The outcome was clear

Rating: 6/10 (20 March 2011)

USA has a great tradition when it comes to boxing movies and the masterpieces are of course "Fat City" and "Raging Bull". But somehow the same story is being told all the time. It's about the beaten-up fighter who starts his race upwards, but that wouldn't have been possible without his trainer and his family/wife and besides he's a nice man and...
Well, we know that story and here it's being told once again. But Christian Bale is brilliant as the brother/trainer with crack problems. Mark Wahlberg is the fighter hero and he's never been a man of big gestures. It functions here too.
But we are absolutely not surprised in any way and the fighting scenes are certainly not realistic.