Definitely a good movie, but nothing past that.

Rating: 8/10 (23 February 2011)

The Fighter was the type of film that intrigues every boxing fan and cinema goer. You look at the film and think "it's about boxing, it is critically acclaimed, nominated for several Oscars, and is a true story". However, I cannot deny that I did feel let down by this movie, as it definitely did not live up to expectations.
As a brief synopsis, The Fighter tells the story of 'Irish' Mickey Ward's rise to become a champion against the odds, and his brother Dicky Eklund's addiction to crack. First and foremost, this isn't exactly a typical boxing film; it's more about the intra-family relationships around the brothers and, even more importantly, the relationship between the brothers. This is all that is really worth saying about the story to people that haven't seen it.
The acting in the movie is definitely a split between the good, the bad, and the ugly. To get it out of the way, Mickey Ward's family cover the 'ugly' side of this. Now, to begin, Mark Wahlberg is his typical wooden self in this role. Perhaps the only reason he got this role was because he could provide muscle? The only redeeming feature is Christian Bale as Dicky Eklund. Especially to people that have seen the roles Bale normally plays, this will be a surprise. The performance is a joy to behold, especially during the credits when the real Ward and Eklund speak and you see how close to the real thing Bale got. Apart from his impersonation of Dicky Eklund, Bale plays a crack addict very well. There is a particularly moving scene of Eklund rolling in agony whilst he is incarcerated for numerous charges brought about for raising money for his brother, due to the withdrawal symptoms caused by not having crack in prison.
Story-wise, the movie is okay. It is not the most spectacular storyline you'll ever see, but this can always be excused when a true story is being told. However, most boxing fans will know Mickey Ward for his saga of fights with Arturo Gatti, none of which are shown in this movie, since it ends after he becomes champion. This was a little bit disappointing, but I guess it feeds into the fact that this is more a story of love and family than a boxing movie.
Whoever gave the filming tips or artistic direction of the movie can be saluted. I personally thought it was a great idea to switch to more of a television camera for the fights to make it more realistic. Otherwise, nothing to exotic is used through any of the normal scenes. The only other thing I would add is that I personally thought the text used over the screen looked very amateur, but it isn't the most important factor in a film.
Overall, I think this is definitely a good movie, but nothing past that. The nature of the film and the hype it is given makes me feel a sort of pressure to give it a higher rating. However, anything past this would undermine the quality of better movies.