Good Film, not Great

Rating: 5/10 (7 June 2005)

Cinderella Man is a good film but not a great one. Crowe is his usual excellent self in a role that would be a mere cliché with a lessor actor, however all the other roles are just that. The film is enjoyable on a strictly feel good level, which is fine, but because its aim is so obviously manipulative (ie I expected Dickens' Tiny Tim on crutches to show up at any moment) it becomes very formulaic and entirely predictable. Nothing wrong with that however, just nothing special. It is definitely worth seeing for Crowe's performance and the excellent set decoration, but it is not one of the top ten movies of 2005....at least I hope not.