The Fire Inside

We had not heard of this movie but took a chance on it. We were very pleasantly surprised! From the very start to the end it kept your attention and brought tears to your eyes several times.

This movie was cast really well and the acting was superb. The story is amazing and was an excellent depiction of what life in poverty can be like.

The struggles she overcame by channeling her anger and her coach's dedication.

Love that this is an actual true story as it's so inspiring!! Also like that there's no nudity so this is one the entire family can see together.

Would highly recommend this movie.

Cards on the table. The only way viewers are going to connect with this excellent film, and enjoy it, is by understanding this is not a sports movie, and it is absolutely not "about" boxing. This film had a troubled history, and it shows. Stars came and left. One studio dropped it and another picked it up. The name was changed. There were delays. The big takeaway is that, after all is said and done, the boxing scenes, the ins and outs of the sport, became an afterthought. This is a film about personal growth, ambition, reality, and making the hard choices. And, it succeeds nicely in that category. But a boxing film? Not really. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))

I'm a week and three days late seeing this sports biopic, so I contemplated whether I should write a proper review. However, I noticed that only 19 people had reviewed this film on IMDb at the time of writing, which isn't even mentioning its $2M US box office opening. I know a weak opening weekend doesn't mean a film will flop. Look at the recently released "Mufasa: The Lion King" for proof. With that in mind, I want to write a review to encourage you to see it. Sure, this Christmas movie season was competitive, to say the least, with Mufasa, "Sonic the Hedgehog 3," and "Nosferatu" being the three top players. Admittedly, for the latter two films, it's easy to see those instead, so I'll recommend this with a bit of an unfortunate caveat: after you see both Sonic and "Nosferatu," see "The Fire Inside."

I want to start with the only semi-negative before fully praising everything else about this film. I won't give any spoilers, but a scene towards the end dares to ruin the film's momentum.

Okay, so let's begin the positives with the acting. Ryan Destiny and Brian Tyree Henry deliver potent performances as real-life female boxer Claressa Shields and her trainer Jason Crutchfield. Their dynamic and interactions are the emotional centerpiece of the entire experience, and it works! I've seen and enjoyed Henry in other films, so I knew he'd be entertaining playing Crutchfield. This film seems to be Destiny's first major release, which means we'll see more of her in the following years if her performance as Shields is any indication.

Next, for a directorial debut, Rachel Morrison impresses. Morrison's work enhances the film's dramatic undertones and makes the boxing sequences more compelling and gripping than they have any right to be. It helps that she is bringing to life a stellar Barry Jenkins screenplay.

I'm still avoiding spoilers, so I'll be vague for the following compliment. Although this is a true story, I appreciated how based in reality this film is. I specifically respected how they showcased the indirect prejudice against female athletes in other aspects of the industry, portraying how boxing may be more than the sport itself.

Rapid time progression is a biopic staple. In my review of "A Complete Unknown," I stated how I'm starting to take issue with that. After watching "The Fire Inside," I now believe that issue was exclusive to that Bob Dylan biopic that I still think is good. I felt that that film didn't handle time progression well, with it unexpectedly skipping over periods with no indication of when, making characters feel inconsistent with how they were minutes or, in some cases, seconds earlier. "The Fire Inside" makes it obvious when time skips, even if one transition is somewhat subtle, and the characters remain consistent.

Overall, I knew that I'd love "The Fire Inside." I was looking forward to it, but life is life, so I had to wait a while. I can comfortably say it was worth the wait, and I highly encourage you to check it out before it leaves theaters. Once it goes to streaming, it'll be an undeniable hit, but this movie deserves to be successful. If I couldn't save "Saturday Night" or "Werewolves," the least I can do is give "The Fire Inside" a fighting chance. I know I'm one reviewer, but that can be all the difference.

Technically, the acting, directing, screenplay, and well-utilized runtime make the technical score a 10/10.

For the enjoyment score, this film never bored me, had many funny moments, and Claressa Shields was a captivating lead character. Brian Tyree Henry was just as great, the boxing scenes were stellar, and the time progression wasn't annoying. This film deserves a 10/10 enjoyment score. Please don't let down this champ!

The true story of Claressa Shields, a high school junior from Flint, Michigan, who became the first American woman to win Olympic boxing gold, only to discover that not all dreams are equal and the real fight has just begun.

Ryan Destiny plays Shields, a young girl who decides she wants to box, and Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry) a local volunteer who helps kids train, and takes her under his wing. Under his tutelage Claressa wins an olympic gold medal, only to find that it doesn't mean what she thinks it means so she takes it to a pawnshop as it's value is meaningless to her.

This is a story of the true face of becoming an olympic athlete: the sacrifices that have to be made, the hardship along the way, and the rewards that sometimes don't match the effort.

The cast is strong, the writing and direction is great, the film feels like an exercise in positive motivation. But it's a film of dedication and commitment and almost brought me to tears at times.

A story beautifully told, I gave it a solid 7.

Okay, so you've seen stories like this before, and this one here is based on an actual person and real life events.

This is the story of Claressa Shields, American female Olympic boxer and eventual professional.

Sadly, and somewhat ashamedly, I don't remember her or the events portrayed mostly here in this movie and around the 2012 Olympics in London.

I don't.

But you see, I don't fancy women's boxing.

As a matter of fact, here quite recently during the record breaking livestream broadcast of the Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul fight, I watched every single fight on the undercard and the title fight itself, all the way through.

But when the women came on, I stopped watching momentarily, and took that as my opportunity to take a break.

I guess I'm part of the problem as addressed in this film.

I can't help it. I don't like watching women hitting each other, or just women getting hit in general.

I just don't like it. I don't find enjoyment in it.

But I did enjoy Million Dollar Baby years ago.

And I love, love, love the sport of boxing.

Men boxing.

Lifelong fan.

And I love boxing movies.

This is a good one.

Also a good American success story.

All of the actors are excellent here.

The direction and cinematography are all great.

Most of all, and best of all, this movie makes me want to watch Claressa Shields fight.

The real Claressa Shields. I'd watch that now.

I'm just sorry I haven't started following her sooner than this.