THE FIGHTER: he could be a contender if his mom let him.

Watching Mark Wahlberg ace the role of hard luck Boston boxer Micky Ward it's hard to believe this is the same actor who was so miscast and non-descript in his last film outing "The Other Guys."

Ward is a part Wahlberg was born to play. He's gritty, working class and tough but with a sensitive interior beneath his muscular shell. He's not the sharpest tool in the box but he knows what he wants even if he needs help from others to articulate it.
Based on a true story THE FIGHTER charts Ward's slow and unsteady climb from punching bag mismanaged by his mom and older brother to genuine welterweight world championship material, but more than just another take on the American Dream this is a tale of family relationships and loyalties and how those that are closest and possessing of the most unqualified love are not always best for us.
Ward's older half-brother Dicky (Christian Bale) is a local legend, having knocked down Sugar Ray Robinson in a fight some years earlier. He's also a crack addict which makes him less than ideal as Micky's trainer. He's full of helpful advice but totally unreliable and, combined with their mom Alice (Melissa Leo) booking his fights with an eye on a quick buck rather than career progression, Micky's heading for Palookaville, and fast.

Until that is he hooks up with the strong willed and assertive Charlene (Amy Adams). She gives him the strength to stand up to his mom, brother and nine sisters (collectively so unappealing they make Cinderella's Ugly Sisters look like Victoria's Secret models) and change the course of his life.
Wahlberg is superb but he's not alone. Equally deserving of an Oscar nomination are Bale and Leo for compelling portrayals of corrupted family love, while Amy Adams also impresses, not least for her willingness to pile on the pounds to give Charlene a figure befitting a young woman from a working class area of Boston.
Director David O. Russell ('Three Kings', 'I Heart Huckabees') - and no less than 13 producers (including Wahlberg) -keeps the entire project in balance giving every character an equal shot at redemption by letting them tell their story from their point of view.
Despite initial appearances there's no good guys and bad guys here, just a bunch of ordinary folk trying to do the best with the cards they've been dealt. Their story is both instructive and uplifting and - if there's any justice - worthy of a bunch of Golden Globes and Oscars.