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.

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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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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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Ben R.

@b_roland Dec 28

Christian Bales kills his role! Another great boxing movie

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To F

@Frannko Nov 3

No se si así peleaba en la vida real pero se ve a un Micky Ward muy lento, y es que es lo único malo que le veo a esta película, las peleas pudieron ser mejor desarrolladas o sincronizadas. Lo único bueno es la historia y lo que conlleva.

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David G.

@greenhalgh100 Oct 23

Top 5 sports movie of all time in my book.

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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: David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman, Ryan Kavanaugh, Mark Wahlberg, Dorothy Aufiero, Paul Tamasy
Screenwriter: Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy, Eric Johnson
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

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