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Wednesday, January 5, 2011

[9.00/10] The Fighter (2010)


The Fighter (2010)

Brief review: "The Fighter" centers on the life of professional boxer "Irish" Micky Ward and his older half-brother - a former boxer who suffers from drug abuse. Taking a tired subject matter and making it as compelling as it possibly can is a hard thing to do, but director David O. Russell manages to achieve exactly that. His latest effort, "The Fighter" offers a wonderfully-crafted and thoroughly complex less-about-boxing-and-more-about-family story, filled with multi-layered characters with human flaws and frailties, which evolve vastly as the movie progresses. In fact, aside from the slightly cliched ending, "The Fighter" is pretty much the perfect boxing movie. "The Fighter" is also technically-brilliant, with its pitch-perfect editing, David O. Russell's diverse direction, and the intentionally rough, grainy and unpolished, yet stunning cinematography. However, the most impressive and notable thing about this film is the exceptional performances delivered by the best ensemble cast of the year. Mark Wahlberg plays the central character in the movie, and he delivers a very confident and solid performance. Christian Bale is sure to win an Oscar for his fantastic supporting performance as the troubled brother, Dicky. He just blows everyone else out of the water! Melisa Leo plays the tough, 'money-obsessed' mother and manager of Micky, and she delivers the second-best performance in "The Fighter". Amy Adams shines as well, as she gives a very convincing performance as Charlene.

Overall summary: With its enormously gripping story, utterly compelling characters and top-notch direction by David O. Russell, "The Fighter" is undoubtedly one of this year's very best films, and also a serious contender for next year's Oscars.

12 comments:

Unknown said...

I am really looking forward to seeing this. Melissa Leo is an incredible actress who is very underrated and needs to work more.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

If Season of the Witch's reviews are as awful as predicted, I may have to go see this one instead.

Andrew said...

I hear this one is in line with Black Swan to scoop up Best Picture at the Oscars this year....

Jaccstev said...

My review will be up later today. The cast, for the most part, have done a phenomenal job bringing these rich and crazy characters to life. But, salutes to everyone who made this wonderful movie happen.

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

I agree, Mel, your 'namesake' is incredible, indeed. I think she should get an Oscar this year. She deserves it!

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Alex, pretty much every film starring Cage receives poor reviews, so I doubt Season of the Witch will be an exception. Go and see The Fighter - you won't be disappointed. It was an incredible movie!

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Andrew, yes it is.. along with "The Social Network" and "King's Speech". I reckon Fincher should win Best Director and his "Network" should win Best Picture.

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Jaccsy, I'm looking forward to you Fighter review!

You're so right, it's not just the cast... it's the direction, the editing, the script, the settings... everything about it is quite flawless.

Lesya said...

I agree, but only I think that Adams gives the second best performance, because Leo doesn't surprise us (me, at least) but Amy does.

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Lesya, I was pleasantly surprised as well. This performance of her has nothing to do with her previous cookie cuter roles.

I still think Leo was better though :)

✗✗ said...

Right on, you described this perfectly. I found this film to be quite amazing. I have to be honest I didn't really expect it to be. Bale is such an evolving actor and this particular role has to be my favorite. Plus I agree about Leo-I mean wow!

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

I did too. And same as you, I didn't expect it to be THAT good. But it was absolutely fantastic! :) My previous favorite Bale performance was the one in The Machinist, but he outdid himself in this one. Leo - utterly amazing!