Cinderella Man

The second joint project of the Howard and Crowe duo fits the ideal "American personal pride" film even better. According to the strictest academic standards, this is the most tightly packed film in its two-hour duration, where we won't find any unnecessary scenes, but at the same time, we won't find one that demonstrates genuine emotions either. Not even a single fragment (let alone the whole film) leaves any other impression than that of a sterile movie, made solely for the needs of the American audience, eager to see one of their "historical" heroes in action again. It’s formally flawless - the camera filters, costumes, atmosphere - the 1930s (including the Great Depression) are depicted excellently. The fight scenes beautifully contrast with the atmosphere of the Braddock family environment - Russell Crowe and Renée Zellweger's outstanding performances deserve an Oscar nomination. However, the whole film is as cold as a dog's snout, and even though it's based on true stories and is wonderfully acted and excellently shot, it failed to engage me with a single scene throughout its two-hour duration. (04/12/2005)

Ron Howard takes a risk this time in playing games with viewers’ trust, and he finds even greater success than last time in terms of emotional tension. During the final match, I felt the blows that Braddock takes just as much as his wife and I could tell from the viewers around me that I wasn’t alone. Russell Crowe is truly excellent. (06/10/2005)

Ron Howard is slowly starting to get on my nerves, his sterile academic direction may deliver Oscars, but not my recognition. Here, he follows well-trodden paths and mixes exactly those ingredients (determination, family, friendship) that work for American viewers, but I refuse to fall for it again. It is a skillfully shot, well-crafted, and superbly acted film, without any hint of directorial invention, which probably has the best-shot boxing fights I've had the opportunity to see, but they mean absolutely nothing when compared to the clichés and predictability of every other shot. (31/01/2006)

The life story of Jim Braddock is, of course, an excellent subject for a film. This famous boxer was from the interwar generation that shaped the dreams of ordinary people in the boxing ring, inspired them and gave them hope. After all, all of the names in the heavyweight champion category are well-known names: Jess Willard, Jack Dempsey, Gene Tunney, Max Schmeling, Jack Sharkey, Primo Carnera, Max Baer, James J. Braddock, and Joe Louis. They are all heroes of the modern age. Yet Braddock was a miracle, an ordinary guy who toiled through poverty and hardship during the Depression and rose to the top by beating two-foot giant Max Baer, a victory no one was expecting. The movie basically wrote itself. Russell Crowe outdid himself once again, and there were no dry eyes in the movie theater. I could imagine a dozen better actresses in Renée Zellweger's place, but never mind that. Cinderella Man will definitely be in the hall of fame as one of the best boxing movies. Right up there with the drama portrayed in the Schmeling vs. Louis match. (26/08/2020)

So here we have another powerful story about one unbreakable boxing soul, and also another important notch in the cinematic field with the subtitle of sports drama. Howard is a more than skilled and interesting director who never fully disappoints, and Crowe is one of Hollywood's best actors at the moment, one that makes you root for him all the time. As in A Beautiful Mind, their collaboration turned out to be more than satisfactory, with a story full of tried and tested but mandatory clichés (guess how it will end), an extremely likeable hero, excellent scenes from the ring and a true boxing heart that almost forces you to buy gloves and get initiated into the secrets of this purely American sport. Yes, everything is perhaps too much in place, and the filmmakers, however precise and skilful, deliver only what the audience wants to see beforehand. I'm not saying it's bad, the word itself is inadequate given the previous superlatives, but Cinderella Man will never be a maverick among boxing dramas, even though it tries very hard. (01/02/2013)