68/100
The comparison to Rocky is inevitable. The Fighter is not as good, at least in terms of an effective drama, but it does provide decent entertainment. for the climactic fight. Those who like sport’s films—boxing in general—will probably enjoy this on some level. Those who don’t like boxing and are hoping for an interesting drama, with well-drawn characters, could probably pass on this. The performances—especially Christian Bale (who is way more appealing in this supporting role than his leading ones); Melissa Leo (who I didn’t recognize at first) and Amy Adams—are solid, but the film doesn’t seem interested in fleshing them out the characters. The viewer only gets to know them on a superficial level; ditto the relationships between these characters and the main character. That’s a significant over-sight which weakens the dramatic impact of the film. (I’ll go into that more in the next section.)

• (minor spoilers)
  Who is Micky Ward, the boxer featured in the new film, The Fighter, and why does he fight? The film’s ultimate failure at answering this question is probably the biggest problem I had with an otherwise entertaining and compelling—if cliched—underdog story. It is also the main difference between the film and Rocky. Unlike Rocky, The Fighter doesn’t seem to be very interested in it’s main character and the reasons he fights; and this takes away from the drama of the story, especially the finale bout. Yet, the film does hint at some of these motivations. For example, Micky’s return to boxing (after getting his hand smashed) seems to stem from the embarrassment and pain the documentary on his brother, Dickie, caused. But the film doesn’t really build upon this and it’s sort of forgotten after a while.

Ward’s relationship with Dickie (Christian Bale) also seem to be crucial, but are never fleshed out. In addition, Ward’s relationship with his mother (Melissa Leo) could have provided an interesting back story to Micky’s fighting. There’s a scene where Micky suggests that his mother’s interest in his fighting seems to be primarily based on her interest in redeeming Dicky, i.e. her interest in Micky solely depends on her love for Dickie. But then the film doesn’t really develop or expand on this in a way that ties into Ward’s character and his fighting. Finally, Ward’s relationship with his girlfriend (Amy Adams) does little to contribute to our understanding of his character.

These things contrast sharply with Rocky, where the film is basically a character study. Rocky spends the first two thirds of the film establishing his character and the reason he fights. The relationship with Adrian also deepens the viewer’s understanding of Rocky, and makes the the climatic fight more meaningful. There is very little of this in The Fighter and the film—in terms of its dramatic impact—suffers because of it.