Best boxing film since Million Dollar baby

Rating: 10/10 (18 December 2010)

The fighter follows the early and tumultuous career of Mickey Ward. A Boston boxer who had is brother, Dicky Eklund, a former boxer as his trainer and his mother has his manager. Ward falls in love with a bartender named Carlene. Carlene shows Mickey how detrimental having his family has his trainer and manager is to his shots an moving in the boxing world.
The story is interesting but sounds kind of bland and generic upon first glance. However, David O. Russell finally has lived up to the promise he should with Three Kings. Once again he teams up with Mark Wahlberg, who plays Mickey Ward. Wahlberg gives the best performance of his career in this film. That being said he seems to be lost in the shuffle of the other great performances in this wonderful film. Christian Bale is a scene stealer as Ward's crack head brother/trainer Dicky Eklund. Bale is almost unrecognizable with his skeletal frame and thinned out hair. Bale is probably going to and should walk away with Best Supporting Actor in all the major awards. Mellisa Leo also is barely recognizable as Ward's mother/manager Alice. She give a very solid performance as the chain smoking mother who refuses to except tha her oldest Dicky is a crack head. Amy Adams is fantastic and lovely int her role as Ward's girlfriend.
The film from outside the ring feels like a mix of Cinderella Man and Million Dollar Baby. Inside the ring Russell films the same way HBO films their fights and in the ring he moves the camera as smoothly and in kamikaze style as Scorsese did in Raging Bull. The film is fantastic and the songs that played during montages are very nostalgic of the 1980s and 1990s.
The film will garner some awards. Most likely Best Supporting Actor for Bale and maybe Best Cinematography, however it may fall to True Grit or Inception. Adams and Leo will probably end up cancelling each other out in the Best Supporting Actress category.
This is easily the best sports or boxing film since Clint Eastwood's masterpiece Million Dollar Baby. This film definitely ranks up there with Raging Bull and Million Dollar Baby.
10 out of 10