A Reel Review: THE FIGHTER

THE FIGHTER is a film that never veers away from what it really is: an underdog sports story. But what keeps things fresh is the tremendous amount of real-world heart that is heavy throughout the film. It has a great spirit that sucker-punches you in the emotional gut and never once feels like an old and worn out story.

Micky Ward (Mark Wahlberg) is a pro boxer in his late 30’s trying to make a splash before his prime starts to fade. Trained by his crack-addict brother Dickie (Christian Bale), a former boxer himself still holding on to his past, Ward looks to revitalize his career by stepping away from Dickie and his overbearing family. Ward gets inspiration from his new gal Charlene (Amy Adams), as he looks to gently break the ties that have supported him for his entire career.

THE FIGHTER may be a film chock full of clichés, but director David O’ Russell manages to rework things into a very engaging tale. FIGHTER centers around the two brothers, Micky and Dickie (the only thing that makes that more funny is that this is based on a true story), each with broken lives trying to get back up on top. Dickie sees Micky has his way back to the spotlight. Micky eventually learns that he must break ties with him and his run-ins with the law in order to succeed. It is a painful journey for both men, who have barely let each other out of their sights over the years. The wrangling for Micky’s soul by Dickie and the overbearing family is hard to watch, and always keeps the audience engaged. This is a strong character drama that should serve as a template for future underdog films, with strong focus on the people and less on the sport.

Wahlberg does a great job with his role that is when he’s not being overshadowed by his co-stars. The show is nearly stolen by Bale, who radically altered his body for the role. Dropping a TON of weight, his character is a thin skeleton of a man with sunken eyes and cheeks. Dickie has a deep-fried brain from all the drugs, and his odd behavior, while mostly fun-loving and mostly harmless, is pulled off tremendously by Bale. By far the strongest work he has done so far. Also up front and center is Amy Adams’ Charlene character. Adams adds to the real-worldness of the picture with her tough chops and gentle, loving inspiration.

The finale is a blast and actually had people cheering in this blogger’s theatre. The fight scenes are shown as if watched on TV, and while the technique may seem obtrusive to the viewer at first, it makes things incredibly familiar and adds to the elation and drama. THE FIGHTER holds up to its promises of sneaking up and flooring you; it engages you hard and never lets go.

BOTTOM LINE: See it.