A film I have seen several times, I watched this upon its release in 2010 and then was hooked on it as a young teenager, I instantly became a Wahlberg and Bale fan over night for the parts they played, as well as a boxing fan of “Irish Micky Ward” a great underdog drama story, great soundtrack and award worthy acting. I absolutely loved it.

>"I'm the one fighting, okay? Not you, not you, and not you." The Fighter is raw, dirty and great. You can smell the cigarettes and sweat in the air while watching this, and I love it. All performances are great; Bale and Wahlberg bring their A-game as you would expect. I think even though it is about dudes boxing, I would say the MVP here for me was Amy Adams. She is someone you want by your side during any hard moments in your life.

Having never been much of a fan of Mark Wahlberg's acting, I was pleased to see him cast as the strong, soft-spoken type while the cast's real heavy hitters claim center stage. Christian Bale and Melissa Leo clearly relish their chance to play such a manipulative, self-centered pair, with both lending their roles an unusual amount of depth and character. Beneath the dark cloud of bitter dreams and selfishness that surrounded both, I could tell they saw more than just a meal ticket in Micky's unlikely climb up the ranks, though they certainly took full advantage of the perks. The Fighter is really at its best when it’s teetering on the brink of two extremes, with loyalty and family bonds tugging in one direction while self-preservation and a devoted love interest pull in the other, and a lot of the air goes out of the story when there isn't some manner of blowoff prior to the climax. The majority of the picture spotlights poor Micky, trying to choose between a rock and a hard place, and in the end he never actually makes a decision, which I guess fits with his unsure personality. The filming techniques are noteworthy, with a drastically different look and feel setting the mood for documentary scenes, family drama and fights, respectively. It’s a solid flick, though not one I'd have expected to get a best picture nod.

Great action performance by Christian Bale as always, but I didn't like it that much... disappointingly it's more about drugs then boxing. 7/10 stars

"I want Dickie, and I want you Charlene, and O'keefe. But I gotta do this for me, not for you, not for you, and not for you. For me."