THE FIGHTER 4.0 ****




The Fighter is the story of the fall and the rise of Mickey and Dickie Ward, two brothers who are both boxers from Lowell Massachusetts. The spotlight should be on Mickey, the up and comer, but instead, all the family and even media attention is on Dickie, the star who once knocked down Sugar Ray Leonard and is claiming to make a comeback, when in reality he's way down the path of drugs, danger and destruction. Dickie is a crack addict and a meth head. Mickey, however, is intent on keeping him around to help him train.

Much of “The Fighter” revolves around the Ward family drama, and what a drama it is.. A family with 2 adult brothers and 7 adult sisters, 2 fathers, a money grubbing, domineering mother who doubles as a mess of a manager. And it is older brother Dickie who consistently brings the family down. Everything comes to a head when Dickie gets himself arrested and brings Mickey into the situation that nearly ends his boxing career.

The film is strong from start to finish thanks to brilliant acting and remarkable direction by David O. Russell. What performance to start with is difficult so we’ll start with the leading man, Mark Whalberg who delivers a strong performance as a gritty Boston native who is the underdog boxer… it’ll remind you of Rocky. He plays Mickey as the sometimes timid and sometimes confident boxer who is, unfortunately, often overwhelmed by his family who are looking out for themselves and not him. Whalberg's love interest in the film, Amy Adams, delivers a sterling performance as Mickey’s tough yet loving girlfriend. Melissa Leo is outstanding as Ward's mother doing an in-your-face performance of the ultra-controlling mother/manager to perfection. NOW, for the man who steals the movie from everyone. Christian Bale. Bale will absolutely blow you away with this incredible, and very Oscar worthy performance. Bale does to Whalberg what Ledger did to Bale in the Batman movie,” Dark Knight”; that is, steal the main character’s film right out from under him. His mental and physical preparation alone is the definition of true method acting from an unbelievably talented actor. This is one of the best supporting actor performances in years and he should definitely walk away with the awards at this year's Golden Globes and Oscars.

The screenplay in this film is nothing short of spectacular. The dialogue really makes the movie believable and allows it to come alive on the screen in a big way. The fighting scenes are incredibly well done and keep you at the edge of your seat, and will have you cheering by the end of the movie. This is one of the best sports films to hit screens in the past couple of years. It has everything you want in a “feel good” sports film.

Rated R for strong language throughout, drug content, some violence and sexuality

Clark