Elements of "Raging Bull" and "Fat City," but in terms of narrative this more than anything else conforms to the predictable genre conventions of "Rocky." Nevertheless, the somewhat low-key approach, the gritty-but-wry presentation of the familial milieu, and the enjoyable performance by Bale, raise this a few notches above the average.

This was not my interpretation of a good sports movie. In fact I was absolutely disappointed and can not comprehend how "The Fighter" could win so many Oscars.If you wanna see a good boxing movie watch "Raging Bull" for God sake.

Completely by-the-numbers sports drama done in a proper way. The oscar that Bale got was well deserved. I don't remember better acted crackhead in film ever. The lack of any surprise in the story is disappointing, but who doesn't like against all odds type of movie once in a while.

It's hard not to compare The Fighter to Rocky or The Wrestler, but the deeper focus on family helps it stand on its own. The cast is decent, Bale was simply great but at times dominating the movie. A shame the big emotional moments don't really pack a punch. And man, how horrific must living with that family of six shrewish, low-class 90's women be?

I liked the filming style, those disgusting sisters from hell, and the acting. But it just missed something, and I don't know what

People mistakenly take a hard-movie-to-watch as a good movie. I really do understand it, I used to make the same mistake when I was.. let's see.. 12? 13? All you get in this awful movie is a bunch of south ignorance, a Boo-Hoo tragic hero, some poor boxing montage , and when you think you've had enough - you get Christian Bale. Well, maybe after his rolles as a wannabe-crossdresser in "Velvet Goldmine" and fudging batman, he should consider sticking with the crystal meth >

fairly decent for a sports drama, but it's still a sports drama, and i have a hard time understanding why padded pugilism should be so entertaining. if you're going to beat somebody up, why wear pillows on your fists? anyway, bale is good, the rest could have been thrown out, but if that were the case it'd be a movie about a has been boxer who likes to smoke crack, and that would only pass on the lifetime channel.

I really don't know what the big deal about this film was. Decently acted, to be sure, and reasonably well shot, but the script/plot is simply dull. It may be a biopic of sorts, but it may as well count as a remake of Rocky, complete with unbelievable fight sequences. That said, Melissa Leo as Micky's mother and Christian Bale as the brother are both excellent parts well acted.

Very much not impressed. I am used to a level of excellence in both Christian Bale and Mark Wahlburg films that I did not see in this film. The fights seemed completely lacking any choreography or even common sense. At the end of the first fight I rewound because the victory just made no sense. I thought I'd missed something, but I hadn't. Plus the camera work is bad and all the characters are irritating to the viewers.

The good acting by Mark Wahlberg and the great one by Christian Bale help pull this film up a ways.The story on the other hand has been done so many times before that it has become cliched and uninteresting and ultimately keeps this film from being any better then the myriad other films like it.

Ho-hum, but that's pretty much what I was expecting. Amy Adams and Melissa Leo continue to impress with a diverse collection of roles played convincingly. Bale is good, dominating every scene he's in, which works in this story. Russell's camera is expectedly frenetic, offering up a varied palette of shots, even as the boxing scenes seem to lack imagination and verve. The pace of the editing doesn't allow the shots to really develop, but that's pretty much standard in mainstream fare these days.

Great performances, great characters.

This is the kind of role Mark Wahlberg was born to play... and I'm beginning to suspect that Christian Bale was born to play any kind of role. He's amazing... you can't take your eyes off him in this movie.

Very predictable.

They could have done more the the story of the older brother. The story is a good one, but not good enough (for a higher score).

The first scene alone secured Bale's globe, beyond terrific.