Mark Wahlberg was great as the lead in "The Fighter," but Christian Bale is the real star of this true life story about a Boston boxer and his drug addicted brother.
Wahlberg plays stepping stone boxer Micky Ward, who might have the potential for something bigger. He looks up to his crack addicted, larger-than-life older brother, Dicky Eklund (Bale), who had his moment more than a decade ago but won't let go. Micky was a child when Dicky fought (and knocked down) Sugar Ray Leonard. Dicky taught him everything he knows and is still his trainer even though he doesn't always show up. The story takes place while HBO is filming Dicky for his come back, but once he gets arrested it all begins to unravel.
The drama has many heavy moments - some of Ward's beatings are hard to watch, as is the gritty Boston family and Dicky's drug use. But Bale's performance is so amazing everyone should see it. He always puts so much into what he does, physically and mentally. All you have to do is see the real Eklund to know what a transformation the normally sexy Bale made. Make sure you stay for the credits when the real brothers appear, you'll see Bale was not exaggerating.
Although I didn't exactly like Dicky or their mother, I thought Ward showed a lot of character sticking by the family that probably brought him down.
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