New Review - The Fighter

The Fighter - A
When you think of a film like this, your first reaction might be that it'll be focused solely on the fighter's rise to the top with a little bit of character development sprinkled in. You would be wrong. It certainly includes some of that feel-good, defying all odds kinda stuff... but what I loved about this movie is that the character development is priority for the filmmakers. The feeling we're all supposed to feel about Mark Wahlberg's character is predicated on the connection that is built in the first two thirds of the movie. Now that you have an overview, onto the review.

Story - 8
Mark Wahlberg plays "Irish" Mickey Ward, a boxer from Lowell, Mass. with a recent slump in the ring. His brother Dickie (Christian Bale), a Lowell hero and Mickey's trainer, is struggling with addiction to crack and subsequently having an HBO special recorded about his fall and addiction. As his volatile brother continues to fall, Mickey is confronted with the possibility of leaving his brother and overbearing mother/manager (Melissa Leo) for the chance to train elsewhere. At this point he meets and falls for Charlene (Amy Adams), who sees his potential and stands in the face of Mickey's family causing a rift between the once tight family unit. Dickie ends up going to jail as a part of his downward spiral, giving Mickey an out. As he starts to distance himself from his family, he finds more and more success. The story does a lot of justice to the brokenness and selfish motives that can tear a family apart, but it does a really good job of showing what can happen when all parties involved realize what needs to be done for the greater good.

Genre Fulfillment -8
It succeeds as a drama that explores broken family units and the struggles they face, and it does well to frame that drama in the style of a sports movie. It blends the two styles very well, and never feels as if one is taking over from the other.

Characters - 4.5
Let's be honest, as good as Mark Wahlberg is, he is upstaged throughout the entire movie by Christian Bale's performance. Christian ought to be recognized for this incredible turn. Melissa Leo and Amy Adams provide a great support to the story line. The family dynamic is really represented well in the script and the characters have a lot of depth to them.

Believability - 4
We all have family issues right?

Filmmaking - 8
There's not a whole lot that's outstanding when it comes to technical categories. But there isn't much that takes away from the story. The intention of this movie is to present the story and nothing really distracts you from that. Some of the boxing scenes are pretty cool, I really liked the way it really felt like a mid-nineties boxing broadcast.

Enjoyment - 8
I was invested in this family's struggle to survive together. I was invested in Mickey's success. I left the movie feeling satisfied, not blown away, but it was certainly worth watching and I would recommend you go out and see this as well... after you see Black Swan that is!

The Fighter = 4.05 out of 5 yukes

"he's a fighter... YUKE his hand"
CU