The Fighter-2010

Director David O. Russell

Starring Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale

Scott’s Review #546

Reviewed December 11, 2016

Grade: A-

The Fighter (2010) is an excellent film. Being a sports film there are the inevitable cliches, which make the entire sports film genre rather predictable.

But this film is a very well-done story and based on real-life figures (the Ward brothers).

Tremendous acting by Wahlberg, Bale, and Melissa Leo, in the role of Mama Ward- a role of a lifetime.

The telling is a true story of Mickey Ward, a boxer from Massachusetts, and his battle to stardom, dealings with family members, and his love life.

The characters may be ever slightly overdone in the rugged, rough, Bostonian way, almost appearing New Jersey-Soprano-ish instead of New England, but the message is clear- they are in the boxing world and are tough guys (and gals).

This film is much more character-driven than many similar sports movies, thank goodness and the casting is spot-on. There are the inevitable final boxing match and the standard reaction shots, but again sports films are riddled with cliches.

The real win is with the character’s layered, complexities as they love and hate each other.

Bale and Leo deserved their Oscars for their respective roles in The Fighter (2010), specifically Bale for the shocking weight loss and spot-on character imitation.

Oscar Nominations: 2 wins-Best Picture, Best Director-David O. Russell, Best Supporting Actor-Christian Bale (won), Best Supporting Actress-Melissa Leo (won), Amy Adams, Best Original Screenplay, Best Film Editing