A little slow but rewarding

Rating: 8/10 (29 May 2016)

The movie has a rather slow pace, especially at the beginning but don't be fooled. After about an hour the movie really picks up traction and gets really interesting/explodes. If it weren't for the rather slow beginning I would have given it a 10/10 and I'm not a big fan of boxing-related movies. One of my favorite aspects of the movie was the character development of Micky's brother; Dicky (played by Christian Bale).
Disclaimer: The next part contains spoilers.
A little recap on the story: Dicky who once had a pretty successful career as a professional boxer himself decided that his days as a boxer are over and that his younger brother Micky might have a better shot. At the beginning Dicky is extremely unreliable and as we later find out a drug addict (he's addicted to Crack). Through an unlucky turn of events Dicky finds himself in prison and it's right there that he decides to change his ways. To get clean once and for all, for himself, for his brother and ultimately for his hometown seeing that he was once hailed a hero. This revelation came to him after he watched a documentary about himself (or more specifically about his crack addiction) in prison. After he served his prison sentence he prepared his brother for the upcoming title match through means of a rigorous exercise routine.