The 31 Best Films Of 2011 - No. 21The Fighter Sports films never really excite me. Doesn’t matter how much a fan I am of the sport, the film never really catches the true essence of that sport. Going into The Fighter was no different. Have you ever seen footage from the real Ward - Neary fight? It’s the most brutal bout of boxing I’ve ever seen so how on earth were the going to interpret that ruthlessness onto the big screen? Somehow they did but I can’t put my finger on exactly how they managed it. Even though I was aware of the outcome before seeing the film, the fight scenes carry themselves with such authenticity, you find yourself as gripped as you would be if you didn’t know who the deciding blow was coming from. I honestly think that the reason why the boxing scenes worked so well was purely down to the fact of the made it look like how we watch real boxing on the television. Don’t get me wrong, this is film making of the highest quality but keeping it simple here is what I think separates The Fighter from sports action scenes in other films.  Away from the ring, The Fighter was just as hearty. You only need to look at the recognition it got at last years Oscars for proof of its virtuoso examples of acting. Christian Bale is Dicky Eklund. From the first second he comes on screen during the wonderful opening scene, you know that this is going to be a special performance from him. He immerses himself into that role so well that when the clip of him and the real Dicky plays during the closing credits, you struggle to work out which is which. Even if you’re not a fan of boxing, there’s no reason why you still wouldn’t enjoy this bruising film.

The 31 Best Films Of 2011 - No. 21
The Fighter

Sports films never really excite me. Doesn’t matter how much a fan I am of the sport, the film never really catches the true essence of that sport. Going into The Fighter was no different. Have you ever seen footage from the real Ward - Neary fight? It’s the most brutal bout of boxing I’ve ever seen so how on earth were the going to interpret that ruthlessness onto the big screen? Somehow they did but I can’t put my finger on exactly how they managed it.

Even though I was aware of the outcome before seeing the film, the fight scenes carry themselves with such authenticity, you find yourself as gripped as you would be if you didn’t know who the deciding blow was coming from. I honestly think that the reason why the boxing scenes worked so well was purely down to the fact of the made it look like how we watch real boxing on the television. Don’t get me wrong, this is film making of the highest quality but keeping it simple here is what I think separates The Fighter from sports action scenes in other films. 

Away from the ring, The Fighter was just as hearty. You only need to look at the recognition it got at last years Oscars for proof of its virtuoso examples of acting. Christian Bale is Dicky Eklund. From the first second he comes on screen during the wonderful opening scene, you know that this is going to be a special performance from him. He immerses himself into that role so well that when the clip of him and the real Dicky plays during the closing credits, you struggle to work out which is which.

Even if you’re not a fan of boxing, there’s no reason why you still wouldn’t enjoy this bruising film.

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