Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Movie Review: The Fighter

 I knew I was going to love this movie the second I first heard about it. David O. Russell, the director of Three Kings (one of my favorite films from the 90's) working with Christian Bale (Patrick Bateman/American Psycho)and Mark Wahlberg (Dirk Diggler/Boogie Nights) = awesomeness.  I had no idea just how awesome the final result would be.

The Fighter is based on real life story of boxing brothers Micky Ward and Dicky Eklund. Dicky was once the pride of Lowell, Massachusetts, an amazing boxer who has withered away due to years of drug abuse but he and his family are convinced they can help his younger brother Micky achieve the successful boxing career that passed him by. The conflicts Micky faces on every corner, between his junkie brother, his overbearing family, his new girlfriend trying to help him turn his life around, all this strife motivates Micky to kick some ass in the ring and he finally earn a shot at the championship he's yearned for his whole life.

The film's plot is gripping, and the fact that it's based on real life people/events makes it even more riveting, while O. Russell's direction feels more akin to the fly on the wall HBO Sports documentary that takes place within the film than a traditional Hollywood movie. The thing that pushes The Fighter from good movie to great, are the performances. Virtually every actor on screen is amazing in this film, including the seven actresses portraying Micky's boisterous sisters, but no performance stands out as much as Christian Bale's stellar transformation into the strung out Dicky Eklund. Bale has been one of my favorite actors for years, although he'll always be Patrick Bateman in my eyes, his performances in The Machinist, The New World, Rescue Dawn, 3:10 To Yuma and The Prestige were all amazing...I honestly think his work as Dicky in The Fighter tops them all. Amy Adams is pretty amazing as Micky's girlfriend Charlene, I'm almost certain both her and Bale will be nominated for Best Supporting Actor/Actress this year. I'm hoping they win.
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26 comments:

  1. ZakkJanuary 12, 2011 at 4:53 PM

    I love Christian Bale! I will def be seeing this.

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  2. HiFiJanuary 12, 2011 at 4:54 PM

    Awesome. Stellar actors in this movie.

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  3. VaporJanuary 12, 2011 at 5:07 PM

    I'll be watching this soon.

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  4. AnonymousJanuary 12, 2011 at 5:17 PM

    I would love to see this movie!

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  5. MikeyBJanuary 12, 2011 at 5:23 PM

    i love this movie..perfect mix between boxing/drama

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  6. JohnHJanuary 12, 2011 at 5:57 PM

    Another to put on my 'to watch' list. Thank you fine sir.

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  7. Suciô SanchezJanuary 12, 2011 at 6:07 PM

    How come Bale hasn't done more? Is he just very picky?

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  8. MaxJanuary 12, 2011 at 6:39 PM

    'Love' and the movie 'The Boxer' do not belong in the same sentence.

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  9. AnonymousJanuary 12, 2011 at 6:50 PM

    Well that looks like a cool movie, I'll have to check it out soon eh =]

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  10. AnonymousJanuary 12, 2011 at 8:29 PM

    My friend saw this movies at the theaters while back and said it was awesome!

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  11. Keato LockheartJanuary 12, 2011 at 8:54 PM

    Looks more intense than Rocky. I'm a have to check this out.

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  12. Das Auto!January 12, 2011 at 10:14 PM

    i'll have to catch this on bluray. i'm too cheap to see movies in the theatres. mark wahlberg is the man

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  13. AnonymousJanuary 13, 2011 at 12:08 AM

    Great movie. I'll be following.

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  14. The Angry LurkerJanuary 13, 2011 at 1:25 AM

    Sounds like a winner, you are right he will always be Patrick Bateman, a book that was always going to be difficult to transfer to the screen.

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  15. JayPowerJanuary 13, 2011 at 2:14 AM

    This movie looks sick, cant wait to check it out ;D

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  16. BTN Hip HopJanuary 13, 2011 at 2:51 AM

    looks pretty good

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  17. Solsby KidJanuary 13, 2011 at 4:03 AM

    Aw man this movie is awesome!

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  18. Niklas und SabethJanuary 13, 2011 at 6:15 AM

    Dang I don't have all the money to watch all those awesome movies...

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  19. tigeyJanuary 13, 2011 at 8:02 AM

    Hear about this many times, but never gave it a shot, i'll check it out

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  20. HorussJanuary 13, 2011 at 8:52 AM

    great actor, smashes the roles

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  21. The VikingJanuary 13, 2011 at 9:29 AM

    If I get the chance I'll watch it! :)

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  22. Sv3ntevithJanuary 13, 2011 at 9:59 AM

    I'm still impressed how much work Christian Bale is putting to fit in the particular roles.

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  23. BartJanuary 13, 2011 at 10:31 AM

    batman on a crack, great idea. it looks cool, like another rocky movie. i'll be sure to watch it once they start airing it on the espn classic channel :D

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  24. Mister SharafJanuary 13, 2011 at 1:07 PM

    this is nice post

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  25. JeffJanuary 14, 2011 at 4:51 PM

    I know Wahlberg is from Boston but I don't like it when he lays on the accent too thick. Still will get the DVD, though.

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  26. Mister KingJanuary 18, 2011 at 3:26 PM

    Definitely going to be checking this out...another well written post.

    http://goodmusak.blogspot.com/

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