The Fighter

Mickeroo

Watched this tonight, very good overall. Not very original or anything in terms of story, maybe I was expecting something diffeent from someon like David O Russell but like Aranofsky with the wrestler this is quite a straight forward underdog sports movie, but it is a very well made one and probably the best in a long time. Christian Bale is excellent and will win the oscar without a doubt, Amy Adams also proves her nomination a few years back was no fluke either, can't fault anyone in it really and I was surprised to see that Mickey O'Keefe was actually played by the real life Mickey O'Keefe!

The only gripe I had was that the climatic fight didnt really have the emotion you usually expect from these type of movies, I remember getting more into Cinderella Man than this, I guess it was because the film isn't really about his rise in boxing and more about him balancing his career and his messed up family. Would definitley recommend it anyway!

sprinkles

Saw this last night and loved it. Bale is absolutely brilliant and the clip at the end with the real Micky and Dicky just showed how well he had played him. Oscar in the bag I reckon. Wahlberg usually annoys me but while he was completely outshone by Bale he did turn in a good performance. Amy was excellent, her run in with the sister was classic... man is she hot! (Amy not the sister )

I've spent the morning watching all the fights on youtube, quality stuff. Kings Speech, Black Swan and now the Fighter.... it's been a great January for films!

Mickeroo wrote: »

d I was surprised to see that Mickey O'Keefe was actually played by the real life Mickey O'Keefe!

:eek: I thought he was great!

The Pontiac

HBO did a documentary a few years ago callled High on Crack Street: Lost Lives of Lowell. It was shot over an 18 month period, following the lives of three crack addicts, one of whom was Dick Eklund (Christian Bale in the movie).

I watched this myself a few years ago and it's pretty harrowing stuff. It can be watched here.

Looking forward to seeing the movie.

Mickeroo

<Ollie> wrote: »

HBO did a documentary a few years ago callled High on Crack Street: Lost Lives of Lowell. It was shot over an 18 month period, following the lives of three crack addicts, one of whom was Dick Eklund (Christian Bale in the movie).

I watched this myself a few years ago and it's pretty harrowing stuff. It can be watched here.

Looking forward to seeing the movie.

Yea

the documentary plays quite a central role in the movie.

3hn2givr7mx1sc

Great film, imo.
Wahlberg and Bale are two of my favourite actors and Mickey is a legend, so I may be biased.:P

L'prof

<Ollie> wrote: »

HBO did a documentary a few years ago callled High on Crack Street: Lost Lives of Lowell. It was shot over an 18 month period, following the lives of three crack addicts, one of whom was Dick Eklund (Christian Bale in the movie).

I watched this myself a few years ago and it's pretty harrowing stuff. It can be watched here.

Looking forward to seeing the movie.

Thanks, I was looking for this after watching the movie.

Raekwon

Just back from an advanced screening of this film and I have to say I really enjoyed it but then again I am a big boxing fan so maybe I'm biased

I read the book 'Irish Thunder' by Bob O'Halloran and I saw the (very depressing) documentary 'High on Crack Street: Lost lives in Lowell' so I knew exactly what to expect but the performances in this movie are well worth seeing even if you know the plot. Amy Adams and Melissa Leo were excellent and Christian Bale was quite simply exceptional as Dickie Eklund.......even the normally very wooden Mark Wahlberg was decent in his role as Micky Ward.

The only thing that annoyed me about this film was

the ending. The whole 'he wins the world title and is a hero' was a crock of **** in my opinion. In real life after Ward knocked out the undefeated Alfonso Sanchez he got stopped in the second round in a legitimate world title fight against Vince Philips. There was then 5 other fights (including a defeat to future world champion Zab Judah) before the Shea Neary fight in London, which incidentally wasn't even for a real world title as the WBU are very lightly regarded in boxing circles. If they ended with his win over Gatti then that would have made a fitting ending instead of this half arsed one.

Selected

Probably, one of the worst films I've ever seen. With all the Oscar nominations, I'm guessing, it's just me. Nauseous banality.

seraphimvc

i thought the story is very good!!( i have got no idea how the boxing world works at all so i enjoy the story very much. the acting tho, the mum did a great job but the rest are quite averagely good imo. very very good story tho!!

Josey Wales

Just back from The Fighter. I thought it was excellent. With this and Black Swan already this year 2011 is shaping up nicely.

I thought all the main actors were very, very good. Bale is getting all the attention but his role was more showy. I thought Walhberg was excellent too but it was more subtle. It seems that David O Russell really knows how to get the best out of him. Amy Adams was great too. Even though she wasn't playing somebody glamourous she came across as extremely sexy in some scenes.

The one thing I wasn't expecting in the film was the humour. It was quite funny at times.

Handsome Bob

Yeah I thought Wahlberg was very good too, as Bale alluded to in his GG acceptance speech Wahlberg played that understated role that Bale himself had played so many times before. I really felt sorry for Mickey and you can feel his energy being sapped by his dysfunctional family. So yeah, definitely a very good turn by Marky Mark!

I thought that Melissa Leo was very good too. Underneath all that brashness is a woman torn apart by the actions of her son Dickie and I thought Leo went from the in your face boss to the in despair mother almost effortlessly. Great stuff.

As for Bale, what can you say, a comical yet tragic performance. Absolutely gripping stuff. The scene where he

goes back to the crack house after getting out of jail

is just amazing.

The film itself fell down in one or two places. Bar the final fight I didn't feel any genuine excitement or tension when Mickey was in the ring. The montage sequences felt a little limp too, they didn't really get your heart thumping. Plus I think the build up to

the title shot could have been a bit better, it was kind of like "oh the title match is now, ok so."

kraggy

Just goes to show what a joke the Oscars are when this gets nominated for Best Film.

Decent film but for this to be nominated and Barney's Version to not be is simply laughable.

I'd give it a 3 star rating. Bale, who I don't usually like, was brilliant in it. Wahlberg was too. And Amy Adams is decent, and very hot.

The over abundance of Irish flags in the final fight scene made was illogical in that they were being waved for Neary. He's from Liverpool and though he may be of Irish descent, no way would there be that many tricolours in favour of him at an English venue. This was made even more conflusing by the fact that Ward is Irish American.

Worth the watch certainly, but not a Best Picture.

Hank Scorpio

Disagree with the above post.

Have 2 words to sum up this movie.

The fighter: Inspirational

Bale: Exceptional

grames_bond

I loved the movie tbh. Bale was an absolute scene stealer every time he was on screen, exceptional performance showing again how he is such an amazing actor!

Markey Mark showed some emotion and was alot more enjoyable than usual - played the role really really i think!

Amy adams is gorgeous and again played her part brilliantly!!

ntlbell

I'm also really lost as to where all the hype is coming from on this.

I enjoyed bale's performance, but the film itself was absoloutley average.

I didn't even feel more mickey at all, I thought by the last fight i would be cheering him on but I felt nothing for him.

It's no Rocky! :pac:

JP Liz V1

ntlbell wrote: »

I'm also really lost as to where all the hype is coming from on this.

I enjoyed bale's performance, but the film itself was absoloutley average.

I didn't even feel more mickey at all, I thought by the last fight i would be cheering him on but I felt nothing for him.

It's no Rocky! :pac:

LOL

ntlbell

JP Liz V1 wrote: »

LOL

marwelie

grames_bond wrote: »

I loved the movie tbh. Bale was an absolute scene stealer every time he was on screen, exceptional performance showing again how he is such an amazing actor!

Markey Mark showed some emotion and was alot more enjoyable than usual - played the role really really i think!

Amy adams is gorgeous (damn you sasha baron cohen!) and again played her part brilliantly!!

Sasha Baron Cohens girlfriend/wife is Isla Fisher, but I get your point. Darren Legallo (no I've never heard of him either) is the boyfriend/husband of Amy Adams. And indeed she is ridiculously pretty, even gorgeous!

Melissa Leo (as the mother) steals the show with Christian Bale. I'd be amazed if they don't pick up a statuette each on Oscar Night.

kraggy

nuxxx wrote: »

Disagree with the above post.

Have 2 words to sum up this movie.

The fighter: Inspirational

Bale: Exceptional

Decent film but not worthy of an oscar for Best film. No way.

FrDickByrne

I'll echo the above post, all the performances were extremely good. Great movie but it is not the phenomenal five star movie that the critics are selling it as.

grames_bond

marwelie wrote: »

Sasha Baron Cohens girlfriend/wife is Isla Fisher, but I get your point. Darren Legallo (no I've never heard of him either) is the boyfriend/husband of Amy Adams. And indeed she is ridiculously pretty, even gorgeous!

Damn i always mix those 2 up.....I wonder why:



Ah THAT'S why!

marwelie wrote: »

Melissa Leo (as the mother) steals the show with Christian Bale. I'd be amazed if they don't pick up a statuette each on Oscar Night.

Yeah she was great too! A couple of powerhouse performances in this movie!

johnny_ultimate

I liked it without being knocked out by it (sorry, sorry). It's one of those weird films where an eccentric director meets mainstream material. It's quite intensely directed by Russell, and really liked the utilisation of television style footage for the boxing sequences. The frequently alternating tone - from comedy to drug drama - is handled confidently, never too lighthearted or preachy. The script also feels genuine, the dialogue has some real world spark to it. Aronofsky's producer influence is felt, and like the Wrestler it certainly tries to probe the characters more than would be the norm in this sort of thing.

I can only agree that Bale was the standout, a jittery, energetic performance that dominates the scenes he's in. Leo is good, if not as outstanding IMO as others have suggested (although this and Frozen River show definite talent from her). Adams is definitely a good actress though, in a relatively meaty role for the most part

(Bale confronting her was one of my favourite scenes)

. Wahlberg is fine, although doesn't have the same charisma as those around him, but his character is extremely likable and that helps. Good performances then, but probably not as memorable as the cast members of some of the other 'presitge' films out recently (King's Speech, Black Swan etc...).

Despite all these good things, I did think it was... well I don't know. 'Slight' maybe? I enjoyed it without ever being completely sucked in.

The ending particularly kind of just, well, ended. It frizzled out relatively disappointingly, obviously on an audience friendly note. It's a true story, so obviously not distorted but couldn't help but feel a little disappointed it all resolved itself so neatly. Given what others have said on thread here about the fights that followed the last one here, perhaps a less formulaic conclusion would have wrapped it up a little better IMO.

Definitely a good film, but given that I've seen a tonne of absolutely stunning films in the last month or two it is possible it suffers in comparison. Like the Wrestler, it's hard to deny The Fighter's strengths, but also somewhat lacks the directorial flair of O. Russell's other films. It's still there, but it isn't the quite the same peculiar and idiosyncratic style that has impressed in his earlier films. It's a thoroughly eccentric director making a thoroughly mainstream film, and while the talents of O. Russell, the cast and script rise it slightly above average, it doesn't really reach lofty heights either. It just sort of is what it is, but taken on those terms it's a superior feel good story.

JP Liz V1

http://uk.movies.yahoo.com/08022011/5/bale-rant-film-critic-0.html

Christian Bale has blasted a film critic who called his weight loss in his new film 'The Fighter' a gimmick.
The Welsh actor, who earned an Oscar nomination for his role as a former boxer turned crack cocaine addict in the sports biopic, embarked on a serious weight loss regime to prepare for the role.
He had previously dramatically transformed his body for films such as 'The Machinist' and 'Batman Begins', and was furious when a reviewer branded his latest performance another of his "trademark weight loss" parts.
Speaking to Australian Empire magazine Bale raged, "To be honest, I find it laughable that it's considered to be some f**king gimmick - it's so patronising. For God's sake, do people not understand what a pain it is to do? It's as though it's some comment about, 'Oh it's easy for him, because he's done it a bunch of times'.
"It's not easy, it's not fun - it's horrible. I would never pick to do that, but it's a part that I like and he's a welterweight and he's a crack head. I don't know about you, but I've never seen a welterweight with any fat on him - or a crack head. So it's just what you end up having to do.
"I'd just like to p**s on that guy's shoes."

I know Matt Damon and Brad Pitt (couldnt see them in the role imo) were first attached to play Dickie but honestly Bale is phenomenal in the role

paddyismaddy

finally got to see this over the weekend great film with top performances from bale and adams especially (god that girl is hot)

where did get the actresses who played the sisters they looked way older than the mother

i see the really mickey o keeffe played himself in the film that was a nice touch

Handsome Bob

Oh yeah, I forgot to say; Mickey Ward's ex, what a ****. :eek:

Bubs102

I thought Wahlberg was better than Bale. I mean, Bale clearly had the better role but as the younger brother of a hero I thought Markey played the dual feeling of Love and resentment amazingly, better than Casey Affleck does it in real life

Big Ears

kraggy wrote: »

The over abundance of Irish flags in the final fight scene made was illogical in that they were being waved for Neary. He's from Liverpool and though he may be of Irish descent, no way would there be that many tricolours in favour of him at an English venue. This was made even more conflusing by the fact that Ward is Irish American.

I'm not sure how many tricolours were in the arena that night(probably not as much as the film suggests), but Neary was promoted as an 'Irish' fighter throughout his career and even had the nickname 'Shamrock Express'(although he was mocked for being a plastic Paddy quite a lot), Irish support during this fight would of been fairly mixed.

If people want to get a sense what the fight was like for real it's up on youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypCXaRHX4uY

jimbob86

Good film...Batman deserves an oscar

Dont be at yourself

Good acting lifted an otherwise by-the-numbers flick. It may be based on a true story, but its also a story we've watched a hundred times. I enjoyed watching it, but it left almost no impression on me. Once the credits rolled, that was it.

UrbanSea

Don't know about some of the comments here,must say I loved it.Love any Wahlberg film,must watch that documentary about crack now.