Outstanding

Rating: Null/10 (21 December 2004)

Saw this last night in LA without much knowing what to expect. Hadn't read many reviews...only knew I liked the work of the three main stars. Swank carries the film and is at her absolute best. The last 45 minutes are some of the most powerful film-making I can remember. Eastwood is also in top form but allows Swank's performance to trump his own. Freeman is outstanding and might have done enough to earn a Best Supporting Actor nomination. This is so much more than a boxing movie, but it's right there with "Raging Bull" and "Rocky". I saw "The Aviator" two days ago and enjoyed "MDB" more.
However, the film is not without fault...Eastwood has a tendency to allow scenes to go on too long and to fill them with too much dead air. The dialogue at times appears a little too ad-libbed. There are some minor logical inconsistencies. But the positives far outweigh the negatives.