Squaring the Ring
: Ron Howard
: Russell Crowe, Renee Zellweger, Paul Giamatti
: 15
Boxing – and baseball – are the two sports Hollywood has always managed to portray with a decent feeling of drama and authenticity and this one is a superb example of the fight genre.
It is the true story of Jim Braddock (surely another Oscar-winning performance from the excellent Crowe) who overcame age, social injustice and a desperate need to feed his family to carve his name into boxing’s history books.
Set in the depression era, Braddock became a sort of two-legged Seabiscuit, the little guy’s much-loved champion, against daunting odds.
It’s a wonderful rags-to-riches tale, well constructed by Howard into a fine, dramatic, heart-warming film.
A knock-out!
: 5/5
