Boxing movies have always been a huge hit with movie audiences everywhere, but unlike films such as Rocky or Million Dollar Baby, The Fighter is based on the true story of world champion Irish Micky Ward (Mark Wahlberg, The Other Guys), and is as much about the drama concerning his family, as it is about the drama in the ring.
Family drama often centers around his brother Dicky Eklund (Christian Bale, The Dark Knight); who doubled as Micky’s trainer, but was often late to sessions, and even potentially life-changing fights as he whittled his life away in a local crack-den; and mother Alice (Melissa Leo, 21 Grams) who tended to gloss over Dicky’s addiction as much as she could, often to the detriment of Micky’s career.
The Fighter then follows Micky as he attempts to train and box as he always has, but begins to face the harsh realization that continuing along the same path will both get him hurt, and see his career dwindle away to nothing, while his father (Jack McGee, Rescue Me) and new girlfriend Charlene (Amy Adams, Julie and Julia) advise him to break away and find a new trainer/management team; a decision that could effectively end his relationship with his misguided, but fiercely loyal and caring family.
And unlike the majority of boxing movies, the family issues found in The Fighter are just as engrossing as the realistic fight scenes that populate the movie; as there’s not only more drama in their family than a whole year of The Jerry Springer Show, but every scene is acted to perfection by a stellar cast (Wahlberg delivers possibly the finest performance of his career in this movie, Adams is excellent, and McGee is brilliant), that have not only been praised by critics and the film-going public alike (Bale and Leo both won Academy Awards for their performances), but even the real-life Ward/Eklund family.
Realism was of paramount importance for everyone making The Fighter, and it clearly shows; Mark Wahlberg trained for almost five years to become a believable fighter and world champion (something that’s clearly evident when watching), Bale spent a huge amount of time with Dicky Eklund in order to emulate even his most subtle mannerisms, and the fight scenes were filmed with a real HBO TV crew in order to successfully capture the look and feel of Micky’s real-life fights; making The Fighter not just a boxing movie, but a window into the past, and into the lives of some amazing people.
The Fighter’s a great movie for boxing fans, anyone who loves an underdog story, and is one that’s not just for men, but women as well; because the family drama plays such a central role, it not only creates a great character dynamic, but makes the whole film so engrossing that you’ll forget your watching a movie, and be thoroughly drawn in. It’s a film we called the best film of 2010, and one that everyone should see.
You can find our full movie review of The Fighter here.
Picture:
For a film that looks so well dated, it’s surprising just how crisp and clear the 1080p video transfer for The Fighter really is; coming to Blu-ray with an impeccable level of detail that only wavers in the intentionally stylistic fight sequences (which were filmed with a HBO TV crew to look more like a TV boxing broadcast), but successfully texturizes every little nuance available on screen everywhere else, is accompanied by perfectly natural colours and solid contrast, satisfyingly deep and inky black levels, and a thin layer of grain that perfectly accentuates an all round stellar image, and gives it a nicely cinematic feel.
The only thing really dragging The Fighter’s picture quality down is a few, mostly negligible, instances of banding that don’t really do enough to harm the picture, let alone take it out for the count, and shouldn’t distract from the otherwise brilliant transfer that’s bound to please any fan.
Audio:
Similar in terms of quality is the disc’s impressive 5.1 DTS-HD Master Aduio mix; a track that produces perfectly rendered dialogue (the reason some of the dialogue is hard to make out is because of Wahlberg’s mumbling, and the Boston accents; not an audio issue), superb music delivery, lifelike atmospherics that make everyday streets or bars sound perfectly natural, and truly make the fight scenes come to life; as it’s in the fight scenes where the track really shines, boasting a powerful low-end which makes you feel every punch, and such exceptional crowd re-production from the rear channels that it feels as if you’re really sitting ringside. A great mix that’s thoroughly engrossing, easily draws any viewer in, and is sure to please any fan of the film.
Extras:
In terms of special features, The Fighter’s Blu-ray release doesn’t offer up quite as much as the impressive video and audio, despite containing an audio commentary with director David O Russell (Three Kings); which discusses shooting on location, the real-life Micky and Dicky, and numerous technical details, but could have really benefitted from having Micky and Dicky, and certainly Mark Wahlberg involved; a number of deleted scenes (some of which contain optional commentary); which are worth a watch, but mainly consist of seeing Bale showcasing more of Dicky’s antics; and a theatrical trailer for the film.
Also included are two featurettes; an extremely interesting and informative making of that covers everything from how each of the actors approached their roles (including method acting, and Wahlberg investing in four years of training; that began even before the movie was green-lit), to shooting in lowell, the benefits/problems to having Micky, Dicky, and their family on set, as well as showcasing cast and crew interviews, and a wealth of behind the scenes footage, and a feature with interviews from a large number of people involved with the Ward/Eklund family, talking of how the boys got started boxing, how good a fighter and trainer Dicky really is, and what Micky is up to nowadays.
So while there are quite a few bonus materials on offer, they’re not exactly for the casual viewer, and will only really suit die-hard fans of the film, the boxing world, and Micky and Dicky, despite containing a great deal of extremely interesting information, interviews, and behind the scenes footage.
The Bottom Line:
Both the picture and audio quality are just a shade away from being perfect, and even though the extras won’t be to everyone’s taste there’s plenty of information and behind the scenes footage to reward any fan, and anyone who’s interested in learning a little bit more about production, but really, with a film this good, it wouldn’t matter if the disc quality was only average; it’d still be worth buying.
Biopics, and particularly boxing movies, can easily fall down a cheesy trap and simply throw out some corny one-liners and a predictable plot to make them like any other successful picture in the genre, but The Fighter doesn’t; it’s a boxing movie like no other, with a huge amount of heart and respect, that tells a tale worth hearing, about a boxer and his intense and messed up family, in such a realistic, engrossing, and dramatic way, that it’s not only entreating, but mesmerizing for anyone who watches. Male or female, old or young, whoever you are, you should buy a Blu-ray copy of The Fighter, because it’s so good, you’re guaranteed to watch it again.
