Exceptional teaming of Wahlberg and Bale

Rating: 9/10 (4 February 2013)

It's hard to say which one of the two leads deserve the most praise and that's just one of the great things you can credit this magnificent film for.
Mark Wahlberg has firmly left his Marky Mark days behind him and has been in some of the most praised American films of the 90s and 00s. and he is no dummy. He knows he will look good if he is surrounded by top- notch talent, even if it means being overshadowed by them.
I can honestly say that I couldn't find one bad performance in The Fighter, even down to the smallest parts. The whole thing seemed totally authentic and credit therefore must go not only to Bale and Wahlberg but certainly in no small way to David O. Russell.
But we must remember that this is especially Bale's show. His performance cannot be diminished. It is an extremely scary and sad character but we totally believe his transformation. It is also a little frightening to think that he actually looks not at all well through the entire thing. He must have starved himself to slim down to that stick figure.
The one thing I couldn't really understand was the fight scenes. How come Wahlberg's fighter can take numerous extremely hard blows to the head without much damage? It hardly looks like he's been hit, except for the first fight. But I'll let that one slide.
Otherwise, kudos all around. Extremely well crafted, superb underdog story and what about that Amy Adams. She will definitely bring in all the boys. She is not a bad actress either.