Review of The Fighter (2010) by Tim S — 30 Mar 2012
The Fighter re-teams Mark Wahlberg with director David O. Russell, as well as Mark with Christan Bale. This is another in the long list of boxing movies that aren't really about the boxing. They're more about the characters and what they're going through rather than the sport itself.
Christian Bale steals the show with his performance, but only in the first half. The one thing I've always said about Bale was that his personality oozes through his performances, and so it's never really the character he's playing but him instead.
This isn't the case in the first half of the movie. After his character goes through a rough patch, he goes back to being Bale again. It works for the roles he chooses, but I can always sense it. Mark Wahlberg gives a good performance, but its very small compared to his co-star's.
It's odd that the movie is about a boxer, but Bale's performance overshadows the main protagonist and confuses you as an audience member. Fortunately, it works in this case. The story itself is a little different than your average boxing true story.
It's generally intense, and you get very caught up in it, so I don't have much to complain about with it in that department. It's a gripping film, but not really one I'd want to see over and over again.
This review of The Fighter (2010) was written by Tim S on 30 Mar 2012.
The Fighter has generally received very positive reviews.
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