Boxing movies are tough,, generally speaking underdog sports movies share so many cliches, that it seems impossible to engage, yet I did engage and I wanted him to win even though it was obvious he was going to. The family dynamic is very well presented and you do care about them and the lives they are leading.

This review reportedly contains spoilers. I can handle the truth.

I dislike boxing (men or women hitting each other isn't my idea of fun) and most boxing film seem to be pretty much the same story, but I did like the depiction of life for the poor during the Depression in Cinderella Man, that was shown very effectively. I could really believe in the struggle that the real-life Jim and Mae Braddock and their family had faced.

Nicely put story which otherwise is of not special interest to me. I like it when directors and actors manage to interest me in something that isn't my primary idea of entertainment.

There is something beautiful and powerful in the boxing films I have seen and Cinderella Man is no exception. The acting in this is fantastic especially from the 3 leads, Paul Giamatti, Renée Zellweger and Russell Crowe as James Braddock who fought not only for his family but for his country during the broken era of the Great Depression. Its a beautiful, inspiring and hard hitting (excuse the pun) story which I consider up in the ranks with Rocky and Raging Bull. Definitely a must-see and overall incredible film.

One of my favourite films with Russel Crowe

Rocky with less food

Realism of the fight scenes, poverty and desperation really make this film. Inspiring story, very well acted.

Ron Howard's emotional and uplifting account of one of America's greatest boxers is magnificently portrayed on the big-screen with Russell Crowe giving one of his best performances (and an underrated cinematic hero to rival Maximus). A knockout of a film!

It never really stirred my interest but since it was on TV I decided to watch it. I'm not really a fan of boxing and didn't knew the story of James J. Braddock. Set in the Great Depression, he becomes an inspiration winning matches when was considered to be the underdog.

I didn't like the fights, again not a boxing fan, but the themes surrounding poverty did move me a bit, since it kind of relates to what's happening nowadays specially in Portugal. Those were the strongest bits of the movie, in my opinion, as well as Paul Giamatti who is great on the supporting role.

8.5/10

Cinderella Man is an outstanding drama and another great addition to the boxing sub-genre among sports films. Russell Crowe proving again what a great actor he is was absolutely brilliant, and also were Renée Zellwegger and Paul Giamatti. The fighting scenes were incredibly realistic and perfectly edited. This was another remarkable film from Ron Howard.