Metascore

Generally favorable reviews - based on 41 Critics What's this?

User Score

Universal acclaim- based on 307 Ratings

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 35 out of 41
  2. Negative: 0 out of 41
  1. Reviewed by: Adam Smith
    Jan 31, 2011
    100
    An exhilarating fight-flick that, like its scrappy central character, is impossible not to root for.
  2. Reviewed by: Marjorie Baumgarten
    Dec 17, 2010
    100
    Virtually flawless performances and directorial execution render The Fighter one of the most thrilling movies of 2010.
  3. 80
    The movie has so much texture that once it gets you, you're good and got.
  4. Reviewed by: David Fear
    Dec 7, 2010
    60
    You can't necessarily blame Wahlberg, as his modest performance is the one element that feels truly authentic and heartfelt.

See all 41 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 94 out of 103
  2. Negative: 4 out of 103
  1. Wahlberg not Warlberg...sorry. My impressions remain the same with regard to my earlier review of this fantastic movie !!!! Additionally, I must also compliment the other actors who all played an integral role in without this total chemistry it may have just been good rather than fantastic. Expand
  2. It could have easily been yet another underdog boxing film we have seen before, but the subtle lead performance of Wahlberg, the flawless supporting appearances of Leo and Adams but most importantly the dynamite dominating portrayal of his hero/waster/catalyst brother make this a great film to watch. Expand
  3. 7
    To the head, to the body, to the Budweiser: The Fighter (a true story, yet a thinly-masked Budweiser commercial, to be sure) deserves accolades, yes, but why is every punch delivered with the same video-game sound effect? Never loud for some punches, fainter for others -- just punch-sound, punch-sound, punch-sound: Get real, sound editors. Of course, it's nothing new that fighting sounds have always been exaggerated in Hollywood (with the possible exception of Jeff Bridges' punch in Peter Bogdanovich's "Last Picture Show"), and there is indeed much integrity in the history of boxing, but why is knocking someone out still a sport? Isn't boxing just romanticized human rooster-fighting? For the same reason we hire babes in bikinis to hold up "Round 1" signs, we (more often than not, males) are apparently just animals out for sex, blood, and Budweiser (and if we are not, that makes no difference for what Hollywood sells). That said, I thought Wahlberg (strangely, no nomination) and Mellisa Leo (nominated for best supporting actress [and later winning that award with an historical (expletive!) acceptance speech]), were both excellent, and the mother's 7 white-trash daughters were both intentionally amusing and scary. Is it worth seeing? Sure -- it's a true story, and Wahlberg and Bale (who also later won an oscar) offer genuine portrayals. Lastly, you had to love the clip tagged on the end with the real brothers from Lowell, Mass. They did not need to tell you who was who--it was a charming tag after an unsettling story. Expand
  4. Horrible movie. Another boring boxing movie filled with unnecessary drama? We need something new. I would much rather watch Reel Steel than this rubbish of a movie. Expand

See all 103 User Reviews

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