The Fighter

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2:24

The Fighter

R

2010

1h 56m

Drama

Biography

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

91%

Tomatometer

253 Reviews

89%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

For Micky Ward (Mark Wahlberg), boxing is a family affair. His tough-as-nails mother is his manager. His half-brother, Dicky (Christian Bale), once a promising boxer himself, is his very unreliable trainer. Despite Micky's hard work, he is losing and, when the latest fight nearly kills him, he follows his girlfriend's advice and splits from the family. Then Micky becomes a contender for the world title and he -- and his family -- earns a shot at redemption.

Critics Consensus

Led by a trio of captivating performances from Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, and Amy Adams, The Fighter is a solidly entertaining, albeit predictable, entry in the boxing drama genre.

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Candice Frederick

Reel Talk Online

09/09/2017

A

Overall The Fighter is a touching, soulful knockout of a movie.

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Philip French

Guardian

02/07/2011

Both Wahlberg and Bale are excellent in their different registers, as are Melissa Leo and Amy Adams as the differently calibrated women.

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David Sexton

London Evening Standard

02/04/2011

4/5

Wahlberg, always so physically solid, is deep inside himself in this role.

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Don Shanahan

Every Movie Has a Lesson

10/13/2024

4/5

While at its core, The Fighter does become a predictable boxing comeback film building to that Hollywood ending, the performances and acting clinic in action are worth your attention and audience.

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Danilo Castro

Next Best Picture

07/11/2024

8/10

Bale, Leo, and Adams are exceptional, and Russell’s ability to imbue a conventional underdog premise with his high-strung eccentricities gives the film a unique texture.

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Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

08/19/2023

The film falls somewhere between bare-knuckle and blue collar, brought to the screen with that docu-style handheld-camera that indie filmmakers so love to use for bracing reality, and Irish family melodrama...

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Jay W

@RT52162311 Apr 26

Yes, a great and transformative role from Christian Bale, who deserved his Oscar. But I call "category fraud". Christian Bale was not a "supporting actor". He has the most dialogue and most screentime out of anyone in the film. But anyways, that's beside the point. The heart and soul of "The Fighter" is Micky Ward as he tries to balance his professional fighting ambition with his complicated family relations. The best moments involve Dicky's character progression. There are some plot points that feel rushed, but overall the movie thrives when it is doing this stuff. The fights are not the focus of the film, but when they happen, they're pretty good. This movie chose its fights, and it chose to focus on the family dynamics, and they chose correctly.

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Henry D

@Henry_Domke Apr 11

Despite some outstanding performances from a very strong cast, the story didn’t work well enough for us to rate it higher than 3.5 stars. It’s well made, but the world it portrays feels grim, dirty, and often stupid, which made it harder for us to enjoy.

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Garrett B

@gmoney637 Apr 7

Wahlberg and Bale deliver outstanding performances in this sports drama.

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GR

@WhiteTiger Feb 15

Fantastic character development / acting. Watched it with my sons, 15 and 17, and they loved it too.

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Brand B.

@brandbaker33 Feb 15

Christian bale and mark wahlberg are unbelievable

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Sahil K

@Sahilk171 Jan 27

A really nice take on a drug addict brother finding his redemption ark and really well presented, and the acting and dedication by Cristian bale is a 100/100, really got the character right, watch this movie just for him, the movie overall is a decent one, does lack some depth but overall a really well done movie , 7.5/10

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David O. Russell

Director

Mark Wahlberg

Micky Ward

Christian Bale

Dicky Eklund

Amy Adams

Charlene Fleming

Melissa Leo

Alice Ward

Jack McGee

George Ward

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Synopsis

For Micky Ward (Mark Wahlberg), boxing is a family affair. His tough-as-nails mother is his manager. His half-brother, Dicky (Christian Bale), once a promising boxer himself, is his very unreliable trainer. Despite Micky's hard work, he is losing and, when the latest fight nearly kills him, he follows his girlfriend's advice and splits from the family. Then Micky becomes a contender for the world title and he -- and his family -- earns a shot at redemption.

Director: David O. Russell
Producer: Paul Tamasy, David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman, Ryan Kavanaugh, Mark Wahlberg, Dorothy Aufiero
Screenwriter: Scott Silver
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Production Co: Mandeville Films, Closest to the Hole, Relativity
Rating: R (Language Throughout|Drug Content|Sexuality|Some Violence)
Genre: Drama, Biography
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 17, 2010, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 1, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $93.6M
Runtime: 1h 56m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital, DTS