Stop calling me an MTV girl.....

Rating: 7/10 (9 July 2011)

Based on the true story of boxer "Irish" Micky Ward's unlikely road to the world light welterweight title.
His Rocky-like rise was shepherded by half-brother Dicky, a boxer-turned-trainer on the verge of being KO'd by drugs and crime.....
When it comes to awards season, there is always one film i want to see, but make excuses not to see it. This is the film, and although it's taken me nearly six months to see it, i'm not really that bothered I missed it on the big screen.
Sure, the film is a great morality tale of the working class man making it big despite family getting in the way. The scenes with Mickys sisters and his mother have some of the best put down dialogue in a film this year, and both bittersweet and funny. Bale and Adams are perfect in their respective roles and really bring the film to life.
And the pugilism scenes are the most realistic and bonecruncing since De Niro stepped into the ring.
But I wasn't blown away by the film, it's good, but nothing to scream about, and I blame Wahlberg for this, because the man is just too bland for his own good. The only time he puts any heart into his role is when he is sharing time with Bale, and it's a good job, because Bale would have made him look more wooden than he is in Max Payne.
He isn't terrible, he just seems uninterested, and there is a look on his face throughout with a realisation that he is being acted off the screen from every angle. A lot of people are saying that it's his best performance. I say, go back to 1996 and see Fear, he's never been better.
It's a shame, because the story is so full of rich dialogue and wonderful narrative, you really try hard to like it, but the titular character ruins it.
Lucky Christian 'Bales' him out....