The Fighter

[Fresh Tendrils]

Stars Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, and Amy Adams.
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[Beantown]

Re: The Fighter

Definitely a pretty revealing trailer (kinda feel like I just watched the entire movie), but I'll still see this one at some point. Looks good enough.

[DickDalewood]

Re: The Fighter

I think this looks fantastic. Amazing to see Bale losing a ton of weight for a role again, lol. That dude looks different in every single film. I have have always loved Wahlberg, and Amy Adams, well... she's reason enough to see this

Looking forward to it!

[Blzer]

Re: The Fighter

Definitely a pretty revealing trailer (kinda feel like I just watched the entire movie)

Don't you hate those?

[steelcurtain311]

Re: The Fighter

I think it looks like garbage. Wahlberg (who I like) is horribly miscast as Ward. He looks or sounds nothing like him, just looks like Mark Wahlberg playing a boxer. Other than that, it just looks like a paint by numbers retelling of Rocky, only they based it on a real person. They're not even going to showcase the Gatti/Ward fights, which is the only reason anybody even knows the name Mickey Ward, and pretty much defined him and Gatti both as boxers.

The only aspect that looks promising is Christian Bale. You can tell he's dying to make people forget he's Batman by taking this role.

[JayBee74]

Re: The Fighter

I think it looks like garbage. Wahlberg (who I like) is horribly miscast as Ward. He looks or sounds nothing like him, just looks like Mark Wahlberg playing a boxer. Other than that, it just looks like a paint by numbers retelling of Rocky, only they based it on a real person. They're not even going to showcase the Gatti/Ward fights, which is the only reason anybody even knows the name Mickey Ward, and pretty much defined him and Gatti both as boxers.

The only aspect that looks promising is Christian Bale. You can tell he's dying to make people forget he's Batman by taking this role.

That's a little strong. However,I would almost prefer the movie to be fictional, because I think they could do more with it. Glancing at Ward's record his comeback more then likely started with a 9 bout winning streak that included victories over undefeated Louis Veader (31-0) and Alfonso Sanchez (16-0) that led to his IBF Light Welterweight title shot against Vince Phillips in 1997.
Unusually enough, Veader lost a rematch with Ward, won his next fight, and then retired with a 32-2 record.

[steelcurtain311]

Re: The Fighter

It's really not strong. Wahlberg just looks out of place as Mickey Ward. He's a terrible choice to play him in a biopic. While he could easily play a boxer in a boxing movie (which is all this looks like), he's not Mickey Ward.

Ward's a stupid biopic choice to begin with. It's all about this current box office infatuation with Boston, ever since the Departed. He wasn't a great fighter, he wasn't a name, he wasn't anything. His "from the streets to the ring" story could be told about nearly every successful boxer. He doesn't deserve a biopic. Hell, even his counter-part in the **** trilogy, Arturro Gatti lived a much more interesting and tragic existence. Would have made a better story.

That's why I liked Ali. There was no corny "origin" story to show how hard he had it and where he rose to. The movie starts and Ali is already Ali. And you go from there, a trend in most of Mann's work. That's refreshing in today's Hollywood where everything now has to be a reboot, remake, origin story, etc..

[Gibbz]

Re: The Fighter

Supposedly this might get a Best Picture nomination. I want to see it, but I heard there isn't even a mention of Arturo Gatti which seems absurd.

I think the wide release is tomorrow. Anybody plan on seeing it?

[Beantown]

Re: The Fighter

It looks worse with every preview I see.

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: The Fighter

I will see this despite my blinding hatred of all things Mark Walhberg. Damn you Christian Bale and Amy Adams.

[JayBee74]

Re: The Fighter

It looks worse with every preview I see.

And yet it is garnering an 87% on Rotten Tomatoes and has a decent shot at a Best Picture Oscar. I'll see for myself this weekend.

Supposedly this might get a Best Picture nomination. I want to see it, but I heard there isn't even a mention of Arturo Gatti which seems absurd.

I think the wide release is tomorrow. Anybody plan on seeing it?

My guess is that the last fight of the film is Ward's 1997

Spoiler

IBF LightWelterWeight bout with Vince Phillips, 5-6 years before the Gati-Ward trilogy, which happened to be the last three fights of ward's career.

[steelcurtain311]

Re: The Fighter

It's just a boring story to me. It's a cliche at this point. I feel like I've seen this movie 10 times already. On top of being a long time boxing fan, I can't stand watching a horrible miscasting like Wahlberg as Ward. It would be entertaining to watch Amy Adams and Christian Bale being nutcases, though.

[Sandman42]

Re: The Fighter

Saw it tonight. First half of the movie is pretty meh. Starts to pick up later in the movie but didn't really save the movie for me and I don't see how this is getting nominated for best picture. It's an OK movie but nothing great.

[LilLowe]

Re: The Fighter

Thought it was a good movie. Christian Bale was great in his role. I also learned a lot more about Ward that I didn't previously know.

[JayBee74]

Re: The Fighter

Saw it tonight. First half of the movie is pretty meh. Starts to pick up later in the movie but didn't really save the movie for me and I don't see how this is getting nominated for best picture. It's an OK movie but nothing great.

Big disagreement Mr Sandman. I think Bale is almost guaranteed an Oscar. He was beyond unbelievable. Wahlberg wasn't too far behind. Many times I was getting choked up by the sheer emotional intensity of the film. It has been a long time since a movie has moved me this much.

You can appreciate how good Amy Adams is if you watch her performance in Julie and Julia as food blogger and Julia Child devotee and then watch her in this film as sexy barmaid and girlfriend to Wahlberg's Mickey Ward. Two totally different people portrayed to the point of unrecognizability.

A very good flick about family and loyalty.