Unreal Movie Review: The Fighter

The Fighter,much like its titular hero Mickey Ward has had a rough road to the top. The film has been worked over many times, with so many director and actor swaps it almost seemed cursed. This was originally a Darren Aronofsky film, but he left, as did stars Matt Damon and Brad Pitt. The replacement cast was David O. Russell directing, with Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale starring, and the project seemed to be on the ropes in dire straights.

But The Fighter bounced back and came out swinging, and…alright I’m going to stop with the boxing puns now before I call it “a knockout” like every other critic under the sun. Despite its troubled production, against all odds, it really is a fantastic film.

It’s the real life story of Micky Ward (Mark Wahlberg), a down-on-his-luck boxer from working class Lowell, Massachusetts with a has-been older brother Dicky (Christian Bale), best known for knocking down Sugar Ray Leonard years ago. But with his glory days long past, he trains his brother to be the boxer he never could be, but fights an overwhelming opponent himself in the form of crack addiction, which is so pronounced he’s actually followed around by HBO documentary cameras chronicling the downward spiral of his life.

Bale really must enjoy crash dieting to keep filling roles like this.

Mickey’s overbearing mother (Melissa Leo) makes things even worse, and between her and Dicky’s poor decision making, Micky is thrown into fights he has no chance to win, and hits a losing slump that leaves him bloody and battered. His life begins to turn around when he starts dating local barkeep Charlene (Amy Adams), and he has to hang on to his fragile career by balancing new management and loyalty to his family, however destructive they may seem.

Despite having the lead in this film, Mark Wahlberg plays second fiddle to Bale, who gives a performance that far outshines everyone else onscreen. His tortured, glory-faded Dicky is the real star of the show, despite never being in the ring, and the dedication Bale brings to the part is extreme, both in terms of physicality (Bale has once again pulled a “Machinist” and lost massive amounts of weight for the film) and emotion, as the story centers around Dicky’s redemption more so than it does Micky’s.

Also shining is Amy Adams as the take-not-shit Charlene. With seven sisters and a crazy mother, Micky has enough women in his life, but she stands out above them all, holding her own in a sea of hissing cats.

Amy Adams is the Pam Beasley of movies and I love her. And yes, I know she was on The Office.

As for Wahlberg? I’ve never been a fan, but on occasion he finds a role to suit him. Last time it was a supporting role in Scorsese’s The Departed, but this time around he’s the star. However, he’s something of a pushover for most of the film, constantly being told what to do by one side of his management or the other. It’s not even him that tries to make the two sides reconcile and come together for the greater good of his career, rather that role falls to Dicky, proving once again he’s the star of the show.

Wahlberg’s most impressive traits here are probably his etched abs and lightning-quick jabs. There’s nothing offensively bad about his acting, which is pleasant to report, as the same can’t be said about most of his recent dramatic roles. His character is meant to be caught in the middle of the storm, barely able to get a word in, and in casting someone with relatively few lines, Wahlberg is a good choice.

What’s surprising is how little boxing is actually in the film. There are only a handful of fights show, and only two with any substance at all. The film takes a hyper-realistic view of the sport, opting for HBO style ringside cameras over the HD lenses that capture the rest of the film. The action too is more “realistic” and far tamer than any fights you’d see from Rocky Balboa. It gives the film a certain authenticity, but the way the action scenes are shot, sometimes it does look quite a bit like stage fighting, with pulled punches and feigned agony.

Doesn’t that guy look more bored than injured?

It’s a relatively predictable story, as they wouldn’t have made a movie about a loser, but the road to get there is full of emotional turmoil that’s far more worthwhile than any one fight. It’s also nice that the film actually sticks close to the true story that inspired it, when so many Hollywood films take massive liberties with their source material these days.

Bale shines brightest here by far, but Wahlberg, Adams and director Russell all have a hand in making this movie great as well. I never would have thought that The Fighter would end up being one of the biggest surprises of the year, but I welcome its unexpected victory with open arms.

4.5 out of 5 stars