Misleading and Overrated

Rating: 7/10 (6 March 2011)

I want to start this off by saying that this really and truly is a remarkable story but whole campaign that they had going on for this movie was that of a "Rocky"journey and it just wasn't. That was only a small part of it. The real centerpiece of the story was Dicky's journey. It wasn't a boxer doing the impossible, it was about the internal strife within a family, the dichotomy of two brother's (one who threw away his shot and the other who didn't want to make the same mistakes). It was about Dicky's journey back from the dark side as much as it was about Mickey's chance to overcome the impossible. More than anything, it was Mark Wahlberg's story and journey to get this film made that emulated the "Rocky" tale that the studio tried so hard to push.
I'd just like to lastly point out how awesome it is to see Christian Bale get an Oscar after being ridiculed for his performances in The Dark Knight and Terminator Salvation. Nice comeback!