Related
Screen Rant ’s Kofi Outlaw ReviewsThe Fighter
There are a pile of people who will go intoThe Fighterexpecting to see the nextRockyorCinderella Man -i.e . , blue - collar hero subdue personal hurdles and/or ogre to become a mavin and American icon against all odds .
Well , imagine take that cinematic commonplace and rub it in the stain while still superintend to give it a soupcon of wittiness and a sullen dose of spell . If you’re able to visualize that unusual image , you ’ll understand exactly what director David O. Russell has created withThe Fighter .
This true - life story write up follow " Irish " Mickey Ward ( Mark Wahlberg ) , a welterweight packer survive in the working - form Ithiel Town of Lowell , Massachusetts during the other ' ninety . Mickey - pronounce a " stepping stone " in the fisticuffs pack - live in the shadow of his half - brother Dicky Eklund ( Christian Bale ) , a former boxer who is bonk rotund townsfolk as " The Pride of Lowell " for a famous miss round in which he supposedly knocked down the expectant Sugar Ray Leonard in the pack before being defeated .
Dicky is Mickey ’s beau ideal and his trainer - little chum heeds whatever braggart brother tells him to do . The boys ' mother Alice ( Melissa Leo ) crop as Mickey ’s managing director , making Mickey ’s career a overnice miserly family operation - one that has already hit the rock music and is falling aside . Dicky is a full - blown drug freak ; Alice is a drinking , chain - smoking dragon - female parent who is still living off the glowing of Dicky ’s expired fame . Mickey ca n’t seem to pilot his path through this quagmire of dream , obligations , family and loyalty - that is , of course , until he meets Charlene ( Amy Adams ) , a local barmaid who wants to help Mickey get his headland on full-strength .
However , despite all the drama and topsy-turvydom smother him at the last of the day Mickey Ward can only be a champ if he himself decide to maltreat up and be one - interior and outside the band .
The Fighteris a rare movie in terms of its quality , but it is certainly even more of a rarity within the sports play wedge - writing style . tale of athletic conquering lend themselves so easily to the dramatic side of cinema , yet David O. Russell , along with his exceeding cast , has managed to craft a sport drama that is really more of a stripped - down dark comedy about the delusions and realities of fame , fortune and success in America . Sure , the basic model is the same as that of Rocky Balboa ’s story ( with Massachusetts gumption sub for Philadelphia grit ) , but it is the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe and quality of the material body laid over those finger cymbals that distinguishesThe Fighterfrom so many other movies like it .
This cinema is a character piece , sodding and simple . While Mickey ’s stumble and ultimate rise through the packing ranks supply the narrative arch , the film is focused foursquare on the players ride along for the journeying - Mickey , Dicky , Alice , and Charlene . It ’s clear that Russell came across this tale and recognized the value of unique and vibrant character like these ( I consult to both the substantial - life Ward / Eklund crime syndicate as much as their onscreen counterparts ) , and not just the generic sports write up that has been so exhaustively mine by Hollywood .
What we get here are characters who are unapologetically flawed and trashy ( even scented Charlene defines herself as a prison guard up who partied by her chance at college ) - but they ’re also fibre who are refreshingly natural , spanking , and quite screaming . The Fightersolicits more hoots and stomach - roll laughs than it does bout or goosebumps - and while there are a few fleshy moments , those bit are never tap for dramatic weightiness . rather of working you over for the emotional return , Russell instead lets the hearing ’s empathy for these character carry the emotion for him - no demand to score anybody over the oral sex with significance . Rather than trying to tug at your feelings , screenplay / history author Scott Silver , Paul Tamasy , Eric Johnson and Keith Dorrington make the smart move of injecting life story into their characters and plenty of sparks into the whip - smart " colloquial " dialogue trade back and forth like dagger by the main players .
The cast ( for the most part ) do a phenomenal job take these racy and brainsick characters to life - a essential task in a movie like this . Thankfully , Russell is working with some of the best thespian in the business and they manage to hit the ripe stride .
Continue to the conclusion of our review ofThe Fighter …
There ’s already word that Christian Bale will be nominated for an Oscar for his turn as Dicky Eklund , and the realization is whole deserved . While not exactly the focus , Dicky is doubtless the driving effect of this movie , and the usually - reserved Bale manages to exudate the mad ( and infective ) personal magnetism of his subject even in Dicky ’s worst moments , at once creating a expansive dunderhead and ( as revealed by an coming into court of the real Dicky Eklund in the film ) a pretty accurate nod to the spirit of his real - life counterpart . Bale run so far as to breeze through down Dicky ’s gangling physicality perfectly , a refinement of performance that is highlighted in one neat scene in which Dicky and Mickey equate their combat styles .
By contrast , Mark Wahlberg pretty much portrays the same quiet , semi - vulnerable tough - guy character we ’ve seen in films likeFour BrothersorWe Own The Night . I ’ll leave it to you to decide if the close proximity between Wahlberg and Ward ’s actual workings - class Massachusetts upbringings give the actor ’s portraiture " legitimacy , " but for my part , I have to knock Wahlberg for letting the bear players outshine the lead so brightly .
While a lot of stress will be on two leading men ’s performances , for me it was really the women ofThe Fighterwho stole the show . Indie actress Melissa Leo is almost unrecognizable as Mickey ’s dragon - lady mother , Alice . With her shrivel up towny look , incessant veil of cigarette smoke and grating vox much hissing each and every syllable in her New England clodhopper , Leo is a scene - thief of the best form . Amy Adams is pass the tall fiat of switch barbs with both Leo and Bale throughout the film , and here she proves just why she has been twice nominated for an Oscar so betimes in her bud vocation . Charlene is that " girlfriend who gets the guy " character , but she is no Adrian to Mickey ’s Rocky , by any way . If anything , Charlene is a fearless , more layer - manoeuvre ( read : no B.S. ) translation of Alice , and her confrontations with the dragon mother and Dicky ’s crew of sisters ( an amazing ensemble of character actresses ) make for the most uproarious and entertaining scenes in the picture show .
underpin performances by Jack McGee and Mickey O’Keefe - as the two belabored father - figures shoehorned into helping Mickey along to greatness , while keeping the tainted side of the family unit at bay - are evenly strong ( and fishy ) .
Christian Bale and Mark Wahlberg in ‘The Fighter’
Russell ’s direction wisely keeps the focus set on these elementary character , and never wanders off into the tempting realm of sport action . In the boxing sequences ( which are staged to mimic ' 90s - era HBO broadcast , to good effect ) , the director keeps the television camera tight on the face and bodies of his chief cast , letting their expression and gesture ( whether they ’re in the ring or in the crowd ) convey the circumstance and story behind the sports spectacle - which is the entire stage of the film .
alfresco of the ring , Russell get to his version of Lowell look gritty and real - and I ’m not talking that " svelte grit " you see in celluloid like Ron Howard ’s Depression - eraCinderella Man . From the " costume , " to the terrain , to the picture taking , motion-picture photography and the ( semi-)unflattering forcible visual aspect of the thespian ( even the endearing Adams flash some pallid , fleshy curve and a lave - out flavor ) this urbane movie looks the part of an unpolished indie photographic film , again relying on character reference and act rather of production value to convey it . A wise determination .
All in all , The Fighteris one of the top movie experience of the year for me . Great performances , great filmmaking and a genuinely gratifying journey following characters you ’ll likely have a grueling time forgetting . A bonafide must - see this vacation time of year .
Christian Bale and Mark Wahlberg in ‘The Fighter’
Check out the trailer forThe Fighter :
[ poll id=“101 " ]
The Fighter is a biographical sport film base on the on-key write up of boxer Micky Ward and his older brother Dicky Eklund . Micky , who has fallen from grace after his legendary binge with Sugar Ray Leonard and losses along the way , is participate in an interview that he consider is about his fisticuffs calling but turns out to be a piece on crack dependence . Seeking redemption and a way back into the ring , Mickey and Dicky wagon train together to restore their family ’s honor and repair a confused house .
Wahlberg and Adams in ‘The Fighter’.
The Fighter is a biographical sports film based on the true story of boxer Micky Ward and his older brother Dicky Eklund. Micky, who has fallen from grace after his legendary bout with Sugar Ray Leonard and losses along the way, is participating in an interview that he believes is about his boxing career but turns out to be a piece on crack addiction. Seeking redemption and a way back into the ring, Mickey and Dicky train together to restore their family’s honor and repair a broken home.
