Critic Reviews
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Bob Thomas, Associated Press
In each film he makes, Day-Lewis seems to adopt a new persona.
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Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer
Day-Lewis has the ability to make the will to nonviolence look positively volcanic. And Watson, with her 200-watt incandescence, makes longing look radiant.
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Jay Boyar, Orlando Sentinel
If The Boxer doesn't quite score a knockout, that's because of such flaws as the too-sketchy development of the character of Maggie's son, who turns out to be pivotal. But the movie carries the day by aiming its strongest punches straight at the heart.
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Paul Clinton (CNN.com), CNN.com
With Watson and Day-Lewis you can almost feel the heat, and their situation never feels contrived or artificial.
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Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine
The critic dutifully tabulated each blunt plot point, each refried cliche.. And yet, when Danny's nemesis did something monstrously rotten, the critic was so enraged by the dastardly act that he had to stop himself from spitting his candy.
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Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune
Though we've seen this unquiet terrain before, this new film about boxing, star-crossed lovers and the Irish Republican Army temporarily gives us fresh eyes.
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Serena Donadoni, Metro Times (Detroit, MI)
What makes The Boxer as potent as it is are the performances, especially Daniel Day-Lewis' contained powerhouse. His Danny is a closed-off man, shadowboxing with his private demons, who comes painfully, but gloriously, back to life.
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David Stratton, sbs.com.au
An intelligent, provocative piece of cinema, with something quite bold to say in the Irish context.
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Thom Hutchinson, Radio Times
A knock-out performance by Daniel Day-Lewis is the highlight of this admirable if rather conventional drama.
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Matt Soergel, Florida Times-Union
We never figure out, though, what drives Day-Lewis' Danny. We just take it on faith that he's stubborn and sick of violence. The filmmakers don't help much, offering just a twist on the star-crossed lovers story, mixed with standard boxing melodrama.
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Gary Thompson, Philadelphia Daily News
The art-house dream-team pairing of Daniel Day-Lewis and Emily Watson amounts to more of a soft jab than a knockout punch.
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Roger Hurlburt, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
In this dull film, poignant characters caught up in histrionics flail with one glove, while much emotional shadowboxing is done with the other.
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, Total Film
It still packs a knockout punch thanks to Day-Lewis' typically gutsy performance.
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, Film4
One of Sheridan's best.
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David Sterritt, Christian Science Monitor
The screenplay of The Boxer spends too much time and energy setting up the basic situations of its plot, then does a spotty job of blending the material's personal and political aspects.
Read all 15 critic reviews
Featured Audience Ratings
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A boxer returns from an unjust prison sentence to try to rebuild his life in an Ireland at odds with itself. Lewis carries the picture easily as a man of few words but his scenes with Watson up the ante: watching them communicate when they know it's against the rules but unable… More
A boxer returns from an unjust prison sentence to try to rebuild his life in an Ireland at odds with itself. Lewis carries the picture easily as a man of few words but his scenes with Watson up the ante: watching them communicate when they know it's against the rules but unable to help themselves makes the film. The boxing scenes are good as well.
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Daniel Day-Lewis doing what he does best. The plot is really good as well, dealing with the IRA and a forbidden love between Day-Lewis and an old flame. Also, it seems that Cinderella Man's style and plot points seemed to borrow a lot from this movie, but out of the two, this is… More
Daniel Day-Lewis doing what he does best. The plot is really good as well, dealing with the IRA and a forbidden love between Day-Lewis and an old flame. Also, it seems that Cinderella Man's style and plot points seemed to borrow a lot from this movie, but out of the two, this is definitely the one to see.
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The best part of this movie is that you know DDL was training his ass off and probably could have been a featherweight champion. Watching him jump rope and fight in those matches was great. Then there is the speech that he gives to Watson about jail, it's almost worth the price… More
The best part of this movie is that you know DDL was training his ass off and probably could have been a featherweight champion. Watching him jump rope and fight in those matches was great. Then there is the speech that he gives to Watson about jail, it's almost worth the price of admission. Basically, even though the movie is just okay and left me wanting more, you keep watching because of the acting, Brian Cox is great as well. I am on a huge IRA kick here lately.
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It's mainly a hard romance story, set within the story of an ex-boxer making a life out of prison with what he knows amidst the eternal terrorist struggles in Ireland. I don't think Daniel Day-Lewis could play a bad part in a film if he tried, as he easily carries the movie… More
It's mainly a hard romance story, set within the story of an ex-boxer making a life out of prison with what he knows amidst the eternal terrorist struggles in Ireland. I don't think Daniel Day-Lewis could play a bad part in a film if he tried, as he easily carries the movie here. Alongside him are a couple of Thomas Harris-universe vets in Emily Watson (Red Dragon) and Brian Cox (Manhunter). As it is, several different things could tear apart a romance already torn apart for 14 years due to a stretch in prison. I've been searching for this movie for the last 10 years, finally found it and was in no way disappointed.
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Just a tad drawn out, but wonderful performances all around with a powerful topic.
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Daniel Day-Lewis's <i>other</i> film about The Troubles - not nearly as loved as In The Name of the Father, but still a fine movie in its own right. Jim Sheridan guides his muse through another skillful marriage of personal pain to social and political strife, this… More
Daniel Day-Lewis's <i>other</i> film about The Troubles - not nearly as loved as In The Name of the Father, but still a fine movie in its own right. Jim Sheridan guides his muse through another skillful marriage of personal pain to social and political strife, this time focusing on a young couple torn apart by a bombing and subsequent arrest. The dealings of the IRA are a really fascinating subject; watching this film and Father back to back is an excellent cinematic crash course, sure to pique anyone's interest.
Comparatively, this doesn't hit as hard as In the Name of the Father. The ending is stunning, which was one of the faults of the former film, but it's also much slower to get off the ground. It's difficult to get some of the meaning out of what you're seeing earlier in the movie, but this might have just been a lack of personal knowledge about The Troubles. By forty-five minutes in, the film moves from merely interesting to gripping, when Danny Flynn takes it upon himself to confront what faces him.
Sheridan once again draws great performances out of his cast, including the traditionally excellent DDL and a haunted, magnetic turn by Emily Watson. And man, how big of a prick was that villain? Though you don't see much of him, he is chilling, and the final confrontation between him and Ken Stott divulges a wealth of information without seeming expository. Sheridan is clearly an actors' director - though working with DDL will guarantee great results no matter what you're doing.
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I love this excellent emotionally story of an ex-con boxer who has changed after his 14-year prison sentence to return his old neighbourhood, reopens a gym for Catholic and Protestant youths, and rekindles his relationship with a former girlfriend in Belfast, Ireland. The best of… More
I love this excellent emotionally story of an ex-con boxer who has changed after his 14-year prison sentence to return his old neighbourhood, reopens a gym for Catholic and Protestant youths, and rekindles his relationship with a former girlfriend in Belfast, Ireland. The best of writer-director Jim Sheridan and Daniel Day Lewis' third film since <i>My Left Foot</i>.
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Good film, great cast and performances.
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Not a bad film, but didn't engage me that much either. I think you have to live in Northern Ireland to really appreciate it. Definitely the least interesting of the Sheridan/DDL collaborations.
Read all 11 featured audience ratings
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