this truly packs a punch

Rating: 10/10 (15 August 2005)

Calling "Million Dollar Baby" a boxing movie would be like calling "Star Wars" a space fantasy. Only "Rocky" has ever reached this quality. Hilary Swank gives a performance beyond what anyone could ever imagine as destitute waitress Maggie Fitzgerald, trying to make something of herself as a boxer. Clint Eastwood gives probably his best performance ever as trainer Frankie Dunn, trying to reassert his worth by training Maggie. Morgan Freeman is also amazing as co-trainer Eddie "Scrap-Iron" Dupris, seeking a new direction in life.
Watching "Million Dollar Baby" you may end up feeling like you are in the middle of a boxing ring. Tough (but never gratuitously violent), disturbing (but never manipulating emotions), this elevates Hilary Swank to the level of Katharine Hepburn, Jane Fonda and Meryl Streep. Her and Morgan Freeman's Oscar wins were more than deserved (as for Best Picture, I was actually rooting for "The Aviator"). But regardless of anything, no one can deny how great this movie is. 10/10.