Jack Goes Confidential: THE FIGHTER Scores 4-Finger Cinematic Knockout

I usually don’t pay much attention to Golden Globe nominations..

But when it comes to THE FIGHTER, they got it right!
 
Earlier this week the film was nominated for Best Picture and Mark Wahlberg is in the running for Best Actor. Christian Bale is a Best Supporting Actor nominee. Amy Adams is nominated for Best Supporting Actress. And David O. Russell was named as one of this year’s five Best Directors for the film.
 
While THE FIGHTER is definitely not just another ROCKY story, it does contain some of that movie’s better elements. It tells the inspirational true story of struggling boxer Irish Micky Ward, played convincingly by Wahlberg.

There’s his tough-as-nails bartender girlfriend Amy Adams as well as his entire fractured family.
 
Then there’s his older half-brother Dicky Eklund. Dicky’s a former boxer and drug addict. He’s also Micky’s trainer. Played by Christian Bale, Dicky steals the picture!
 
THE FIGHTER is not so much a boxing movie as it is a lower-class, blue collar, family drama.
 
Micky idolizes Dicky but tries desperately to salvage his own boxing career which is dangerously close of going into the crapper just like Dicky’s had. But through tough love preached by his new college dropout girlfriend (Amy Adams) – despite his family’s undermining her – and his half brother Bale’s efforts, Wahlberg gets it done.
 
We’ve never seen this side of Amy Adam’s acting chops before.
 
And Bale proves once again just how good an actor he really is. Here he’s at the top of his game.
 
Kudos are in order as well to Wahlberg who, as the film’s producer, fought hard to get this project off the ground. Not to mention delivering as good a movie as THE FIGHTER turned out to be.

Of course having the project helmed by director David O. Russell didn’t hurt.
 
Paramount’s terrific, dysfunctional family boxing movie / hard luck story, THE FIGHTER. New this pre-holiday weekend citywide and raising 4 out of 5 knockout fingers.