The Fighter is a film about Micky Ward (Mark Wahlberg), little brother to Dicky Ekland (Christian Bale). Dicky is a has-been who won a fight against Sugar Ray Leonard and became a local legend among the town of Lowell, Massachusetts. Micky is trying to live in his brother’s footsteps but keeps losing fights. The movie is called The Fighter because the main characters are boxers, but it is also called this because of Dicky’s fight with crack addiction. The rest of the movie is Micky’s training for a boxing career and the family drama between Micky and his family. The only people who route for Micky are his dad and girlfriend (Amy Adams).  

I loved the movie; it is a great commentary on crack addition and family struggles. It has deep and complex character arcs that leave you with a satisfying result. All the actors bring it their all. Christian Bale's performance is one of the best in his acting career. For example, in The Dark Knight trilogy, he barely talks and lets the supporting cast do most of the work. In American Psycho, he plays an egoistic character but is still not at his best. In “The Fighter”, Christian Bale’s character clearly demonstrates the complexities of being addicted to crack, experiencing withdrawals in prison, and then becomes inspired to recover by focusing on helping his brother train for his boxing career. In The Fighter, Christian Bale does an excellent job communicating the emotions he felt along his journey. 

I only have one complaint in the movie, The Fighter. I wish Alice Ward, Micky’s mother had more of a character arc. Rather than her character changing over time, she remains the same stubborn person throughout the movie. This is probably because the movie is based on a true story and they are probably trying to remain as close to the real story as possible. In real life, Micky’s mother is just a stubborn person who does not change. 

I recommend this movie to people who like movies with great dialogue and a deeper meaning. This is a great watch if you want to be captivated. This movie would not be good for people who are expecting a boxing movie. There is barely any boxing scenes. Instead, the director focuses more on the personal aspects of their lives.