Cinderella Man

Ron Howard takes a risk this time in playing games with viewers’ trust, and he finds even greater success than last time in terms of emotional tension. During the final match, I felt the blows that Braddock takes just as much as his wife and I could tell from the viewers around me that I wasn’t alone. Russell Crowe is truly excellent. (10/06/2005)

I can't quite understand how I could accept Howard's stereotypical combinations of blows finished off with uppercuts, but he was reliably able to knock me to the ground right when it was needed. I find it difficult to argue why this film is so impressive with all its transparency and clichés. Maybe it's thanks to Russell Crowe, who once again proves that he plays white Hollywood heroes better than anyone else. Maybe it's the grateful blend of a social motif with the male-symbol motif. The fact is that I watched James J. Braddock's duels whilst holding my breath, literally glued to the screen. Yet it is not a biographical film, but rather it is a Rocky variation transplanted into the times of the economic crisis of the 1930s and given the necessary "based on a true story" line. The fact is that the joy of using well-established schemes literally seeps from Cinderella Man, the joy of telling a story using the most proven means. I had similar feelings, for example, while watching Zwick's The Last Samurai. One simply knows what will happen in the next few seconds and enjoys how well it is done. A feature film by the numbers that knocked me out... (10/02/2006)

The craftsmanship is very good and Russel Crowe’s excellent performance is so impressive that I ended up liking this film, even despite the shallow script; really, it lacks all depth and only plays a cynical game with the viewer’s feelings (Braddock is losing his strength, remembers a suffering child and wins… WTF). The poignant and pathetic scenes take so much time that they leave no room for any surprising twist (the story gets started, aims forward, speeds up a couple of times and doesn’t slow down even once). But I didn’t get bored, the final fight does generate some tension and I ended up satisfied. 7/10 (09/27/2008)

Ron Howard is slowly starting to get on my nerves, his sterile academic direction may deliver Oscars, but not my recognition. Here, he follows well-trodden paths and mixes exactly those ingredients (determination, family, friendship) that work for American viewers, but I refuse to fall for it again. It is a skillfully shot, well-crafted, and superbly acted film, without any hint of directorial invention, which probably has the best-shot boxing fights I've had the opportunity to see, but they mean absolutely nothing when compared to the clichés and predictability of every other shot. (01/31/2006)

The life story of Jim Braddock is, of course, an excellent subject for a film. This famous boxer was from the interwar generation that shaped the dreams of ordinary people in the boxing ring, inspired them and gave them hope. After all, all of the names in the heavyweight champion category are well-known names: Jess Willard, Jack Dempsey, Gene Tunney, Max Schmeling, Jack Sharkey, Primo Carnera, Max Baer, James J. Braddock, and Joe Louis. They are all heroes of the modern age. Yet Braddock was a miracle, an ordinary guy who toiled through poverty and hardship during the Depression and rose to the top by beating two-foot giant Max Baer, a victory no one was expecting. The movie basically wrote itself. Russell Crowe outdid himself once again, and there were no dry eyes in the movie theater. I could imagine a dozen better actresses in Renée Zellweger's place, but never mind that. Cinderella Man will definitely be in the hall of fame as one of the best boxing movies. Right up there with the drama portrayed in the Schmeling vs. Louis match. (08/26/2020)