The Fighter Review
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The Fighter
Weinstein
R 116 min
I’m a big fan of boxing movies. The mano a mano at the heart of the sport makes it the ideal subject for a tale of triumph and redemption. THE FIGHTER is more than a boxing fable though, it’s based on the real life saga of two brothers from the other side of the tracks.
Hailing from the slums of Lowell Massachusetts, welterweight Dickie Eklund (Christian Bale) coulda been a contender. In fact he was and actually did pretty well in a shot at the legendary Sugar Ray Leonard. Sadly his career was cut short not by anything occurring in the ring but by a knockout from the scourge of the inner city, the crack pipe. His life is spiraling out of control and he’s dragging his friends and family along with him.
HBO sports has been shooting a documentary about Dickie and everyone assumes it’s going to be about his comeback. In a particularly sad scene as his fellow prison inmates as well as everyone from his hometown settle in to watch it becomes obvious that it’s not really about his comeback but instead his crack addiction and subsequent downfall.
One victim of this decline is his half brother “Irish” Mickey Ward (Mark Wahlberg) a talented boxer in his own right whose career is being hampered by the management of his dysfunctional family.
He passes up on real opportunity because of his allegiance to his older brother and nutty mother.
Only the marketing team thinks this is a Mark Wahlberg film. Though he’s competent in his role, it’s Christian Bale who steals this show with a truly heavyweight performance.
It’s tough gritty and riveting, and while it’s not ROCKY it’s a damn good film.
B+
WSS
Email [email protected]
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@king-ghoolie-lives said:
The foul mouthed trouble making sisters gave me a boner. No kidding man, if there is one thing I love, it is a big titted chick with a little gut, big hair and a quick trigger to get into a fistfight. LOVE IT!LOL
Is that you in the stands at the roller derby with your coat on your lap?
<<GG>>
WSS
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caught this flick on cable over the weekend. Gotta say this is my favorite boxing flick after watching it a couple times. I agree Christian Bale stole the show with
his hilarious portrayal of Dickie the wanna be champ...basing his crack fueled existance on his knock down of Sugar Ray. BTW, I agree with Dickie that it was a clean knock
down. Otherwise, Sugar would not have been sleeping on the mat as he was. Walberg(sp) worked his ass off getting in shape for his role of Mikey. The underlying values of
redemption and family ties really tie the film together well. Decent soundtrack. Liked the RHCP "Strip My Mind". May have to check out more of their early records.
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This was a super movie and just defines the horrors of what drugs can do to famlies and talented people...I know Ghoulie and Steve can Identify with that as we have seen friends become battered and spent from the excesses of the entertainment industry wether its national or local...A must see film even if you never were a boxing fan...wich I was till Don King and Bob Arum ruined it.
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lol people must understand first then say what you want
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Who the hell wants to live in Oklahoma City?
WSS
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