The Fighter

Earlier then expected I am able to write the review about the Golden Globe nominated movie THE FIGHTER starring Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale and Amy Adams.

The movie is based on a true story about the life of Mickey Ward and his brother Dickie Eklund, both boxers that are looking for a great career. Dickie is the elder brother who had already some kind of success boxing, and that success got into his head. He is a drug-addict. His younger brother on the other side is clean as a whistle and is just looking for a big opportunity to prove himself as a boxer!

Going into the film I really had HIGH expectations because I love Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale. These two are just epic actors and everytime I see them on the big-screen they usually deliver, and this movie was no difference. I went in with high expectations and I came out totally satisfied with the movie I saw!

I really like the entire movie, really not much to complain about. The film starts off with a bit of a flashback to show the family relationship and all that stuff and then the opening credits are shown in a way I really liked it. Not just a meaningless scene where the lead actors are ridding a car or whatever you might see in movies, it was a solid walk through the streets of a city in Massachusetts shaking hands, signings autographs and taking pictures of the big thing in town Dickie Eklund! The scene itself had no real connection to the plot itself but it was a strong scene to show who is the big dog in town and who is kinda the apprentice.
That feeling wears through the entire movie, in nearly every scene it´s about Dickie being a star. The mother of the brothers is only looking at him, it´s all about his career, his major career KO and so on. Everything is build and designed to showcase Dickie Eklund, pride of the family, so Mickey has to step back and just try to move on with his career!

With that being said I gave away the greatest thing in the movie, the contrast of the brothers. You have a very slim, sick-looking, hasbeen in Dickie Eklund who almost tries to convince himself that he still has what it takes to be a champion, and then you have his brother Mickey Ward a young, talented but underrated fighter who wastes his time being a stepping stone for other boxer. And irony is that the crack-addict is the pride of the family!

This being the thriving force of the movie it was more like a family-drama then a boxing drama. For most of the film the sport of boxing is a bit hidden in the background and the actual action is the dynamic inside the family.
That all changes with Dickie ending up in prison and Mickey changing his life and trainingstyle to make something out of his career. In the script that was a well-designed move to actually not split those two brothers apart for good, but still giving the film a progress to come to the big reunion at the end of the movie.
And again a contrast was shown that I really,really loved! One brother training in the gym, getting ready for his career, the other in the jail doin some work out just to stay in shape.

And now without spoilering the ending or whatever I just gotta say that the ending was absolutly epic! The last fight completly hooked me and I was close to getting goosebumps at the end. Great cinematography, basic scriptwriting on that part, but I guess there is no real alternitiv in a boxing fight with an underdog and a designed ending to satisfy the audience! So no big suprise there but great acting and good emotions on the screen made it work, at least for me!

With all that being said this film leaves a very good impression, but there was actually one thing that bugged me a bit. I´ve seen it a couple of times, a fucked up person walks into a prison and comes out completly sober and changed. I mean I can´t tell if you really find yourself in a little cell or what, but for me this is just a bit of a clichee that is used too often in movies and series! Maybe a little bit more creativity when it comes to the prison and not everytime some kind of stereotype thing of rejuvenation inside the yard.

That was pretty much the only weak point I could find in the movie and makes it still a great movie to watch, and a must-see movie certainly for everyone who loves drama mixed up with sport! And in this case the sport is actually presented well. The fights are looking really good, the punches are looking realistic (except the slow-mo part in on fight!) and so the fights are adding a great experience and atmosphere to the movie. I mean you don´t get fighting scenes like in ROCKY where one guy punches and then the other guy is throwing haymakers like a fucking round-base sport or so! I think when it comes to the fighting scenes THE FIGHTER can knock ROCKY down in the first round! Otherwise they are both strong movies and storywise I think ROCKY would win a judges decision here, but I guess it would be a split-decision!

My rating for the fighter is a 9,5 out of 10! The story is great, the acting is awesome (can see it getting nominated for a couple of Oscars) and the actual sports scenes are looking great. The 0,5 are left behind in the prison when Dickie found himself!