Great film

Rating: 8/10 (23 January 2011)

Great profile of the boxer Micky Wards life. The story also concentrates hard on his brother Dicky Eklund, an ex boxing/junkie/Micky's trainer. Mark Walberg is excellent as the under achieving boxer who's dominated by his brother, who has hero status in the neighbourhood for his contentious knockdown of Sugar Ray Leonard in the 80's, and his domineering mother/manager. Christian Bale surpasses Wahlbergs performance as brother Dicky. Dicky is trying to make a come back in boxing and train his younger brother whilst battling Crack addiction and fighting his own demons.
Some of the boxing scenes are a bit 'too Rocky' for me but this is much more than a boxing film. It deals with complex family relationships and it could almost be said that the main focus of the film is on Crack addiction and how it destroys lives. The fight for the WBU title at the end is a bit overplayed but Hollywood does need a big climax. Overall though great and believable film. Some 'based on true events' films deviate too much from the truth and thus become un-believable but i think The Fighter gets the balance just about right.