Tries to be more than it is.

Rating: 8/10 (21 February 2011)

The Fighter is a well made Hollywood movie, similar in some ways to Cinderella Man. Both movies are well acted with stylish direction. Both suffer in my opinion by playing around with the truth. The stories were already interesting. The so-called World Title that Micky Ward wins, is not a serious World Title. The Title Fight was for the World Boxing Union Light Welterweight Title.
The World Boxing Union (WBU) is a poorly regarded boxing organization whose World Champions are often not given serious recognition, particularly in the U.S.A. WBU titles are used mainly to get some exposure, in order to get better fights. Most WBU title fights take place under the promotion of British promoter Frank Warren's Sports Network. Micky Ward never defended the title. Five months after winning the "Title" he lost his next fight in the U.S.A. He never fought for one of the Major Titles.
None of that matters. His story is still inspirational. Why the need to Gild the Lily?