A cast of champs

Rating: 9/10 (19 March 2011)

The Fighter is one of those films that after you watch it you feel almost that you lived it. It has a quality very few films have. Some films like Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Sex and the City 2 make you feel like you're watching a poorly written film or are just staring at characters that you have no desire to watch. The Fighter has the right amount of intensity, realism (which it should), and a great cast to seal the deal.
While I haven't seen The King's Speech, I can say Colin Firth has some hefty competition as he better win me over as Prince Albert. Because as of now, its looking like Wahlberg should've deserved it. My goal is to watch all the Best Picture nominees of The Oscars before June, my set deadline. Franco was good, Eisenberg was great, but Wahlberg is a character in this film.
The plot: Welterweight boxer Mickey Ward (Wahlberg) struggles to make a name for himself as he tries to fight his way to fame. His big mouthed, former crackhead brother Dicky (Bale) is his trainer and his mother, played by the fabulous, well deserving Oscar winner Melissa Leo is his manager.
Mickey is constantly babied and spoon-fed by his mother who feels that if someone isn't family they're not worth their time. Her personality comes forth when Mickey is offered to be trained in Vegas. Of course anyone would jump at the opportunity, but Mickey's uptight family (with the exception of his dad) refuses to let him.
That is until Mickey meets a lovely young bartender named Charlene (Adams) who is Mickey's girlfriend. She encourages him to stand up for what he wants to do, only to be named "an MTV girl" by Mickey's nine sisters.
It's a thrill I got to see The Fighter for a low price on Xbox Live's Zune. It's something that is well worthy of the title "a must see film." The end was a tiny bit disappointing, but not everything is perfect. Everything has a flaw. I cheered a little for Mickey, but I felt that something else should've happened at the end. Like Raging Bull had a little bit of a "wow" moment at the end. The Fighter doesn't have an ending that is truly shocking.
Regardless, it doesn't drag the film down a whole lot. Wahlberg is fantastic, Bale is wonderful, Leo is powerful, just powerful, and Adams is one of the strongest female leads of 2010. She gets into her role as Charlene and just hits everything spot on. It seems after doing bad romantic comedies she finally hit the jackpot.
Director David O. Russell's documents one of the most gripping fighting films in my recent memory, and ranks up with Scorsese's Raging Bull. The action on screen is great and The Fighter is an all around enjoyment.
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Melissa Leo, and Amy Adams. Directed by: David O. Russell.