The Fighter

I walked out of the cinema with my jaw on the floor. This movie is absolutely beautiful.

Mark Wahlberg plays Micky Ward, a boxer from Lowell, Massachusettes, who keeps losing in the ring despite his potential. Standing between him and success are his wishful but trashy mother played by Melissa Leo, and his trainer, the boxing has-been turned crack-addict half-brother played by Christian Bale. But Micky's family are also the love of his life, and there is the predicament the movie basically plays on.

Ward receives blow after blow, not only in the ring but in his family life. His turning points come in the form of his new girlfriend, a bad loss in the ring and his brother getting sent to jail. His father takes hold of the reigns and Ward gets a new manager and coach, but not without some kicking and screaming from his mother and a heartbroken brother.

I loved the powerful and compelling story, but I was more impressed with its awesome cast. The cast as a whole was dynamite, but I cannot do without highlighting Christian Bale. He was PHENOMENAL in this film. Just 5 minutes into the movie and I was blown away by Bale's performance. As Heath Ledger did in Dark Knight, Bale completely lost all of himself to play the screwed-up Ecklund to absolute perfection. To achieve this, Bale lost 30 pounds to look the part, and disappeared for hours before filming to prepare to play the part. Bale earned a well-deserved Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his fantastic work. Melissa Leo also does a good enough job as Ward and Ecklund's mother to win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress

The rest of the cast played a major role in making this film real and convincing. From Amy Adams, who plays his newly acquired strong-willed girlfriend Charlene, to the six sisters from his mother's multiple marriages, the characters made it seem like the film was made out entirely of 'real people'.

This is the best 'based on a true story' film that I have had the pleasure to see. After reading up on the real story of Micky Ward, I am wowed with how the cast and crew have worked to make this film as true to life as possible, from Dick's window jumping to Ward's fights in the ring.

If you had to watch only one boxing film in your life, watch The Fighter.

8.5/10