It's so hard to look at Cinderella Man and not make the comparison to Rocky. Actually, any boxing film is going to draw that comparison, along with Raging Bull. Cinderella Man stands out though since it's based on a true story to give it some weight.
It's helped along by Russell Crowe and Renee Zellweger, both putting forth fantastic performances. The story now seems typical of a Hollywood sports film, with a lead character that is down on his luck and gets that one chance to make it big. It's predictable and the boxing scenes are too over-the-top (how many punches can one man take?), but it's a drama more than a boxing film.
Given the dire situation, Crowe's character based on the life of James Braddock, goes through a wide variety of emotions. His once proud up and coming stature destroyed by the great depression, and forced to beg just to put a meal on the table. It creates numerous moments of dramatic tension as his family tries to hold together. Outside of them, Paul Giamatti gives us another incredible performance, certainly one worthy of a best supporting actor award.
It also helps work the emotional story arc to a point where the audience is involved in that final boxing match even if they know the outcome. It's a classic underdog story that is made fresh and exciting. It runs near the 150-minute mark, and that's definitely taking too much time to tell the story. There are countless shots of people walking to a destination that never seem to end, and it grows old quickly.
Beyond that, this is a fine piece of filmmaking, and certainly one that deserved a better box office (it lost a little under $20 million). You can expect to see it come award time, and a few wins in multiple categories. It's great film, even for a family. The PG-13 the MPAA slapped on it is harsh. (**** out of *****)
This widescreen 2.35:1 transfer is a disappointment. Darker scenes, of which there are many, have a grainy, muddy quality. It's caused by inconsistent black levels. They're all over the place, and end up affecting the color and detail too. Brighter scenes perform fine. It's an otherwise sharp, easy on the eyes transfer even with a relatively non-DVD friendly color scale used to set the film in time period. (***)
The 5.1 audio provides a nice, immersive sound field. People at ringside provide plenty of ambient noise as the fights move on. You'll hear quite a bit from the surrounds. Bass is subdued, so even if the in-ring action goes a little overboard, the connecting punches don't provide a ridiculous amount of bass. You'll only hear enough to know a shot has landed. (****)
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