The Fighter P.P.M.R (Positively Positive Movie Review)

I promised my boyfriend, Bill, that, if I liked this movie, I would stop referring to Mark Wahlberg as Marky Mark. Well, I guess I will have to retrain my brain because I loved it! I have not watched a movie with Wahlberg in it since The Happening. Yes, this is extreme and yes, this is supposed to be a positive review but I'm sorry, there was no redeeming that movie! Now I realize that Wahlberg has severe acting chops and I am really working on rewiring my vocab...it may take a while purely because of habit but here it is babe, YOU WERE RIGHT! (Don't expect that too often). ;)

I completely agree that this movie deserves as many Golden Globe nominations as it scooped up! These nominations include Best Motion Picture (Drama), Best Actor (Drama) for Mark Wahlberg,  Best Supporting Actor for Christian Bale and Best Supporting Actress for Amy Adams. All of these nominations are well-deserved and I hope to see them all taking home the honors! Let's not forget David O. Russel's nomination for Best Director! He did an amazing job!

The Fighter is based on the real life story of half-brothers Micky Ward and Dicky Eklund. Wahlberg stars as Micky, the up and coming boxer who lives his life in his brother's shadow. Bale plays Dicky, Micky's older brother, who once took down Sugar Ray Leonard  and became their town's hero. However, Dicky is the constant screw up and his actions bring down both Micky and himself until Micky can't take it anymore. I won't give too many spoilers but Bale is exceptional as Dicky, who is washed-up due to his massive crack addiction. Bale plays the part with great dedication and even looks like crap for the role. He is extremely slim with glazed eyes and a constant jitter to him. He was great! Wahlberg is amazing as Micky and he brings great heart and emotion to the screen. Within the first 20 minutes of the film I leaned over to Bill and whispered, "OK, no more Marky Mark." I was blown away. He has proven he can take the big roles and make them bigger. At the end of the film they show a small interview with the real-life brothers and these two actors nailed them with their performances. You can see great similarity in the way they talk, their movements and body language with each other. Simply put, it's a remarkable resemblance.

Also great is Amy Adams with her portrayal of Micky's girlfriend, Charlene. She is a take-no-crap bartender who falls for Micky and becomes his constant supporter. Adams showed great depth with this character and her strength and passionate support light up the screen! Also great, look for Adams in her own fight scene that even has us girls going, "Oh yeah, kick some ass!"

This movie is not just about fighting. It is about family, failure, hope and strength. It is about being let down by the people who matter most and picked back up by the same people. It is about perseverance and belief in one's self. Micky faces the constant weight of his brother's shadow and the knowledge that he is not the favorite son. In fact, he is the son no one expects to succeed. Dicky struggles with being the "hero" and can't take it. It is only after everything falls apart that he starts to pick himself up. This movie can be best described with one word, which I will steal from Bill, REDEMPTION! Not only does Wahlberg redeem himself as an actor in my eyes but every character in this movie finds redemption of some kind.

I loved it! Go see it! Women, don't fear the fighting scenes; a few of them were intense but nothing stomach turning. More importantly, this film has too much heart to pass it up.

Movie Rating: No Spoonfuls- No sugar needed to sweeten this review.