The Fighter

Posted by benjamin on December 31, 2010

If you are a fan of Christian Bale, get to your local theater now to see his amazing transformation into Dicky Eklund. A friend stated after the movie that it took him more than 3 minutes into the movie to realize that it was Christian Bale who was talking to the camera. It only takes seconds for the audience to believe they are seeing Dicky Eklund and that type of immersion into a character is always thrilling to see. I would call his portrayal Oscar worthy and simply phenomenal to watch.

The Fighter doesn’t just end the talents with Bale. Everyone else is amazing as well. Granted Mark Wahlberg, as usual, leaves you wanting more from him and his character. Even with the closing credits showing the real Mickey Ward, Wahlberg’s portrayal was more Mark and less Mickey. He matched the mannerisms and “silence” of the man he was portraying, but overall it just felt bland. Amy Adams shined as well as Mickey’s mom, played by Melissa Leo.

Besides the acting, the visual vision of the director played well to the overall movement of the story. David O. Russell and his staff chose to go with a “documentary” style look of the film. This allowed at times for the actors to play directly to the camera. It also helped to solidify the realism of the “based on a true story” tagline.

Overall, The Fighter has it all. Humor. Drama. Action. I thought I would enjoy this movie but I don’t think I went into the movie believing that I would enjoy it as much as I did. If asked, I would state that The Fighter is one of my favorite movies of 2010.

The Verdict:

1 Comment on this post | Published in Biopic, Drama