Depiction of the Depression was gripping. A moving story.

Rating: 7/10 (31 December 2005)

As has been pointed out, the boxing/action scenes themselves were not particularly impressive (but then I didn't think the action scenes of Raging Bull were so great either). But that is completely secondary as this was a very good movie for it's drama. The depiction of the depression was gripping, and the story of a man of good moral fiber keeping his family together and coming back against all odds was in one word, uplifting.
I'm not sure this would deserve an Oscar, but there aren't really any other movies which stand out (although they would never select it Christopher Nolan's "Batman Begins" was actually the most entertaining movie of 2005 in my opinion. Beautifully resurrecting a completely murdered franchise, that's pretty substantial). Ron Howard and Crowe's last collaboration in "Beautiful Mind" got a well deserved Oscar, but "Cinderella Man" is a little too straightforward, maybe. Maybe.
Funny thing was that because of Giamatti's quirkiness I had a strong impression that the main character was being cheated by his manager, and this impression wasn't cleared up until near the end of the movie and I saw the empty room.