Cinderella Man is inspired by the life of legendary athlete Jim Braddock (Russell Crowe), a once-promising light heavyweight boxer forced into retirement after a string of losses in the ring. As the nation enters the darkest years of the Great Depression, Braddock accepts a string of dead-end jobs to support his wife, Mae (Renée Zellweger), and their children, while never totally abandoning his dream of boxing again. Thanks to a last minute cancellation, Braddock finds himself back in the ring against the second-ranked world contender -- and to everyone's amazement, Braddock wins in the third round. Despite being pounds lighter than his opponents and repeated injuries to his hands, Braddock continues to fight against challengers and win. Carrying on his shoulders the hopes and dreams of the disenfranchised masses, Braddock, dubbed the "Cinderella Man," faces his toughest challenger in Max Baer (Craig Bierko), the heavyweight champion of the world, renowned for having killed two men in the ring.

Its not the actors, nor is it the action of the movie that made this movie so good and so enjoyable, it was the story. The story so envelops you and draws you in that you can’t help but want to stand up in your seat and cheer Braddock on. I have seen a lot of win despite all odds and the whole underdog twist on many movies but the ones that always make the best movies are the ones that are based on real events. It’s the realism in the movie, it’s the fact that you know that Braddock overcame all these obstacles that lets you see the courage, feel the heart and want to root for the underdog. The movie tends to bog down at times with the human aspect of it all as it mires itself in the lost and depravity that was the Great Depression but then it quickly revives itself with the last fight which had me on pins and needles because of all the foreshadowing. I think it was more fun to not know how the movie was going to turn out, then say if I had known being a sports buff who knew the story coming in.

I know I am not alone in despising Russell Crowe but if there is one thing that can be said about him is that he is an amazing actor. All his off screen antics and dislike can be forgotten once you submerge yourself in his characters and what he is doing on the screen. I think he would be one of the most celebrated actors in Hollywood right now if he could just stop being an ass when he’s not on the screen. I have also had a little bit of a dislike for Renée Zellweger and she really did nothing in the movie to change my mind about her. She was easily the weakest link of the movie and never really had that much chemistry with Crowe. The two stars who stole the movie were Craig Bierko and Paul Giamatti though. Paul Giamatti is really making some waves right now as he is a fine actor and the role of the ring manager was perfect for him. And Craig Bierko plays Baer so well and so ruthlessly that you cannot but help rooting for Crow as Bierko comes off as the over the top, love to hate ‘em killer boxer. The movie as a little of a surprise because the trailers didn’t make it look anywhere near as good as it turned out to be,
4.5 stars out of 5