Cinderella Man

Cinderella Man is, until now, the best film by Ron Howard and possibly the best boxing film of my life. Howard may not bring a fresh breeze to the well-known genre, but he skillfully manipulates the given formulas and squeezes out emotions from me like a poem. When Braddock suffers, tears well up in my eyes, and when he fights, I have inclinations to root for him. And a huge praise to Crowe, because what he delivers is simply unbelievable, and it's a shame that he didn't imitate a similar role in another contemporary genre film later on. Russell, this was your night. (07/18/2006)

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)

The second joint project of the Howard and Crowe duo fits the ideal "American personal pride" film even better. According to the strictest academic standards, this is the most tightly packed film in its two-hour duration, where we won't find any unnecessary scenes, but at the same time, we won't find one that demonstrates genuine emotions either. Not even a single fragment (let alone the whole film) leaves any other impression than that of a sterile movie, made solely for the needs of the American audience, eager to see one of their "historical" heroes in action again. It’s formally flawless - the camera filters, costumes, atmosphere - the 1930s (including the Great Depression) are depicted excellently. The fight scenes beautifully contrast with the atmosphere of the Braddock family environment - Russell Crowe and Renée Zellweger's outstanding performances deserve an Oscar nomination. However, the whole film is as cold as a dog's snout, and even though it's based on true stories and is wonderfully acted and excellently shot, it failed to engage me with a single scene throughout its two-hour duration. (12/04/2005)

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)