The Fighter

Play trailer

2:24

The Fighter

R

2010

1h 56m

Drama

Biography

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

91%

Tomatometer

253 Reviews

89%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

For Micky Ward (Mark Wahlberg), boxing is a family affair. His tough-as-nails mother is his manager. His half-brother, Dicky (Christian Bale), once a promising boxer himself, is his very unreliable trainer. Despite Micky's hard work, he is losing and, when the latest fight nearly kills him, he follows his girlfriend's advice and splits from the family. Then Micky becomes a contender for the world title and he -- and his family -- earns a shot at redemption.

Watch on Fandango

Stream Now

Critics Consensus

Led by a trio of captivating performances from Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, and Amy Adams, The Fighter is a solidly entertaining, albeit predictable, entry in the boxing drama genre.

Read Critics Reviews

Candice Frederick

Reel Talk Online

09/09/2017

A

Overall The Fighter is a touching, soulful knockout of a movie.

Go to Full Review

Philip French

Guardian

02/07/2011

Both Wahlberg and Bale are excellent in their different registers, as are Melissa Leo and Amy Adams as the differently calibrated women.

Go to Full Review

David Sexton

London Evening Standard

02/04/2011

4/5

Wahlberg, always so physically solid, is deep inside himself in this role.

Go to Full Review

Don Shanahan

Every Movie Has a Lesson

10/13/2024

4/5

While at its core, The Fighter does become a predictable boxing comeback film building to that Hollywood ending, the performances and acting clinic in action are worth your attention and audience.

Go to Full Review

Danilo Castro

Next Best Picture

07/11/2024

8/10

Bale, Leo, and Adams are exceptional, and Russell’s ability to imbue a conventional underdog premise with his high-strung eccentricities gives the film a unique texture.

Go to Full Review

Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

08/19/2023

The film falls somewhere between bare-knuckle and blue collar, brought to the screen with that docu-style handheld-camera that indie filmmakers so love to use for bracing reality, and Irish family melodrama...

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

James H

@RT22708432 Jul 25

As others have stated predictable but great viewing nonetheless not a I want those two hours Back I personally am not a Wahlberg fan, but he was excellent in this as was Amy Adams as always

See more

Rushi G

@Rushy Jun 22

A classic movie with so many great moments with power-packed performances, especially by Christian Bale. Quite a motivational film. go for it!!!!!!

See more

Jay W

@RT52162311 Apr 26

Yes, a great and transformative role from Christian Bale, who deserved his Oscar. But I call "category fraud". Christian Bale was not a "supporting actor". He has the most dialogue and most screentime out of anyone in the film. But anyways, that's beside the point. The heart and soul of "The Fighter" is Micky Ward as he tries to balance his professional fighting ambition with his complicated family relations. The best moments involve Dicky's character progression. There are some plot points that feel rushed, but overall the movie thrives when it is doing this stuff. The fights are not the focus of the film, but when they happen, they're pretty good. This movie chose its fights, and it chose to focus on the family dynamics, and they chose correctly.

See more

Henry D

@Henry_Domke Apr 11

Despite some outstanding performances from a very strong cast, the story didn’t work well enough for us to rate it higher than 3.5 stars. It’s well made, but the world it portrays feels grim, dirty, and often stupid, which made it harder for us to enjoy.

See more

Garrett B

@gmoney637 Apr 7

Wahlberg and Bale deliver outstanding performances in this sports drama.

See more

GR

@WhiteTiger Feb 15

Fantastic character development / acting. Watched it with my sons, 15 and 17, and they loved it too.

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

David O. Russell

Director

Mark Wahlberg

Micky Ward

Christian Bale

Dicky Eklund

Amy Adams

Charlene Fleming

Melissa Leo

Alice Ward

Jack McGee

George Ward

View more videos

Machine Gun Preacher

28%

62%

Machine Gun Preacher

Watchlist

Bronson

75%

74%

Bronson

Watchlist

Bleed for This

70%

70%

Bleed for This

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Bleed for This

Conviction

67%

71%

Conviction

Watchlist

Casino Jack

39%

34%

Casino Jack

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Rank Christian Bale’s 10 Best Movies

Mark Wahlberg’s 10 Best Movies

24 Stars Who Dominated the Boxing Ring

The Fighter: Trailer 1

2:24

View more videos

View more photos

Synopsis

For Micky Ward (Mark Wahlberg), boxing is a family affair. His tough-as-nails mother is his manager. His half-brother, Dicky (Christian Bale), once a promising boxer himself, is his very unreliable trainer. Despite Micky's hard work, he is losing and, when the latest fight nearly kills him, he follows his girlfriend's advice and splits from the family. Then Micky becomes a contender for the world title and he -- and his family -- earns a shot at redemption.

Director: David O. Russell
Producer: Paul Tamasy, David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman, Ryan Kavanaugh, Mark Wahlberg, Dorothy Aufiero
Screenwriter: Scott Silver
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Production Co: Mandeville Films, Closest to the Hole, Relativity
Rating: R (Language Throughout|Drug Content|Sexuality|Some Violence)
Genre: Drama, Biography
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 17, 2010, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 1, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $93.6M
Runtime: 1h 56m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital, DTS

Join The Newsletter

Join The Newsletter

Cookie Settings