The Fighter

A decent boxing movie starring Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale. I'm actually surprised I didn't get it sooner. It's mostly a drama about two brothers who have family problems and one of them is addicted to crack, but when Wahlberg gets in the ring, it's mostly something to watch. The final fight in particular was excellent. I enjoyed it, but it lacked the emotional impact to make a full count. There have been better pieces, but this one certainly doesn't fall short. 80%. (30/08/2018)

Bale turned his supporting role into the main role. Marky Mark plays the dime-a-dozen boxer that this story revolves around, but Bale enjoys playing Dicky to the very full, while not forgetting to respect him as a person. Great swathes of this movie rely on him alone and some moments are memorable only due to him. David O. Russell is another ace up the Fighter’s sleeve and drives the movie forward. The final fight is precisely balanced, the family wrangling disappears in the abyss of time and the actors help overcome some of the clichéd passages. (05/03/2011)

In crack fumes and in the smell of peroxide on boxing Olympus. The sympathetic, if inconsistent, synthesis of the Royck genre film with family-social drama, which has little idea which side to be on more, and thereby prefers to do the sure thing. Thanks to Bale and a very juicy finale, sympathy wins above all, although the question of why Aronofsky reached for a more effective grease from Tchaikovsky continues to bother me. The Fighter is simply a more modest and sympathetic substance. And not just because it's got balls. (21/02/2011)

This is not so much a film about boxing and the hardships this sport brings (that's why comparisons with Rocky, Raging Bull, etc. are unwarranted), but mainly a social drama about a crazy family, a domineering mother-manager and two brothers who are completely different in character, all with riveting performances by almost everyone involved. While Wahlberg, with his unchanging poker player expression, hits his acting limits here, the anorexic Bale clearly reigns supreme and whenever he's on screen you can't take your eyes off him. There is such a believable and intimate atmosphere permeating the whole film, that you have no problem empathising with the action and watching it all in one breath. The only thing separating this film from a maximum rating is the fact that the plot meanders through predictable twists and turns, but otherwise it’s undoubtedly one of the films of the year and the Oscar nominations are well deserved. (27/02/2011)

I always wonder how it is still possible for another boxing movie to be successful. But when I see it, I realize that it is still possible. Stallone proved it several times with his Rocky, and definitely with his latest contribution. Martin Scorsese did not let himself be embarrassed either, and now he has also made his dream project come true, as did Mark Wahlberg. He deserves all the credit, but just like boxer Micky Ward has problems with the attention mainly focused on his brother Dicky, Mark Wahlberg disappears in the shadow of his colleagues. When Christian Bale won an Oscar for his role as Dicky, it was a bit disappointing for me, because I wished it for Geoffrey Rush for his unbelievable performance in "The King's Speech". But what Christian demonstrates in "The Fighter" is simply incredible. He doesn't act, he is the character. There aren't many actors like him, including Meryl Streep and the aforementioned Geoffrey Rush, but Bale deserves all the credit. He was not afraid of a character who is not a hero, who is negative, who has many character flaws, but he managed them all in such a way that you won't look for Bruce Wayne in him for a moment. Credit where credit is due. More: http://www.filmovy-denik.cz/2012/04/frost-vs-nixon-bos-vs-kung-fu-trocha.html (16/02/2013)