Saw it about a week or two ago. Pretty damn good, imo, but also different and even a bit 'off' in some respects.
Bale was Dicky Eklund, period. I saw the HBO crack docuentary back in the day(95-96, I think) and totally remember Dicky with his hat on backwards, almost burning his nose off with a lighter before telling the camera crew he'd fought Sugar Ray Leonard on HBO. I also remember that crackwhore chick with no teeth and the big angry fat fucker who went into, kmart I think, to steal the golf clubs to feed his/their habit. That shit was sobering and I feel like the movie captured that aspect extremely well.
What I didn't like however, was their portrayal of Micky and how they could make THIS movie without the fucking Gatti fights being a major component. Seriously. The Gatti-Ward trilogy were 3 of the best fucking fights in modern history in and they didn't make it into the movie? FUUUU!!! Regardless, I also felt like Wahlberg, though he's a capable actor and honored the part, wasn't quite right for the character. Micky is a more subtle, hardened kind of guy, and I thought Wahlberg came off more like an angry hothead at times.
Don't know if the mom + 84 sisters with big bleached hair managing him as a fighter was 100% true or not, but God help him if it was. Shit, family loyalties or not, I'm pretty damn sure I'd have dropkicked the shit out of all them bitches and moved the hell away from Lowell if that was my familial situation. LOL
Overall, I enjoyed it and I'm glad Micky's riding the wave straight to the bank, because he deserves it. But I don't see the film being remembered 5-10yrs from now.
Missing Glove Tape -
Don't know if the mom + 84 sisters with big bleached hair managing him as a fighter was 100% true or not, but God help him if it was. Shit, family loyalties or not, I'm pretty damn sure I'd have dropkicked the shit out of all them bitches and moved the hell away from Lowell if that was my familial situation. LOL
Ward and Eklund were guests on FNF a few days ago. Ward was asked about his mother and sisters portrayal in the movie. He said that that is was accurate except that his mother did not go to the gym when he trained.
they forgot the bit where Ward actually fought for a real title . the real Micky ward story is ...... beats a few scrubs ..... somehow gets past a green Alfonso Sanchez ..... is rewarded with a title fight in his next fight but gets destroyed the great Vince Philips !!!! ........ fades into obscurity .......... has some great non-title fights with Atturo Gatti .....then retires, The End . I wouldn't even have put his fight with Neary in the film . hardly a holywood tale !! 
There's going to be a Fighter 2 dealing with the Gatti fights.
OKMike -Ward and Eklund were guests on FNF a few days ago. Ward was asked about his mother and sisters portrayal in the movie. He said that that is was accurate except that his mother did not go to the gym when he trained.
Well, that makes all the difference in the world then, I guess. Micky at the gym = a momentary reprieve from the big hair estrogen fest? Okay! lol
GingerWhinger - There's going to be a Fighter 2 dealing with the Gatti fights.
Dear God, no!
I think you're missing the point about Ward and his story. The movie, while about a boxer, is not about "boxing." It's not a sports movie, it's a "fighter" in every sense of the word. In the ring, out of the ring, and over coming great odds to not end up like his brother. And maybe in the process making life better for his brother, and all the other people around him.
I loved the movie. It reminded me of "Rocky," of how in the end the fights the thing. It's about will, about pride, and about standing up and being a man. One of the most brilliant moments in "Rocky" is how the announcement of the winner is done so far in the background that it hardly even matters. I found "The Fighter" to be much the same kind of thing. Ward's story, and why so many of us are fans of the man, is one of guts and heart. I don't think a single fan of Ward's really cares how much money he made or how many championships he won. We honor and respect the man because of the man he is. How he carried himself in and outside the ring. A true fighter in every sense of the word.