By: Dove
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Here is the official trailer for The Fighter, a film based upon the life of Lowell, Massachusetts boxer “Irish” Micky Ward. Mark Wahlberg portrays Ward, while Christian Bale plays his troubled brother Dickie Eklund. The movie co-stars Amy Adams (Julie & Julia, Doubt) and Melissa Leo (Treme), and was co-written by Scott Silver (8 Mile, Johns), Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson.
Ward was trained by his older half-brother until 1985, as his professional boxing career took off and Eklund’s love for crack cocaine kicked in. There are really two roller-coasters going in the film as Micky fights his way back to the top in the ring after a three-year hiatus, and Dickie struggles through drug-addiction.
Dickie Eklund was profiled in the 1995 HBO documentary High on Crack Street which followed the lives of addicts in the economically torn town of Lowell. He was sentenced to 10-15 years in prison, and has been in trouble with the law several times since his release, even as recently as this Summer. Brad Pitt was originally slated to take on the role of Dickie, but I think Bale will pull this off nicely.
This seems like it’d all be an old school story, but Mark Wahlberg (39) is actually only five years younger than the real life Micky Ward, who retired from boxing in 2003. Ward’s last fight with Arturo Gatti actually became the cover art for EA Sports Fight Night Round 3 in 2006 (PS2 and Xbox version).
All in all, The Fighter looks like it’s going to be pretty intense! Watch the trailer below and let us know your thoughts!
