The Fighter

Reviewed by Steve Kochems and Mike Kamrowski

My favorite sports writer, Bill Simmons, pointed out in his ESPN column that there have been 35 boxing movies in the last 35 years, most of which follow the cookie-cutter pattern of big name star who plays an under achieving fighter, meets a girl in his neighborhood, and then builds up to the big fight climax where he wins everything, including the girl. This of course is not the case with classics like Million Dollar Baby or Rocky (or Rocky Balboa for that matter). The 2010 film The Fighter may seem like just another boxing movie, but you’d have to see it to realize how fresh and new it feels.

The movie follows boxer Mickey Ward (Mark Wahlberg) and his relationship with his older brother, Dicky Eklund (Christian Bale), also a former professional boxer who once knocked down Sugar Ray Leonard but is now a struggling crack addict. Much of the beginning leaves Mickey in the shadows as Dicky is followed by HBO films, which is doing a movie on him. His mother and manager (Melissa Leo) and his numerous sisters all follow every step of Dicky’s but ignore the obvious signs of trouble.

For the first 40 minutes or so of the film, you really feel for Wahlberg, who nails the sympathetic and quiet Mickey (and should be getting more Oscar buzz than he is). On the contrary, Bale completely envelops himself in the role of Dickey, going from quirky and funny one minute to a train wreck and pathetic the next, which is one of the most dangerous moves the film makes but I’ll touch on that in a minute.

Mickey’s relationship with Charlene (Amy Adams) is one of the better cinematic examples in recent history. He first gets her number, and then blows her off after his first fight. Charlene is far from the quiet reserve princess but is very much a fighter herself. She acts as a major catalyst for Mickey’s professional changes in the movie and Adams really nails the role, bringing that gritty, tough bartending woman out.

Now, the major thing that worried me with this film was its tonal shifts. This movie is a lot funnier than you’d be led to believe, Wahlberg and Bale both bring their own comedy but as a natural feel from their characters so it never seems forced but rather more like a real family with real emotions. It takes out that Hollywood feel of them telling us that they are a family and rather showing us. And while this is a good thing normally, when it shifts from those moments to Dicky going through crack withdrawals, you can often lose the audience. It’s a major gamble to bring the darkest and lightest of a family dynamic into a film, but I’ve gotta hand it to director David O. Russell (Three Kings) for balancing them well.

The Fighter is probably one of the most re-watchable films this year, which scores major points with me. It’s a feel good story that in many ways works more like a documentary than a narrative. I really truly enjoyed the fact that the fight scenes were shot on gritty B cameras like HBO Boxing After Dark would do (a la Rocky Balboa). It keeps the story feeling gritty, not glamorous and clean like you would feel with Ali.

It’s one of the best films of the year, that’s for sure, and is certainly a must-see. It will be on my DVD shelf, which is a rarity for me to proclaim that this early, but it’s that good.

 

Rating: 5 out of 5

I'm right with Steve on this one. From the great supporting cast to realistic (these were choreographed?) fight scenes, The Fighter really took me by surprise. While I don't think it's a better boxing movie than, say, Rocky, I do think that it can hold its own against other heavy weights in the genre.

Wahlberg and Adams were great a great on-screen couple and you could really feel the chemistry between the two and the rest of the cast. Steve was right when he said that they all felt like one big family, which is essentially what the film is about.

Yes, this is a boxing film. Yes, this is an homage to the story of Mickey Ward. Yes, Bale's character struggles with drug addiction. Yes, Wahlberg has awesome abs. But after everything, this movie shows the struggles and bonds of a family, their hopes and dreams, successes and failures. When Ward won, the family won. When he lost...

I think the thing I was most impressed with in this flick was the acting of Christian Bale. I still haven't gotten around to Black Swan or True Grit, but I can't imagine those movies having a supporting character taking us to where Bale took us with Dicky Eklund. The former boxing star turned crack head, Bale was electric on screen- he was Eklund. From his cocky demeanor, his swagger, his exaggerated mannerisms- he completely transformed himself into another person. Steve was spot on when he said he can go from funny one minute (jumping out of crack house windows) to a complete train wreck the next (see: fake prostitution sting scene). If Bale doesn't get the Best Supporting Actor Oscar (if not for what was mentioned above, then for his breath-taking walking-down-the-street-holding-an-ice-cream-cake scene), I'll be shocked.

Rating: 5 out of 5