a kind of earnest,aww-shucks sincerity which perfectly parrots the naivety of the 1950sring flicks it adores.David O. Russell's "The Fighter", like Darren Aronofsky's "TheWrestler", exists at neither end of the spectrum. Like most "boxingmovies", it takes all the boxing tropes from 1950s ring flicks andpushes them to more frenetic extremes, the family drama harsher, thegrit grittier, the swearing louder. But it's all unimaginative cannedconflict, Russell, like Aronofsky, looking to get his career back ontrack with some audience/critic/studio pandering. See, he can makecrowd pleasing adult movies. But in Hollywood, "adult" is often codefor fairy tales with R ratings.Like "The Wrestler", the film strives for a certain 1970's grittinessor neo-realism, but its all so very self conscious and overlymanicured, Russell's white trash characters less "real people" thanknowing copies. Though virtually the entire cast rings false, actorChristian Bale is the worst culprit. Yes, he's playing a brain damagedcrack addict, but Bale's manic look-at-me performance is neverthelessall surfaces and too little depth. When De Niro parroted La Mottaparroting Brando in "Raging Bull", he still came across as a character.Here, Bale's parroting De Niro parroting La Motta parroting Brandoparroting Terry Malloy. The result is less a character than aself-reflexive Polaroid, flapping in the wind.The film's boxing sequences are themselves shot on video, epitomizingthe film's strange relationship with documentary realism. When Scorseseinserted faux family videos into "Raging Bull" you believed it. Threedecades later, similar tactics have an odd awkwardness. Cinema veriteonce attempted to simulate reality. Now directors attempt to simulatecinema verite. The world too mediated, ground zero "realism" is nowalmost impossible to convincingly convey. Strangely, actor MarkWahlberg, a born again Christian with newfound humility/devotion, isthe only actor who comes across as a real person rather than a flatimage. The film's best moments involve him.The "boxing genre" is largely a blue-collar world, so most of thesefilms unconsciously say something about the American working class.Here the film aligns media domination and early 90s techno-capitalismwith both a culture of addiction and the corpse like decomposition ofthe American Dream. For all its sexy style and Method pyrotechnics,something like "Raging Bull" was all hot air, masochism collapsing intoa kind of Catholic guilt, each fight (count them) a station of thecross, each blow a desire for penance. But Russell's film, likeAronofsky's, is about a much larger assault on the body. Here, each oftwo brothers (Mickey and Dicky) embodies a different fighting style.Dicky is feral, fast moving, flexible, whilst an unsuccessful Mickey isfirmly planted, rooted, always entrenched. Mickey, in other words, isanachronistic, a post industrial man being down sized and replaced byforeign strangers with small fingers and faster hands. He embodies whatGilles Deleuze calls the "disciplinary society", a cultural modelwhich, like Mickey's dilapidating home town (Lowell, the birthplace ofindustrial America), can not cope in the 21st century. In contrast,Mickey's brother, schizoid, his flesh ravaged by drugs, embodies ourera of amorphous, androgynous flexibility. The boxing ring is itselfnothing but a curriculum vitae, an arena to showcase your skill sets.The film ends with Mickey "retraining" for this new world, hismanhood/masculinity reprogrammed and reconstituted. After cutting tieswith his brother and his selfish, wholly dysfunctional extended family- capitalism atomises all relations - he eventually becomes a freaklike them. Final image: a VHS shot (and then a VHS shot of the VHSshot) of Mickey and Dicky side by side, equally flat, one brother a nutcase the other now on his way to becoming one.Eventually Bale's super self-conscious performance unintentionallybegins to work as subtext. What we have here is Christian Bale,literally a 21st C meta-product of post-modernism, his identity foreverunstable, alongside his predecessor, the Christian Wahlberg, literallythe product of a belief in a 20th century Soveriegn Self under God.With the progression of capitalism and the production of advancedtechnology, man becomes increasingly, and irrevocably, alienated fromhimself; what theorists call the "schizoid" or "split condition",humanity fundamentally divided from itself in countless ways. What thisnew wave of modern "boxing films" seems to unconsciously stress is notthe physical damage induced by fists on flesh, the seeping of blood orthe swelling of faces, but a kind of cruel depthlessness which theboxer must adopt if he is to triumph. And this triumph is alwayshollow. Rocky was reborn a man, a hero, when he took down Apollo Creed,but Mickey and Randy the Ram become flat images, selling themselves fornothing and then discarded.Incidentally, this was a work for hire for director David O. Russell.The project's real auteur is Mark Wahlberg. Aronofsky himself rejectedthe script in favour for directing "The Wrestler".7.9/10 – Too clichéd and self conscious, but Bale provides good laughs.

(2012-03-31 01:29:51)

At least I still think Wahlberg is hot

This is a poorly done film, quite a step down because of the other better made movies about fighting. Christian Bale...he will do anything to make his character believable, losing so much weight and looking like a crackhead. I admire him tremendously. Mark Wahlberg, he was not allowed to break out that magnificent performance he always gives, as well as his girlfried, Amy Adams. The whole trashy family thing, with the ridiculous sisters....yak. But, it was based on a true story so I guess all that fried hair was necessary LOL. Overall, I was disappointed.

ravram10

(2012-03-30 10:29:43)

A great movie with a great cast.

The fighter may not be the best movie of the year but it still isdefinitely one of the best movies of the year. The fighter has some ofthe best characters and performances of the year though. Wahlberg wasgreat in the movie so were all the supporting actors like Melissa Leo,Amy Adams and of course Christian Bale. I have never seen ChristianBale do a performance like that and definitely was the best supportingperformance of that year. The fighter is a terrifically acted film, andthe real drama comes in with the wards relationship to pretty mucheveryone in the movie. The fighter is a great drama that i wouldrecommend for everybody to see because it has definitely come to be oneof my top ten movies this year, I have seen this movie twice alreadybecause it is so good it is a magnificent movie and David O.Russell hasdone a great job in directing this movie witch makes it so memorable. Iwill definitely watch this movie a third time.

(2012-03-29 23:31:27)

Like new

This review is from: The Fighter (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy) (Blu-ray) This movie arrived in all the original packaging and looked as though it had only been watched one time. Never had a used movie arrive in such great condition.

(2012-03-29 09:06:05)

Helen's Fighter Review

This review is from: The Fighter (DVD) Best acting job Christian Bale has ever done. Excellent movie. Mark Wahlberg great, rate it an 8.5. Purchased through Amazon, delivered on time. Good print.Helen ParkerCicero,Indiana

(2012-03-25 23:07:17)

the Fighter

This review is from: The Fighter (DVD) Better than the ususal "boxing" movie for many reasons. Christian Bale and Mark Wahlberg, actors able to take on roles and play them convincingly, never reminding you of another role they've played are great portraying Dicky Ecklund and Mickey Ward; the whole cast does well as who they're portraying. Wahlberg actually boxes, not using stuntmen as he prepared to play Ward since it was decided he'd star in this (around 4 yrs ago). Bale plays a great crackhead in his portrayal of Dicky Ecklund. I've watched this movie more than once and probably will again many more times. All the way around considering drama, action, emotion - I think this is a great flick and will probably look at other movies directed by David O.Russell.

denisdennehy

(2012-03-25 06:08:08)

Bale shines again. Great movie.

OK, lets get one thing straight first... Raging Bull is the best boxingfilm ever made and making comparisons with that film is pointless, butcomparisons should be made. Both films are based on true stories, bothare boxing films that look into the dark side of the characters, andboth include amazing performances.The Fighter contains some of the best acting performances of the year.Christian Bale is easily one of the best movie actors of our time (asRobert De Nero was once upon a time), and this performance againdisplays his adaptability into any role and again raises him up to theechelons of Nero and Day Lewis in modern cinema (if you only know himfor Batman you need to rent The Machinist or Rescue Dawn asap).The film drew me in and engrossed me totally, mixing scenes of action,family dis-functionality, brotherly love, romance - you name it and itsin there. Wahlberg always seems a bit wooden to me (hence the loststar). Even when playing emotional scenes I always lack belief in hischaracters. This may be a personal opinion and doesn't detract from agreat film. Final word - you have to see this film. Ladies, it is much more thanjust a boxing movie.

samkay1

(2012-03-22 10:46:01)

Packs a pretty good punch

Without being spectacular, the Fighter throws enough good punches, andprovides enough compelling drama (both inside and outside the ring) tobe certainly worth a viewing. Sometimes it feels familiar, sometimes it feels fresh. What drives themovie more than anything is the way that the overall performancequality shines through. There is not one underplayed role in the movie.If there is a breakthrough of any sort in the Fighter it would beChristian Bale. One could easily argue that he delivers his bestperformance yet in the fighter. Personally I'd still give that title toAmerican Psycho, but this one is less likely to be a controversy. AmyAdams breaks some new ground as well, having gone from playing smalland frail, to putting on a few pounds, and picking cat fights.The Fighter is a collaborative effort. It doesn't quite break enoughnew ground to pass for great but, it's a good movie, and a very goodboxing movie.

(2012-03-21 13:11:45)

The Fighter on DVD

I chose to order The Fighter on DVD through Amazon because of availability, great prices and the arrival time is normally quick. All were true with this order. The movie was in new condition and arrived within 5 days. I saw the movie in the theater so I already knew I loved it. I would order everything from amazon if I could.

paolous2002

(2012-03-17 01:08:48)

a joke of a movie

I still don't understand how this movie is rated 8.1. It's ridiculous.From a boxing point of view this is the worst movie ever made (and,unfortunately, not only from a boxing point of view....). I think theactors trained no more than a couple of hours before shooting thescenes. The match with Sanchez is simply unbelievable. The actors don'teven TRY to look real! I don't know which movies you usually watch togive these ratings. I'm sorry to write this review because i liked MarkWahlberg and Christian Bale in their other movies. This time, from mypersonal point of view, they made a mess. I wasn't even able to watchit till the end. The director should be forced to watch Rocky andRaging Bull nonstop until he realize his total lack of professionalism.don't waste your time and money on this!!

Terrell Howell

(2012-03-16 14:49:30)

Disgusting people tell a high quality story

If you thought you knew what white trash was then watch The Fighter andit will introduce you to a whole new grotesque and degrading level. TheFighter is based on the true story of "Irish" Micky Ward and his climbto the top of boxing fame. However, the movie isn't as much aboutMicky's boxing career as it is about him and his family and how hiscareer is strongly affected by the white trash nut jobs in his family.First off there's his brother, Dicky Eklund. Dicky was himself afighter at one point, but when his career started to wane he begansmoking crack and his addiction turned him in to the pathetic humanbeing he is in this film. Then there is Micky's mother, Alice, who isalso his manager. She is borderline insane and incredibly controlling,She also has seven daughters, each uglier and more obnoxious than theother. The seven of them are almost one character whose opinions arealways let out unanimously and they each bounce off of each other insome of the funniest banter of the film. Their family is fascinating aswell as disgusting.It's hard to get the most out of a film when the majority of thecharacters are just such horrible, white trash, sleeze bags with hardlyany redeeming qualities. The family dynamics in the film are alsoalways changing, making it hard to decipher just how much you like ordislike these characters. At heart, these characters all love eachother and there is a strong theme of family ties throughout this film.But there are those times where these characters are pointlessly meanto each other, but you can argue that this all stems from their whitetrash lifestyle. But it's this bottom of the barrel lifestyle thatreally makes these characters much less likable than they should be. Ofcourse the film is based on a true story so to make them morerespectable human beings may have skewed the point of the film.But no matter how deplorable these people are, I cannot deny that theactors portraying them all do a superb job. The film one two AcademyAwards, both acting, and it deserved both of them. Christian Bale playsDicky Eklund, a role which he lost a scary amount of weight for. Baledoes a ridiculously good job in the film. Dicky is arguable the mostinteresting character of the film, possibly because of how perfectly hewas portrayed. Bale finds the perfect balance between over the topcrack addict and an emotionally fueled man who, deep down, has a bigheart. Melissa Leo plays Alice, Micky's mother, and she also capturesthe perfect balance in her character. Her dialouge also has that fastpaced inner city cadence coupled with an excellent inner city accent.Amy Adams plays Charlene, Micky's girlfriend, and she is excellent. Sheis far from a damsel in distress character dating a boxer forprotection. In some ways shes stronger than Micky and Amy Adams' toughand outward demeanor makes her a perfect casting choice. The maincharacter of the film, Micky Ward, is played by Mark Wahlberg. I alsogo back and forth on Wahlberg and I would have to say that in TheFighter he is the lowest point as far as acting goes. He tries veryhard and he is undoubtedly dedicated to his role, but his performanceis lackluster and is heavily overshadowed by his superior supportingcast.So I've made it clear that the characters in this film aren't exactlylikable and a lot of what goes on between them is a littledisheartening and off putting. But what really saves this is the factthat The Fighter is just a really well made film. David O. Russelldirects with a fantastic personal eye. There are some fantastic shotsthat last for minutes at a time, sweeping back and forth betweencharacters as they argue and bicker. He also shoots the boxing sceneswith a different camera or something, because he makes it look as ifthe fight is actually on TV. It's fascinating and very enthralling towatch. The boxing scenes are also very realistic and brutal so as togrip your emotions so tight that you can't look away as two men beateach other senseless. The dialouge is also great. There are nothrowaway lines or pointless scenes and the flow of the dialouge staysvery consistent, as does the flow of the entire film. This is a filmthat tries, producing something very high quality and in no wayhalf-assed.The Fighter is an excellent film, despite any problems I had with thecharacters and the despicable ways in which they treated each other attimes. These people just come from a different world, and it isn't aworld that want to relate to at all. Because of this, I feel like thereis a very thin barrier keeping me from loving this film as much as Icould have. But this barrier doesn't keep me from seeing just how wellthis film is made and just how superb the actors are. This is a mustsee for fans of boxing films. It's no Raging Bull, but it is stillquite the film.