9/15/2010

Trailer Time: The Fighter, starring Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale

I've been anxiously awaiting this, the first trailer for David O. Russell's The Fighter.  Based on the hard knock life of former boxer Dickie Ecklund(Christian Bale), who helped guide his half brother "Irish" Mickey Ward(Mark Wahlberg) from his first professional fight all the way to the championship. At one time Darren Aronofsky was attached to direct, but left in order to helm the similarly themed The Wrestler back in 2008.

Anybody who's followed Ward's career knows that he went through some horrendous battles. I'm not just talking about the three bloody wars he fought with Arturo Gotti. Ward was never the best technical fighter, he was a scrappy brawler who survived on heart and tenacity more than anything else. From what I'm seeing from the trailer, they've done a good job capturing just how tough his rise to the "top" really was. It looks a little cliched at points, particularly involving the Amy Adams character, but if it's boxing then I'm there. Boxing movies are the best sports movies. Period.

December's looking like a busy month, as The Fighter opens on December 10th. Check out the trailer below!