00:00Tape those mitts and don your boxing gloves as we go 12 rounds with The Fighter in this week's Movie
00:06Watch exclusive.
00:07So, what's it all about then?
00:09Well, Mark Wahlberg plays real-life boxer Mickey Ward, a journeyman boxer whose wayward family call the shots on his
00:16so far limited career.
00:18I heard you were a stepping stone.
00:19Bang on, that's exactly what he is.
00:22After all, this Massachusetts lad is funding his enormous family, including his half-brother's crack addiction.
00:28And that means he has to take on every fight they find, no matter how ill-matched.
00:33Look at the size of that guy. He's got 20 pounds on me, Dickie.
00:36Looks like another kicking in store for you, Mickey.
00:39But if you don't fight, then you're going to have to get in the ring with your mum, and she
00:43looks far more scary.
00:45Just get on with it, you pansy.
00:46I'm the one fighting, okay? Not you, not you, and not you.
00:50Okay, calm down, Marky Mark.
00:52I'm sick of being a disappointment.
00:54Hey, come on.
00:55Okay, the happening and Max Payne were immense disappointments, which cannot be underestimated.
01:00But you were great in Boogie Nights and The Departed.
01:03In fact, you are awesome in this.
01:05Even former champ Steve Collins agrees, and who's going to argue with this big guy?
01:10Knowing Mickey Ward, knowing his boxing career, and seeing Mark portray him in the movie, he was so close to
01:16him.
01:16It was amazing. He really did take him off to a tee.
01:18The problem is, Welsh nutter Christian Bale gives an even more astonishing performance, hence all those award nons.
01:25Actually, both Matt Damon and Brad Pitt were in line to play the role of crackhead Dickie Eklund, before Bale
01:31stepped in with this tour de force.
01:33This is your time. I had nothing for my boy.
01:35That's right, Dickie.
01:36After blowing your chance with Sugar Ray Leonard, and then puffing on the old crack pipe, you and your mum
01:41have essentially held poor old Mickey back.
01:43That is, until foxy redhead Amy Adams steps in.
01:47Fiery, and with plenty of kahunas, she picks up with Mickey, and then picks up his shattered confidence to help
01:52transform him into a serious title contender.
01:56Not bad for an MTV girl.
01:58Stop calling me an MTV girl, whatever that means.
02:00Stay wild.
02:00A wild Amy Adams? Count us in.
02:05Don't disrespect her.
02:06Okay, point taken.
02:07So, what can we expect from this rags-to-riches tale?
02:10Mickey's journey is very much like mine.
02:12We grew up 30 minutes from each other, both, you know, from a family of nine.
02:16We both had to overcome a lot of obstacles to achieve our goals and, you know, pursue our dreams.
02:22Boxing is really just the backdrop.
02:24This is a family drama.
02:27It's about family and relationships and overcoming adversity.
02:31Sounds inspirational.
02:33David O. Russell, the man behind I Heart Huckabees and Three Kings,
02:37certainly did a tip-top job helming this gritty movie,
02:40especially after Martin Scorsese turned it down and Darren Aronofsky left the project to do Black Swamp.
02:46Despite a well-trodden plot and being forced to hang in the shadows of his forebears, namely Rocky,
02:51the fighter, like Ward himself, has marked itself out as one of the best of its field.
02:56Rousing, gritty, and utterly absorbing, the fighter is without a doubt a knockout,
03:01so we're giving this a bone-crunching four stars.
03:03Mickey has a chance to do something that I never did, and he needs me.
03:08Okay, I'll see you in Mickey's corner.
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