The Fighter was a pretty great film that brought you on an emotional ride to say the least. It was a film that I didn’t have much interest in because I’m not a huge fan of sports movies for the most part. The film kept getting hyped, as did Christian Bale’s performance so I felt the need to get out there and see for myself. The Fighter certainly got it right in the way that it focused not only on the main character’s triumphs in the ring, but also his intensely dramatic family life due to a mother who fails to let go of her children and his brother who can’t seem to stop screwing up.

So, yes, The Fighter did offer a little bit more than the average boxing movie, but at the end of the day. Its really nothing I haven’t seen before. The Fighter really just offered the same underdog story that’s been trampled over thousands of time. Don’t get me wrong, it was done well, but it’s definitely been done better in the past. Some might argue that its different because this movie delved into his personal life as well. It certainly did, but that’s also nothing new. That being said, The Fighter as I said before was a pretty great film. It just wasn’t amazing.

One thing that was amazing about it was Christian Bale’s performance. I’ve always been a Christian Bale fan, but his performance in this blew me away. He was phenomenal. Without a doubt, this is one of the greatest performances he’s ever given. The rest of the cast did a bang up job as well. I was never a big Wahlberg fan, but he did pretty decent and the supporting characters all held their own and very well for that matter. Christian Bale was the real treat though.

There were particular moments in this film where you were very moved on an emotional level by what was going on, on screen. Some would include the main character getting beaten by the cops for attempting to help his brother or when his sisters come to attack his “MTV” girlfriend. The parts that didn’t really move me were the actual fights. I was moved by the outcome and what was occurring during the fights, but not by the way the fights were shot.

A movie such as this one should capitalize on its fights, and shooting one should be an art form all its own. Just look at Scorsese’s work in Raging Bull. Thirty-years-old and those boxing matches are still just as breathtaking today. The fights in The Fighter however, were a bit dull. I want to feel more involved in a boxing movie and with this one I wasn’t really given that chance. I felt like the director was aiming to show the fights as if they were on T.V. and it didn’t work for me.

All and all, I could truly understand why people might fall in love with this film based on its content. Its just not the most enjoying thing for me to watch especially since I can be enjoyed in the same way with better movies. However, I don’t want people to get the wrong idea. I’m not trying to trash The Fighter. It was a good movie, it just wasn’t spectacular.

Grade: B