The Fighter (2010)
Average Rating: 7.8/10
Reviews Counted: 231
Fresh: 209 | Rotten: 22
Led by a trio of captivating performances from Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, and Amy Adams, The Fighter is a solidly entertaining, albeit predictable, entry in the boxing drama genre.
Average Rating: 7.9/10
Critic Reviews: 40
Fresh: 34 | Rotten: 6
Led by a trio of captivating performances from Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, and Amy Adams, The Fighter is a solidly entertaining, albeit predictable, entry in the boxing drama genre.
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Average Rating: 4.1/5
User Ratings: 100,403
My Rating
Movie Info
Mark Wahlberg stars in Paramount Pictures' inspirational docudrama exploring the remarkable rise of Massachusetts-born, junior welterweight title winner "Irish" Micky Ward. A determined pugilist whose career in the ring was shepherded by his loyal half-brother, Dicky (Christian Bale) -- a hard-living boxer-turned-trainer whose own career in the ring was nearly sent down for the count due to drugs and crime -- perennial underdog Irish Micky rebounded from a disheartening series of defeats to win
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Cast
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Mark Wahlberg
"Irish" Mickey Ward, Mi... -
Christian Bale
Dicky Eklund, Eklund -
Amy Adams
Charlene Fleming -
Melissa Leo
Alice Ward -
Jack McGee
George Ward -
Mickey O'Keefe
Mickey O'Keefe -
Melissa McMeekin
"Little Alice" Eklund -
Bianca Hunter
Cathy "Pork" Eklund -
Erica McDermott
Cindy "Tar" Eklund -
Jill Quigg
Donna Eklund Jaynes -
Dendrie Allyn Taylor
Gail "Red Dog" Eklund -
Kate O'Brien
Phyllis "Beaver" Eklund -
Jenna Lamia
Sherri Ward -
Frank Renzulli
Sal Lanano -
Paul Campbell VIII
Gary "Boo Boo" Giuffrid... -
Caitlin Dwyer
Kasie Ward -
Chanty Sok
Karen -
Ted Arcidi
Lou Gold -
Ross Bickell
Mike Toma -
Sean Malone
Wolfie -
Jose Antonio Rivera
Gilberto Brown aka Jose -
Richard W. Farrell
HBO Cameraman #1 -
Matthew Muzio
HBO Cameraman #2 -
Steven Barkheimer
HBO Producer -
Art Ramalho
Art Ramalho -
Sugar Ray Leonard
Sugar Ray Leonard -
Jackson Nicoll
Little Dicky -
Alison Folland
Laurie Carroll -
Sean Doherty
Jimmy (Laurie's Husband... -
Sue Costello
Becky -
Thomas Hart Benton
Businessman -
Ray Greenhalge
Ray Ramalho -
Tino Kimly
Pran -
Epifanio Melendez
Carlos Garcia -
Jeremiah Kissel
Bald Businessman -
Sean Eklund
Man in Diner -
Roeun Chea
Chan -
Brian Nguyen
Brian -
Rikki Kleiman
Court Clerk -
Michael Dell'orto
WBU Commissioner -
Paul Locke
Reporter #1 -
Kim Carrell
Reporter #2 -
Colin Hammell
John Hyland -
Dale Place
Referee Mickey Vann -
Eddie Lee Anderson
Referee Joe Cortez -
Joseph Lupino
Referee Mitch Halpern -
Bonnie Aarons
Crackhead Bonnie -
Walter Driscoll
Court Officer -
Matt Russell
Photo Guy on Street -
A. Joseph Denucci
Man on Street #1 -
Richard A. Eklund
Man on Street #2 -
George Michael Ward
Man on Street #3 -
Richard Eklund, Jr.
Man on Street #4 -
Jack Greenhalge
Man on Street #5 -
Kevin Paige
Man on Street #6 -
David A. Ramalho, Sr.
Trainer -
Ziad Akl
Inmate -
Simon Hamlin
Movie Patron -
Gerald Greenhalge
Uncle Jerry -
Matthew Russell
Running Kid #1 -
Tommy Eklund
Running Kid #2 -
Rita Mercier
Woman on Street #1 -
Deborah Bolanger
Woman on Street #2 -
Kerry Moore
Woman on Street #3 -
Philip D. Herbert
Micky's Cutman -
Raul Vera
Sanchez Trainer -
Jack Lally
Neary Trainer -
Carlos L. Smith
Sugar Ray Leonard Bodyg... -
Jerrell Lee Wesley
Fight Spectator #1 -
Hugh K. Long
Fight Spectator #2 -
-
Eric Weinstein
Micky's Friend -
Bo Cleary
Cop -
Anthony Molinari
Neary -
Peter "Sugarfoot" Cunning...
Mike "Machine Gun" Mung... -
Miguel Espino
Alfonso Sanchez -
Anthony 'Ace' Thomas
Castillo -
Brian Christensen
Drunk Guy -
Jen Weissenberg
Drunk Girl
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The Fighter Trailer & Photos
All Critics (231) | Top Critics (40) | Fresh (211) | Rotten (22) | DVD (2)
A flawed, frequently ludicrous but overwhelmingly likeable film, old-school to the core and none the worse for it.
Top CriticMakes too many concessions to the Hollywood judges, pulls too many punches.
The Fighter is so muscularly and tenderly good because it trains its eye on the matches that take place between kin.
A great boxing movie, a great film about family. Gritty, thrilling, inspirational. Deserves multiple Oscar nominations.
It's audacious, it's fun, it's rowdy, and it's just twisted enough to always be interesting. Beyond that, it's one of the year's best acting showcases and likely to grab multiple Oscar nominations.
Only Amy Adams, playing Micky's tough-tender girlfriend Charlene, manages to be convincingly working-class without seeming either dopey or rabid or strung-out.
Acting for the silver screen doesn't get more raw, moving or accomplished than what you see in "The Fighter," that rare film in which every performer in it leaves the viewer in awe.
While Bale turns in a 5-star performance, his character's story bobs and weaves around Wahlberg's simpler, steady efforts.
This film was supposed to be a crowd-pleaser, but in the end, there's just not a whole lot to be pleased about
Wahlberg gives a restrained and generous performance, which allows his co-stars Leo and Bale to shine (and win awards).
May not be a boxing classic, but it's got loads of spit-in-your-eye spirit
'The Fighter' isn't revolutionary, but Russell's tweaking of the formula and stellar work by the actors, especially Bale, elevate it above many of its peers.
a tale told with the deft precision of a talented filmmaker and the enthusiasm of a lead who cares about his subject.
An excellent cast highlights this stirring boxing drama.
While the crowd cheered, I didn't want Micky to win the fight. I wanted somebody ... to come along and rescue him from his family's ignorance.
Russell delivers what we least expect from him: a pro-family film.
The Fighter deftly manages to be equal parts character drama and sports film without giving short shrift to either. Containing a couple of the best performances of the year it is in turn harrowing and heartwarming.
fitting tribute to a real-life Rocky featuring inspired performances not only by Oscar-winners Christian Bale and Melissa Leo but by Mark Wahlberg and Amy Adams as well.
...rises above the run-of-the-mill inspirational sports stories we usually find on the big screen. (Blu-ray Combo Edition)
...a boxing movie for people who couldn't care less about boxing.
Más que una película sobre boxeo, un drama familiar sobre dos hermanos diferentes, una madre dominante y una posibilidad de redención y éxito. El show se lo roban Christian Bale y Melissa Leo con dos de las mejores interpretaciones del año.
The Fighter proves that the boxing movie still has life. It also underlines just what a distinctive actor Bale has become.
Christian Bale - reduced lately to whispering solemnity in the likes of Dark Knight and Terminator Salvation - gets to really cut loose with Dicky in a performance that is sure to give Geoffrey Rush a run for his money on Oscar night.
The ring action in The Fighter is bruising enough, but it's the drama outside the ropes that will leave you reeling.
With a clutch of Oscar nominations, including nods for Bale, Adams and Leo, The Fighter is a serious contender that connects powerfully.
Both Wahlberg and Bale are excellent in their different registers, as are Melissa Leo and Amy Adams as the differently calibrated women.
Audience Reviews for The Fighter
Super Reviewer
If I had to pick something about it (besides the above) that does set it apart, it is the acting, but you probably may have that one figured out (unless you ignore reviews, the Oscars, or internet message boards). The odd thing here though, is that, even though this is about (part of) the story of Micky Ward, the supporting characters (especially Dicky), are such scene stealers and far more memorable, that you'd think the movie is really about them.
In a way, this is true. It's mostly about Micky, but more about the role of those aroudn Micky, and how they shape and affect his life, especially his crackhead brother Dicky, trashy, overbearing, selfish mother Alice, and his seven equally trashy sisters. Besides being an underdog story, this film shows the bond of family (no matter how messed up), as well as the effects of being washed up and addicted to drugs.
This is a story that could have been told all kinds of ways, and in David O. Russell's hands, it plays essentially like a docudrama. In fact, some of this is so well done and convincing that it seems closer to truth than fiction. It probably helps that locals are used to play themselves or people they know, and that this was all shot on location. Lowell, as shown here, is not really a place I wanna see anytime soon.
As I said already, the acting is great, Wahlberg is actually the most low-key and toned down. Maybe that's a good thing. It makes the character less interesting, but everyone else is so over the top and showy that we need a more subtle performance to anchor things. Leo and Bale are tremendous, and their Oscars were well deserved, but they may have laid it on just a tad too thick. Adams is also great, especially since she lays against type, and succeeds.
There's not a whole lot new here, but this is a really hard film to dislike, It's pretty solid, but not air tight. They could have made Ward a bit more interesting, and maybe included his trilogy of fights with Gatti, but apparently they are planning a sequel that will focus solely on just that, so there you go. This is very real, but maybe too real, too painful to watch at times. That's not to say that it's unwatchable though, because I certainly was never bored, and always found at least one thing to enjoy frame by frame.
Go check this out. I give it a B+
Super Reviewer
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- "Irish" Mickey Ward: Cut me Mick!
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- Dicky Eklund: I gotta go pick up a rock man!
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- Micky Ward: I'm the one fighting, I know what I need.
- Charlene Fleming: And you need Dicky?
- Micky Ward: I want Dicky back. And I want you, Charlene, and I want O'Keefe, and my family.
- Charlene Fleming: You can't do that to us.
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- "Irish" Mickey Ward: [to george ward] What you doing running in hear like a silverback fucking gorilla?
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- Dicky Eklund: This is f***in' yours!
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- Lou Gold: Right. Yeah, but this guy just came off the couch. He's been sittin' on his ass. Could be an easy win for Mick. Joey Farrell, remember him? He knocked his ass out.
Discussion Forum
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| The Fighter | 54 days ago | 1 |
Latest News on The Fighter
October 5, 2012:
David O. Russell Lines Up an Impressive CastChristian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, and Jeremy Renner line up to star in Russell's next...
January 9, 2012:
Mark Wahlberg Seeks New Director for The Fighter 2David O. Russell's off the project, but Wahlberg says "we got to do that film before I get too old."
November 16, 2011:
David O. Russell's Silver Linings Playbook Set to Open in November 2012It's a Weinstein release of a Russell project. What are the odds of the date sticking?
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Foreign Titles
- Fightgirl Ayse (DE)
- Fighter (UK)
