The fight scenes hurt, not because they're edited like quicksilver or nimbly staged -- they are -- but because we are made to care so deeply for the title character.
Cinderella Man (2005)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:200
Fresh:160
Rotten:40
Average Rating:7.4/10
Consensus: With grittiness and an evocative sense of time and place, Cinderella Man is a powerful underdog story. And Ron Howard and Russell Crowe prove to be a solid combination.
Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] for intense boxing violence and some language
Runtime: 2 hrs 25 mins
Genre: Dramas
Theatrical Release:Jun 3, 2005 Wide
Box Office: $61,548,295
Synopsis: Academy Award®-winning producer Brian Grazer, director Ron Howard and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman (all Oscar® winners for 2001's A Beautiful Mind) are reunited with Oscar® winner Russell Crowe for... Academy Award®-winning producer Brian Grazer, director Ron Howard and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman (all Oscar® winners for 2001's A Beautiful Mind) are reunited with Oscar® winner Russell Crowe for the Universal Pictures-Miramax Films-Imagine Entertainment production, Cinderella Man. Starring opposite Crowe is two-time Oscar® nominee Renée Zellweger. Crowe stars in the story inspired by the life of legendary athlete Jim Braddock, a once-promising light heavyweight boxer forced into retirement after a string of losses in the ring. As the nation enters the darkest years of the Great Depression, Braddock accepts a string of dead-end jobs to support his wife, Mae (Renée Zellweger), and their children, while never totally abandoning his dream of boxing again. Thanks to a last minute cancellation, Braddock finds himself back in the ring against the second-ranked world contender--and to everyone's amazement, Braddock wins in the third round. Despite being pounds lighter than his opponents and repeated injuries to his hands, Braddock continues to fight against challengers and win. Carrying on his shoulders the hopes and dreams of the disenfranchised masses, Braddock, dubbed the "Cinderella Man," faces his toughest challenger in Max Baer (Craig Bierko), the heavyweight champion of the world, renowned for having killed two men in the ring. Cinderella Man stars Russell Crowe, Renée Zellweger and Craig Bierko; is produced by Brian Grazer, Ron Howard and Penny Marshall; is written by Cliff Hollingsworth, C. Gaby Mitchell, Akiva Goldsman; and is directed by Ron Howard. The film is a Universal Pictures/Miramax Films co-production of an Imagine Entertainment presentation, with Universal Pictures distributing domestically and Buena Vista International handling the international distribution of the film for Miramax. [More]
Starring: Russell Crowe, Renee Zellweger, Paul Giamatti, Craig Bierko
Starring: Russell Crowe, Renee Zellweger, Paul Giamatti, Craig Bierko, Bruce McGill, Paddy Considine
Director: Ron Howard
Director: Ron Howard
Screenwriter: Ron Howard, Akiva Goldsman, Cliff Hollingsworth
Producer: Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Penny Marshall, Todd Hallowell
Composer: Thomas Newman
Studio: Universal Pictures
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Reviews for Cinderella Man
If you used to love the movies, Cinderella Man will remind you of the movies you loved.
Crowe's performance as this Seabiscuit of the sweet science will no doubt make the middleweight Cinderella Man a contender -- an Oscar contender.
A grand piece of old-fashioned Hollywood filmmaking that is easily the best movie of the year so far.
Director Ron Howard doesn't pull any surprise moves here, yet the movie gets more and more gripping with each punch.
Braddock only wants another shot at boxing to buy milk for the kids. Cue the heavenly choir.
In many ways this unambitious but heartfelt drama comes as a welcome breath of fresh air, especially now, when theaters are filled with dark and dreary features, the kind of heartless, soulless Hollywood constructs that glut the summer each year.
When was the last time you saw a truly feel-good movie about men beating the crap out of each other?
Most directors shy away from the Time That Oscar Voters Forget. Ron Howard must be getting bolder.
We needed heroes in the 1930s, and we need them today, and Cinderella Man is the unashamed story of a hero.
The beautiful truth of this story is smeared over with cornball sentiment.
If you're the sort of occasional moviegoer who feels they don't make 'em like they used to -- well, you're right. Except that Howard and Russell Crowe have just proved you wrong.
... a by-the-book, retro Hollywood production – which brings with it both virtues and problems.
Crowe adds another masterful performance to his incredibly diverse portfolio.
An exquisitely crafted, stately drama ... that never surprises, never takes risks, never delivers beyond expectations.
Beautifully portrayed by Russell Crowe and Renee Zellweger in the kinds of well-judged performances that presume goodness without straining to convince us of it, they're a couple whose shared moral compass guides them unerringly.
The first film in terms of Oscar hopefuls this year that can truly be considered a contender.
So square it makes the original Rocky look cutting edge and Million Dollar Baby positively avant-garde by comparison.
In telling the story of heavyweight champion Jimmy Braddock, Howard creates a hero who's not operating out of a pumped-up sense of himself.
So far, this great drama directed by Ron Howard and starring Russell Crowe is the summer movie season's real champ.
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