Million Dollar Baby Reviews and Ratings



  • November 22, 2009
    drama starring Clint Eastwood, Hilary Swank and Morgan Freeman. directed by Clint Eastwood.

    the story of female boxer Maggie Fitzgerald (Swank) and her journey to becoming a champion.

    Maggie Fitzgerald is one of my very favorite film characters. she is resilient and determined,...( read more) but at the same time, has a vulnerability that makes you love her that much more. the actress that brings Maggie to life, has the ability to allow you forget that you are watching a movie and instead, you feel like you have a secret glimpse into someone's life. that actress is Hilary Swank.

    it is through the eyes of Eddie "Scrap Iron" Dupris, in which the story is told. Morgan Freeman delivers yet another great performance, as an ex-boxer, that runs the local gym where Maggie trains, owned by trainer, Frankie Dunn.

    portraying Dunn, is five-time Academy Award® winning film icon, Clint Eastwood, who pulled quadruple duty, including director, co-producer and even scoring the film. as hardened trainer Frankie Dunn, Eastwood reminds us why he has received so much acclaim over the years... he is pure genius. there is no other way to explain it, other than he is just freakin' awesome.

    Million Dollar Baby is more than just a good boxing film. it is humorous, tragic, poignant and inspiring. above all, it is a fine example of the human spirit.

    beautiful film. love it! ♥
  • November 21, 2009
    One of the few oscar movies that made it to the top in my list!! Wonderful movie!! There are some movies that make you think deeply and this is one. Don't miss it!!
  • November 16, 2009
    A cruel portrait of a certain type of America that usually cinema doesn't like to show.
    Question about eutanasia is only a short version of question about our lives.
    Hilary Swank is too genuine to be true. A great talent.
  • November 15, 2009
    hillary is hot in this/!! sad... v good
  • November 15, 2009
    Another great compelling film from the genius that is Clint Eastwood
  • November 11, 2009
    Clint Eastwood's another masterpiece.
  • November 6, 2009
    Yeh, so I had this friend who cried like a little girl during this movie...
  • October 28, 2009
    great story n the ending it's so sad.... ToT
  • October 27, 2009
    This film was so heartbreaking and so gritty, but Hilary Swank has never been better and the film, really, is a modern classic. It's a masterpiece.
  • October 27, 2009
    The film is a triumph in every department! It's a knockout ...
  • October 26, 2009
    Liked it up until she...SPOILER: landed on the chair.
  • October 25, 2009
    So sad but such a great and moving story. It tears you up.
  • October 25, 2009
    I liked this movie until Maggie was put in a coma & then it sucked from there
  • October 24, 2009
    Rocky, but with a girl. A fab old school type film, well written, acted and directed. The chemistry between all the characters was very real, and all the awards are justified.

    Wouldn't like to meet Swank down a dark alley after all her training, would never titter over her su...( read more)rname, not now....
  • October 19, 2009
    Absolutely brilliant. Hilary Swank never ceases to impress, and as for Morgan Freeman, the guy's amazing.
  • October 18, 2009
    simple but powerfull in sense of life, and its bring humanity to us
  • October 18, 2009
    This is is a masterpiece! Clint Eastwood has made such a beautiful film. The storyline is like nothing you've seen before, and it's got so many sweet and tragic moments. The dialogue is relevant to each mood of a scene, and the epic narration by Morgan Freeman is just awesome. Th...( read more)e casting is good. Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman and Hilary Swank are all terrific. Their characters are likeable, and that's needed in a drama like this. The tragic atmosphere made in some scenes is done so well, and the cinematography of the gym in the dark looks amazing. The ending is so beautiful, and i'm sure you'll cry - coz I certainly did. This is definitley a film that delivers on what you want in a somber drama. It's truly one of the best films I have ever seen. This is something you will definitley love forever.
  • October 17, 2009
    Million Dollar Baby is a powerful drama that is moving, touching, and inspiring.The film is about a poor girl who decides to be a boxer. Because of her determination, she is finally taught by an experienced boxing coach who has never trained a woman. This launches her fighting ca...( read more)reer. But this also leads to an unexpected father-daughter relationship. Then after a streak of victories and as they move closer to a title fight, things change when she is gravely injured.This is an extraordinary story about life. It is not about boxing. The film has a poetic voice narration that explains that. There are scenes of pity when the girl is waitressing at a café, and takes home food scraps from a customer's plate. We also see motivation when she trains alone at the gym during late hours. And there is some humor in scenes between the coach and his assistant. But the memorable moments are between the coach and his fighter. Hillary Swank gives an excellent performance as the boxer. Clint Eastwood plays the trainer. He also directed the film. That said, the dialogue is engaging and the script is terrific. The movie finale is thought provoking. But even before then, it already feels like a masterpiece.
  • October 15, 2009
    Jednostavno volim gledati filmove koji tako dobro docaravaju true love..
  • October 10, 2009
    qeeee niveeel!
    de peeeliculas de supeeeraciooon personal
    esta se las lleva de calle a toodas!
    staaa peli me eriizaa aun cuando ia la e vizto zientooo d vecees
  • October 10, 2009
    So beautiful.. I had to cry when I saw this movie. All the main characters were acting very good. Above all Hilary Swank, her performance looked so real that it almost scared me.
    The story of Million Dollar Baby is very beautiful, but heart rending as well. Especially the ending...( read more). I loved this movie, it's one of my favourites, although I probably won't watch it anymore in the nearby future just because it's so heavy.
  • October 8, 2009
    If there's been a more heart-wrenching movie this decade, I can't think of it. Deeply moving.
  • October 3, 2009
    Beyond his silence, there is a past. Beyond her dreams, there is a feeling. Beyond hope, there is a memory. Beyond their journey, there is a love.

    A film that anybody can easily absorb. The story was great. It discusses one of the greatest issues of all-time, merc...( read more)y killing. It was definitely simple but brilliant. The best boxing movie I've watched. Very realistic. Hillary Swank is a great actress. Morgan Freeman and Clint Eastwood also did a great job. Their performances was very natural. I can't imagine any actors that can replace them. They did carry the whole film from start to finish. This movie deserves to win the Oscar. I like it when simple films win the Oscars. It. It proves that "simplicity is the ultimate sophistication".
  • October 3, 2009
    Although I prefer Gran Torino this is still without doubt one of Clint Eastwood's masterpiece's. This film is a deeply emtional and powerful film, which shows us Clint Eastwoods directering and acting skills are still superb. This deeply moving filmed is guranteed to have you com...( read more)pelled by its fine directering, writing and the powerful performances by both Clint Eastwood and Hillary Swank.
  • October 2, 2009
    CHOREI DÉCADAS! É excepcional!
  • September 29, 2009
    amazing inspiring movie.
  • September 24, 2009
    This movie is quite moving but the theme about taking someones life even in that state is something to think about and yes the movie makes you think but towards the decision that he did and well I prefer if I'm being offered the opportunity to make my own decision about it!! but ...( read more)it was a great movie I thought for a moment that it was going to be a happy go lucky movie but it wasn't!! still very real!!

    From beginning to end, there is commentary by "Scrap"- Morgan Freeman's recognizable voice.

    Hillary Swank's character, Maggie, is a white trash 31 year old waitress in a diner. Clint Eastwood is Frankie, a boxing gym owner who has trained many promising fighters but has never been able to take them all the way to a title/money bout.

    Maggie decides to pursue her dream of becoming a boxer once she realizes she's in a real dead end situation. Frankie is skeptical about women fighters, tells Maggie she's too old to start training, and tells her he won't train her.

    Morgan Freeman's character is "Scrap", one of Frankie's ex-fighters. Frankie feels guilty because he didn't stop "Scrap" (Morgan Freeman) from fighting in his 109th fight. Scrap ignored Frankie's pleas to throw in the towel. It was in this fight, 25 years ago, that caused him to lose one eye and end his boxing career. This is how Scrap ended up being the caretaker to Frankie's boxing gym for many years. And this is why Frankie takes a "conservative" approach when training upcoming boxers. Although he's a top notch trainer; he's afraid to take them to the top where he's afraid of what comes with a loss. Thus, you see a boxer leave Frankie for a more aggressive manager.

    Maggie is extremely determined to prove Frankie wrong along with the rest of her family. Scrap continues to give Maggie pointers on how to improve and get better. Frankie is still unwilling to commit to become Maggie's trainer. After much persistence, not to mention on her 32nd birthday, Maggie gets Frankie to train her.

    We also see a minor back story of Frankie's estranged relationship to his daughter "Kate." We see a few shots of "return-to-sender" letters Frankie receives from his daughter. Apparently this has gone on for years. It's why Frankie goes to church everyday- out of past guilt we never actually learn specifically of.

    Maggie doesn't have a father, he died when she was young.

    Eventually the two come together realizing that the other can fill that void in their lives.

    A year and a half of training and many knock-outs later, undefeated Maggie wants to go for a world title championship in Las Vegas. Frankie is hesitant, not wanting her to get hurt.

    Maggie takes him to see her mother and sister who are very white trash and live in a trailer. Maggie surprises her mom with a new home just a mile away from their current trailer but her mom is pissed. If welfare finds out about the house she'll stop getting her checks.

    On the way back they stop at a roadside diner her father used to take her to. She tells loving stories about her father. She tells him about the time he put their ailing pet dog out of his misery. By the way, Frankie loves this diner's lemon maraigne pie . He contemplates buying the diner.

    Frankie finally decides that Maggie is ready for the next level. He sets up a fight against the British champion. Before entering the ring, he gives her a new fight robe with a Gaelic phrase on it. He won't tell her what it means. The crowd loves it and chants it as she enters the ring. (Important later) Maggie wins the fight which sets up a championship bout.

    In the championship fight, Maggie boxes against the current middle weight championship title holder. She is not only aggressive and tough but also fights dirty. During the first two rounds she pounds on Maggie while taking a couple of penalty points for two foul punches. The referee warns her that next time she will be disqualified. The next couple of rounds Maggie takes a different approach, advised by Frankie, and starts to break ground. She clearly is winning the fight and the crowd goes crazy. She goes back in and after a few punches and almost-a-knock-out later, her opponent struggles to her feet after 9 counts. The referee sends them back to their corner. Maggie turns her back and before she can reach her corner her opponent moves toward her while the referee isn't looking. She takes a deadly shot at the side of Maggie and sends her landing on her head on the corner stool, breaking her neck. Maggie suffers spinal neck injury that leaves her paralyzed for life.

    The last 1/4 of the movie is about euthanasia and human morals. Maggie is bed ridden for a long time and eventually has to have her leg amputated due to muscle atrophy and bed sores.

    Maggie's family arrives (but first spend a week at Disneyland) and try to get her to sign a power of attorney type document. Frankie is skeptical but they tell him to mind his own business. He leaves, disgusted at them. Maggie tells them to leave and that she never wants to see them again.

    She asks Frankie for a favor. She asks if he remembers the story she told him about her father and their dog. She no longer wants to live. She had her shot and wants to die remembering the crowd cheering her name. Frankie refuses.

    Later Frankie is awoken in the middle of the night. Maggie has bitten her tongue, hoping to bleed to death. The doctors save her and stitch her tongue back up. She rips the stitches out and tries it again. This time they cover her tongue so she can't get to it.

    Frankie now realizes how badly she wants to die and contemplates "slowly killing" her by letting her live or end her life while she is "living." Scrap tells him that most people die wondering "what if" and never having a chance at anything. He tells him that at least Maggie had her shot of a lifetime and is thinking "maybe I did alright."

    Frankie decides to fulfill her wishes and end her life. He walks into her room, unnoticed. He tells her what he's going to do and she can only smile. He tells her that the Gaelic phrase the crowds were chanting and on her robe meant "My Darling". He removes her breathing tube and injects her with adrenaline. She dies instantly.

    In the end of the movie we see Scrap writing a letter (to Frankies daughter) and we realize that the narration all along is this letter. He ends it along the lines of "...He never returned to the gym and I never saw him again. I'm sure he's somewhere between here and there but where ever he is, I'm sure he's doing just fine. I just wanted to let you know what kind of man Frankie was. I wanted to let you know what your father was like."

    The final shot is of Frankie eating pie at the diner that Maggie had taken him to.


    Maggie Fitzgerald, a poor thirty-one year old waitress from the very lower classes and with a dysfunctional loser family, decides to make a difference through boxing. She convinces the experienced hardened boxing trainer Frankie Dunn to coach her and be her manager, with the support of his old partner Eddie Scrap-Iron Dupris, who sees her potential as a boxer. Frankie has a problematical relationship with his daughter, and practically adopts Maggie along her career.

    Frankie Dunn has trained and managed some incredible fighters during a lifetime spent in the ring. The most important lesson he teaches his boxers is the one that rules life: above all, always protect yourself. In the wake of a painful estrangement from his daughter, Frankie has been unwilling to let himself get close to anyone for a very long time. His only friend, Scrap, an ex-boxer who looks after Frankie's gym, knows that beneath his gruff exterior is a man who has been seeking, for the past 25 years, the forgiveness that somehow continues to elude him. Then Maggie Fitzgerald walks into his gym

    Beyond his silence, there is a past. Beyond her dreams, there is a feeling. Beyond hope, there is a memory. Beyond their journey, there is a love.
  • September 24, 2009
    Overhyped. Has its moments but it just recycles parts from better films.
  • September 22, 2009
    Morgan won Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.
  • September 20, 2009
    Very dramatic, but Clint still has talent. It stole the Academy Awards though.

    73/100
  • September 15, 2009
    i can afford to buy you (cd) hekehehehe
  • September 14, 2009
    sad, but that's life!
  • September 12, 2009
    its as good as it gets....beautiful work of art...
  • September 8, 2009
    Good movie. Clint proves once again that he is the man!
  • September 6, 2009
    this is really smthn special....
  • September 1, 2009
    good movie very sad ending hillery deserves the oscar
  • August 28, 2009
    sometimes life doesn't seem fair. Great she won an Oscar for this one!
  • August 28, 2009
    Dark, Simple, Inspiring and Outstanding. One of Clint Eastwood's masterpiece. Perhaps the only thing that irks me is Morgan Freeman's Oscar win. I'm not saying he's not good here in this film but his fellow contenders were much better than him in performances base.
  • August 27, 2009
    Not very good.

    Didn't deserve Best Picture.
  • August 26, 2009
    Wow. Even though I love every single Clint Eastwood movie I've ever seen, I never expected this to be such a powerful, moving drama. I thought it was "just" a boxing movie...it turned out to be one of the best tearjerkers I've seen in the last few years.
  • August 26, 2009
    The movie is excellent. Hillary Swank have a great performance. im so glad that she was picked for this movie. She seems a natural for this role. Like she didn't even have to act, she just let her own emotions take charge. She stole every scene when she was on. Clint Eastwood i...( read more)s one heck of an actor and his directing of movies is even better. i cry from the middle of the story to the end, very touching.,.,.
  • August 25, 2009
    so good but so dam sad

Summary


Million Dollar Baby Summary