A very good movie

I already saw this movie but since it was a while back and since I have it on DVD, I was quite eager to check it out again. To be honest, I have to admit that I have never been really a huge fan of Ron Howard's work but this movie still seemed to be interesting though. Indeed, 4 years after his success with 'A Beautiful Mind', Ron Howard was working once again with Russell Crowe and, at first, there was logically a very good buzz about this flick but, somehow, it was completely overlooked when it was released. Indeed, even though it garnered some really good reviews, it was actually a flop at the box-office. Maybe nobody wanted to see yet another flick about boxing? Well, in my opinion, it was actually really good, as a matter of fact, it was actually probably even better than ‘A Beautiful Mind’ . I mean, you could argue that the whole thing was not really original and, indeed, it never reaches the level of ‘Raging Bull’ but I thought it was a very well made and really entertaining sport biopic. Basically, even if it might be quite generic, it is still a really strong and inspiring story and, combined with the Great Depression backdrop, it was actually quite powerful. Apparently, the one who was the most hurt by this failure was neither Ron Howard or Russell Crowe, but Renée Zellweger. Indeed, until this movie, she was definitely on the A list and one of the most sought after actresses, but after this movie failed, her career went all downhill from here. Anyway, in my opinion, even though this movie was terribly overlooked, it is actually a pretty solid feature, easily one of the best directed by Howard, and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

8/10