There is nothing very groundbreaking about the style or narrative arc of this wee gem; there have been more realistic and more intense boxing scenes over the years, more emotional ones too, but where Bleed For This wins is in the casting and the superb performances from Miles Teller, Aaron Eckhart and Ciaran Hinds, all doing incredible character work, with hair second only to anything in American Hustle.
Directed with a fondness for the late 80s and a good eye for detail, we come to care about this story purely because Miles Teller makes us care - real, energetic and unsentimental, he takes us on the journey with him every step and every punch. That it is all very predictable and mostly lacking in tension in the ring doesn't stop it being a powerful film, just because the relationships are so well drawn.
No Warrior. No Rocky, even. But a decent small story remarkable in its truth.
Directed with a fondness for the late 80s and a good eye for detail, we come to care about this story purely because Miles Teller makes us care - real, energetic and unsentimental, he takes us on the journey with him every step and every punch. That it is all very predictable and mostly lacking in tension in the ring doesn't stop it being a powerful film, just because the relationships are so well drawn.
No Warrior. No Rocky, even. But a decent small story remarkable in its truth.