The Fighter ( 2010 )

Starring:  Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Melissa Leo, Mickey O'Keefe, & Jack McGee

Directed By David O. Russell

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0751102/



     Growing up as a kid, I was able to see some of the greatest boxing matches of modern time.  Mike Tyson was a Heavyweight champ, Sugar Ray was still boxing,  Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini was always getting screwed out of a title, and then there was Micky Ward.  I remember seeing some of Micky's earlier fights, and to be honest, felt bad.  The guy never seemed to fight like I thought he should, but being a kid wtf did i know?  My father always rooted for him whenever he was on an early card fight, but Micky always seemed to lose or come close.

     Now as an adult, i was finally able to see how Micky had come from nothing and finally became something.  Just the name of Micky Ward makes any fight fan think of his classic triple bout with Arturo Gatti, dig a little deeper and you'll see why somebody finally decided to make a movie about Micky and his struggle to get to the top.  Unlike other sports movies The Fighter doesn't pull any punches when it comes to the delivery.

     The story of Micky Ward alone is one deserving of attention.  Coming up as a working stiff in Lowell, Mass.  Micky's boxing career is being overlooked in favor of his older  brother Dicky Eklund ( played by an Oscar worthy Christian Bale ), who is heavy into crack cocaine and under the delusion that his own boxing career is on the rebound.  As if Dicky's constant glory hounding wasn't enough to deal with, Micky ( Mark Wahlberg ) must also deal with his mother Alice who is completely domineering, and is blind to Micky in favor of Dicky.

      After getting put in prison for numerous offenses such as Assaulting a police officer, and Crack possession, Dicky gets clean, gets released from prison and begins to train Micky.  All the while before Dicky's release Micky has to deal with constant nagging and complete chaos from Alice and his sisters.  The only solace poor Mick seems to find is in a local bartender named Charlene Fleming.  Charlene is tough as nails, and has a very direct, blunt way of speaking, which ultimately leads to Micky falling in love with her. 

     I could go on and on about how great this movie was, but why?  Everybody else seems to agree.  I was impressed the most with Christian Bale.  I have had the disgust of dealing with Crack Heads in my neighborhood, and Bale's performance was spot on.  The twitching, constant movement, and delusion was played with perfection.  Mark Wahlberg deserves accolades as well for the physical training and boxing displayed in the film.  His acting was par for the course, but this wasn't a typical Wahlberg action film,  It was something deeper and darker.  By the performance alone you could tell everybody put forth a lot of effort.

     The Fighter has my vote for at least 3 Oscar nods including Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best supporting Actor.

-Mr. What?-  ( * * * * )