Godfather Movie Review: 'The Fighter'

In the movie The Naked Gun 2½, Leslie Nielsen's character once said of boxing - "All I know is never bet on the white guy."  Many of us who sunburn easily, work hard to keep our tempers in check, and have a fondness for whiskey and beer... well we tend to see things differently.  Just run some cracker out there and adorn him with shamrocks and we'll be on his side, whether he's any good or not.

Given the above context, it should come as no surprise that I always got a kick out of 'Irish' Micky Ward.  This little pasty white dude was a brawler to the Nth degree and he was fun to watch.  His battles with Arturo Gatti were the stuff of legend, as far as I'm concerned.

I've also always gotten a kick out of Mark Wahlberg's acting.  Given the way he began with the Funky Bunch, I was a skeptic in the early going.  After I saw the movie The Corruptor though, I was impressed.  Mr. Wahlberg's performances over the years since then have rarely disappointed me.

So there was a likelihood that I might enjoy a movie about Micky Ward, starring Mark Wahlberg.  There's always a fly in the ointment though, isn't there?  For me, that fly is Hollywood.  I would say conservatively that I have an interest in seeing perhaps one of every fifty movies that these modern hacks produce.  I enjoyed quite a few movies from days of yore, but the whole industry seems to have gotten lazy.  Of the very few movies that strike my interest, I actually go out and watch perhaps one in ten.  Of the ones I do end up seeing in a theater, I enjoy roughly half.  Hmmm, what are the odds for today's screening then?  One way to find out...

I found a 4pm showing at a local establishment and headed out to see the picture.  The actors were believable and entertaining.  Aside from the headliners, who did a very nice job, there were some excellent character actors in various roles.  (At the $4.50 twilight rate, just the gals playing Micky's sisters were probably worth the price.)  The plot kept moving nicely and provided a surprising number of laughs to go along with the drama.  The boxing sequences weren't exactly true to life, but they weren't nearly as cheesy as the scenes in Rocky either.  The story itself is a typical American 'feel good after a struggle' kind of deal.  Certain liberties were taken with recorded boxing history, but I guess that's where the "based on" part of "based on a true story" comes into play.  I'm often guilty of being annoyed by outright movie fabrications, but in this case I really didn't care.  I'm sure that the producers don't think many people will even know.  I suspect that they're correct.  The movie was a lot of fun to watch and that's the most important part.

You'll likely see Christian Bale receive some award nominations for his role as Ward's older brother - Dicky Eklund.  In a movie where the acting was pretty solid all around, Bale really did stand out.  Perhaps it was the sheer over-the-top douchebaggery of his character, but for whatever reason he was impressive.

Unless you grew up with June and Ward Cleaver, you'll probably see at least a little of your own family in the story.  I certainly did.

Overall, we'll have to give this one four out of five strings.