Micky Ward (Mark Wahlberg) is a boxer. His half brother, Dicky Eklund (Christian Bale) used to be one of the best boxers in Lowell, Massachusetts, but that got ruined when he became a crack addict and served some prison time. When Dicky is not in prison and semi-sober he helps Micky become phenomenal. Amy Adams plays Charlene, a barmaid and the object of Micky's affections.
The three leads are phenomenally talented and work beautifully with each other. Mark Wahlberg plays a darn good boxer and has great scenes with Christian Bale and Amy Adams. Christian Bale, as a crack addict steals every scene he is in, and may actually win an Oscar for the role. Quite a long ways away from Batman. He lost tons of weight and completely became his character. And finally, Amy Adams, three years ago played a Disney princess in "Enchanted" and after "The Fighter" it is guaranteed she will never ever in the history of her life be typecast. She's tough, curses, and is very strong willed and has quite an attitude on her. It is quite a joy to watch.
"The Fighter" looks beautiful. There are great on location shots in Lowell, Massachusetts as well as impressive camera work and editing in the boxing scenes in the film. Also, the framing of the actors also is well done, with a lot of panning back and forth during conversations between Dicky and Micky, and other characters. Character interactions were extremely important in this film, so this kind of camera work benefitted the film.
The actresses who played Dicky and Micky's seven sisters were extremely annoying. I'm just calling it like it is. It's like white trash and incessant chattering, and I was not a fan. Also, for some reason I didn't like the music most of the time. Sometimes it worked alright and other times it was really awkward sounding. However, I did love how sometimes music would be coming from a car radio or something and it sounding like it was just background music.
If you are expecting tons of boxing scenes, be warned, there are only about four or five. The main focus of the film is the interactions between the three main characters, mainly the two brothers and their family. "The Fighter" is much more that a sports movie, just a heads up. This may turn people off, such as the unbelievably annoying people next to me who got bored and chatty and walked out after a half hour. Maybe they should just wait a month and see "Drive Angry 3D"...I'm sure Nicolas Cage would love that.
Another random thing I feel like mentioning: "The Fighter" definitely wasn't a long movie, but at times, especially in the middle it became hard for me to follow. Other times it felt like scenes could have been slightly trimmed. That could just be my ADD kicking in...you never know.
I love Oscar season. It is the most wonderful time of the year. So many great films to be seen. Yes, that includes "The Fighter." It's a great true story, brought to screen in a well made film, with great acting by the leads. Once again I sense a lot of Oscar nominations and possibly a couple wins. If you enjoy any of the actors, sports movies, or quality movies in general, then by all means go to your nearest theater and pay rip-off prices for a night full of wonder and cinema. 3 out of 4 stars...somewhere around there....these star things are hard to figure sometimes.
-Joseph Sbrilli
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