The Fighter (Spoilers may lie ahead. Then again, if you don't know the story....shame on you lol)

First off. Congratulations to Christian Bale. You officially had me thinking you were an addict. An addict who once had a promising career as a professional fighter. I will guarantee it right here....you will take home the Oscar that night. I laughed so hard at the scenes where Dicky dashes out the window of the crack house so his mother won't catch him getting high. I laughed so hard at those scenes I nearly wet my pants. And man oh man did David O Russell not show us an amazing portrayal of Lowell, Massachusetts? I used to frequent Lowell many a times when one of my friends was attending UMASS Lowell. The makers of the fighter nailed it. So what Mark Wahlberg didn't look like him. That wasn't the point. He embodied him and should of been nominated along with Mr. Bale. Everyone from Melissa Leo to Amy Adams truly nailed the part of a tough talking family from Lowell. Russell filmed the fight scenes with amazing preciseness. It was pretty evident Wahlberg trained for years in hopes of bringing this story to the big screen. I mean just watching all the training scenes in The Fighter had me thinking Wahlberg really looked like a hungry boxer. One who yearned for all of the glory. One who had the guts to go the distance. This movie nailed the ferociousness.


Never mind the amazing fight and training scenes. And they were as good if not better than fight scenes from Raging Bull or Ali. What about the convincing love story? What about how easy it was for "us" viewers to believe that this was a real family? A family that had so many different struggles. I actually could see the pressure in Wahlberg's eyes. The scene where the promoter approaches him in Atlantic City and tells him he needs to ditch his brother Dicky? You could see Mickey was tempted. He was hungry. I really can't get over the way this movie captured the intensity of boxing and the struggles of a hard-working Lowell boy trying to make it. The Pride of Lowell. He was and still is and always will be the Pride of Lowell. I know what it's like to come from a community like these guys. I live in South Boston where everyone knows a thing or two about being proud and hard-working.

My one problem with the script was the same issue other critics had. They didn't show the most grueling and amazing fights of all time. Ward versus Gatti. Three times! Anyways, if I had to rate this movie from a 1 to a 10. It is a 10. It is that simple. You walk away from this movie feeling satisfied and happy. I truly believe that was the point of this movie. It is a feel good story. It showed that no matter what problems you come across....you can always get through them with family and friends. And no matter how hard you work....you can not achieve what you want in life unless you continue to want it no matter what the odds and no matter how impossible it may seem.