Movie Review - The Fighter

With Oscar season here, my movie watching has cranked up a bit. Having a few major snowstorms help free up some free time too.

As is always the case, these review are NOT SPOILER FREE so if you haven't seen the movie being reviewed and want to see it DON'T READ THE REVIEW. Today’s movie is The Fighter.

Circumstances seeing this movie:
My wife and I were up in Rhode Island over the holidays and just wanted to have an old fashioned “date night”. The theaters in Rhode Island are not quite as nice as the one’s I really like in NY but it was passable. Consider this theater an aging Cameron Diaz compared the NY’s more trendy Mila Kunis.

Plot Overview:
A fighter at the crossroads of his career has to decide if he want to take advantage of his true potential or continue to be held back by his domineering family. Lots of punching, swearing, and shaky New England accents ensue.


Quickie Review:
I liked this movie…a lot. I love gritty movies and placing it in a gritty setting like Lowell, Massachusetts makes it extra dirty. Christian Bale is amazing as the washed up, crack head, older brother of Mark Wahlberg’s titular character. Christian Bale’s performance almost makes me want to be a crackhead for a little while. I love his bald spot too. Also of note is Melissa Leo’s performance as the matriarch of the family. Any character that makes you really hate them means it’s a great performance. I love her passive aggressiveness. Amy Adams is H-O-T.

Also of note is the classic rock soundtrack. As a huge fan of Led Zeppelin, its rare that you hear their music in a movie but one of their songs plays over a vital part of the movie.


"Rock on Jimmy Page!"

Common Sense Violations:

1.) Well, it is based on a true story but some things seemed a little extreme. Are the cops really that tough up in Lowell? I mean they didn’t really need to bash Mark Wahlberg’s hand that many times.

2.) It seemed like a nice prison that Christian Bale was in…they let the prisoners watch his HBO special.

Scenes I liked:
1.) Any of the extended sequences…the opening scene of the brothers walking through Lowell and the police scene. I love Christian Bale impersonating a cop.

2.) Sugar Ray Leonard’s cameo appearance.

3.) How they used the HBO commentary for his fights. Though you never see Jim Lampley or Larry Merchant they do a good job of thinking they’re there and adding more realism to the fights.

4.) Chritian Bale escaping from his drug den through the back window and onto a pile of garbage....twice.

"What was I thinking doing The Rocker???"

Let's cut to the chase Hungieman, is there any sex/nudity?
No nudity though you get Amy Adams in a black bra and underwear looking very tasty about to get down with Marky Mark. Of course they are interrupted by the above mentioned nine(!) sisters coming over so we don’t see things go any further.

There was also probably some behind the scenes prison shower action but that was not shown.


"After we have intercourse, let's go to the beach so you can get some kind of tan"

Recommended?
Absolutely! There should be at least three Oscar nominations for the acting alone (Christian Bale, Melissa Leo, and either Wahlberg or Amy Adams. If this movie was a fight, it TKO’d me in the 4th round (Larry Merchant would say in his angry old man voice “just a re-SOUNDING performance by “The Fighter”…well done”)



Final review:
9 out of 10.