United States of America

Drama

SportsIrish-americanBoxerBiographyFamily businessDysfunctional familyFamily conflictHometownBoxing trainerCrack addictLowell massachusettsBlue collar workerChurch bellsDocumentary filmmakingJumping ropeShadow boxingDuringcreditsstingerBoxingProfessional athleteBlack sheepDevoted girlfriendLocal hero

David O. Russell

Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Melissa Leo, Mickey O'Keefe, Jack McGee

Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy, Paul Tamasy, Eric Johnson

The Weinstein Company, Relativity Media, Mandeville Films, Closest to the Hole Productions

Taglines: Every dream deserves a fighting chance.

Boxer "Irish" Micky Ward's unlikely road to the world light welterweight title. His Rocky-like rise was shepherded by half-brother Dicky, a boxer-turned-trainer who rebounded in life after nearly being KO'd by drugs and crime.

Reviews:

Author: brekkil
Two brothers. Two fighters. One has had his time and his now a junkie - Dicky (Christian Bale), and the other is in the shape of his life, with his career ahead of him - Micky (Mark Wahlberg). The two love eachother, but one is on his way up, and the other is on his way down. Lets just say, it is not without problems. This is based on a true story, btw, and we see the two brothers by the credits (lovely idea, and also shows us how true the actors are to the real brothers). The story is centered around Micky, but we also get a lot of insight into his crazy family, which consists of a mad and devoted mother (Melissa Leo), a hundred sisters and of course, the father who is just trying to survive in the ocean of women. They all mean well, but damn, I am glad my family is different from them. I've never (big word in this case, but still) been a big David O. Russell fan. His movies has been a little too... fancy for my liking, and with a weird sense of humor (seriously, I've never understood what why everyone liked Silver Linings Playbook). However, this one really took me by the heart and flipped me around. It is a very emotional story, and the fact that it's a true story, only makes it so much better. Also, the actors are great, especially the two brothers, Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale. They have enough contrasts between them to make it really interesting. _Last words... forget the boxing matches. They are ok, but its the story between the brothers that is the real story here. I mean... that last scene with the two being interviewed... that got me so bad. It is a predictable story, but really, I can forgive that, since the rest is so good._