THE FIGHTER (David O. Russell, 2010) ***

Rating: 7/10 (22 January 2011)

More than any other type of sport, the Boxing movie has steadily attracted the attention of Oscar voters – with the most successful examples obviously being ROCKY (1976) and MILLION DOLLAR BABY (2004), since they surprisingly ended up walking away with the top prizes. However, in the vast majority of the cases, genre conventions were merely employed as a spring-board for character development – notably RAGING BULL (1980) – and this latest entry certainly follows in that tradition (being, for one thing, similarly inspired by the career of a real-life fighter).
The project apparently started with star/producer Mark Wahlberg; interestingly, one of the myriad executive producers here is Darren Aronofsy who, not only directed the definitive film about another violent sport i.e. THE WRESTLER (2008), but has been competing with David O. Russell all through the current awards season for his own film about yet one more 'tortured' discipline, ballet, in BLACK SWAN (2010)! Incidentally, while Christian Bale and Melissa Leo have been garnering the biggest praise from among the cast, I found their performances (he as the protagonist's washed-out boxer-turned-junkie of an elder brother, still riding on the wave of his greatest match, and she as his harridan of a chain-smoking mother, who blindingly believes she knows what is best for her boys) grating and overly-mannered, so that I was more impressed with Wahlberg's own quiet turn and Amy Adams' compelling portrayal of his tough bar-maid girlfriend.
By the way, I guess one relates to the notion of 'family as a sacred institution' like it is depicted here (and in many another film in various genres) based on his own experiences; as for myself, I have never bought into it and, if this may pre-condition the final assessment of any given film, that is just too bad! As ever with this type of crowd-pleasing fare, the boxing sequences themselves are excitingly edited for maximum impact (particularly the two in which Wahlberg emerges victorious) – but equally important is the choice of soundtrack, and it does not disappoint in this area either (including my own favorite Aerosmith song from the 1970s, "Back In The Saddle").