Directed By: David O. Russell
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Melissa Leo, & Jack McGee
MPAA Rating: R
My Rating: 9 / 10
For about the first half of The Fighter, I was completely unsure about whether or not I was liking it. In that time, it doesn't really separate itself from any of the other countless sports movies that have been released over the years. We have a down-and-out athlete, this time boxer Micky Ward (Mark Wahlberg), and his unlikely journey to achieve success while overcoming [Insert name of obstacle or rare, life-threatening disease here). His greatest obstacle is his own half-brother, Dicky (Christian Bale), who was once a boxer too, most famous for possibly knocking Sugar Ray Leonard down in a fight. Sure, Leonard probably just tripped, but that doesn't matter to Dicky, the self-professed "Pride of Lowell." Now, Dicky is a crack addict whose life has become so awful, an HBO documentary is using him as an example of the damaging effects of cocaine. Dicky talks to them openly about his drug use, carrying them around the town like his own personal paparazzi. He doesn't care about the subject of the documentary...only the comeback he so eagerly dreams about achieving.
