If you have ever seen a boxing movie in your life, most notably Rocky or Raging Bull, then you are going to find a lot of familiar ground with the Fighter. Really, there is only so much you can do with a boxing movie in the first place. Someone is going to train and either be successful or not successful and the story will highlight all the ups and downs leading up to the the big finish. The Fighter is no different but what allows it to be a success itself is the way it is told. Archetypal stories are archetypal for a reason and there is nothing really wrong with a familiar story so long as it is told well. The Fighter is told very well with terrific performances, top notch pacing and a framework that keeps things crisp and interesting.

Based on the true story of ‘Irish’ Micky Ward’s (Mark Wahlberg)  rise to boxing success against the backdrop of his brother Dicky Eklund’s(Christian Bale) battle with crack addiction, the film starts off as a documentary is being filmed on Dicky. Initially the audience is led to believe that the documentary for HBO is about Dicky’s comeback to professional boxing but the more you see of Dicky the less that story adds up. Micky is the sort of boxer that other boxers use to climb the ladder to title fights and he has little chance of climbing up himself with Dicky and his over bearing mother Alice (Melissa Leo) running him. Dicky is too busy smoking crack to show up to train Micky and Alice is too busy worrying about Dicky to do right for Micky. This leads to a disastrous fight where Micky is put in the ring with a replacement fighter supposedly just off the couch who has 40 lbs on Micky and proceeds to just annihilate him. Micky comes home embarrassed and decides to get out of the boxing game. He meets his future wife Charlene (Amy Adams) and, after Dicky goes to jail for all manner of robbery and assault, Micky finds the strength to cut the apron strings and strike out on his own. And he starts winning.

The ups and downs of the story are so typical of this sort of film that it is sort of strange it really happened this way. As mentioned above the framework of the film does a great job of setting it all up in an interesting way and moving the story along quickly without dragging but still feeling like you are getting the whole experience. The conceit through the first half that Dicky is having the documentary made on him is very effective as it allows for exposition and fleshing out of the story without feeling like that is what it is doing. By the time the true purpose of the documentary is revealed and Micky takes center stage, the backstory has been fleshed out so well that you find yourself deeply committed to the characters and what happens to them.

I knew nothing about Micky Ward going into this movie and I found myself riveted as the story progressed. I was heartbroken at certain developments and I got genuinely caught up in Micky’s rise to the top. I was also caught up in Micky’s relationship with Charlene and with his family. It really surprised me how complete his family felt even without getting into a ton of development with his seven sisters. Charlene is scrappy and straight talking and doesn’t take shit from them even as all the women in his life try to circle the wagons to keep her out. If I were honest I would probably admit that I developed a crush on her myself as the movie went on but I am not going to do that because that is crazy talk. Still, seeing her drop one of his sisters onto a porch and do a ground and pound before another of his sisters pulled her off by her hair was just as engaging as the featured boxing matches.

None of this would have been possible without strong performances and we have those here in spades. Wahlberg has a bit of a thankless job playing Micky who is kind of a lovable loser for most of the movie. He gets pushed around by everyone for the majority of the film and only really comes into his own near the end. Obviously this is his story arch but there isn’t much to make him interesting for most of the movie aside from Wahlberg’s performance. That I cared as much as I did tells me he did a great job. Amy Adams is awesome as Charlene and brings a softness to the role that is wrapped in a gritty and hardcore outer layer. She feels very real and isn’t afraid to say what needs to be said or do what needs to be done. She ends up running Micky about as much as his mother but you never hate her for it.

Most of the talk about this movie is Christian Bale’s portrayal of Dicky Eklund and deservedly so. He is at turns over the top and cartoony and somber and depressed. The levels of delusion in Dicky are profound and Bale brings that out beautifully. It is always something when someone so pathetic can still be likable and that is what Bale does. As frustrated as you get with Dicky you are always still kind of rooting for him to be okay and feeling bad for him when he is not. People can say what they want about Bale’s temper and his goofy Batman voice but he is a great actor and he does incredible work here.

Conclusion [10 out of 10]

In a lesser year I would have given this a nod for the best picture because there is very little wrong with it. It hits all the proper notes and does everything right. It is funny, engaging and uplifting with performances that all hit the mark. It is really too bad for the Fighter that Black Swan and The Social Network exist because if they didn’t, this would be the Fighter’s year. Still, it has a ton of heart and is of impeccable quality and should not be missed.