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Notes:
Frankie Dunn is a professional boxing trainer and owner of The Hit Pit. The Hit Pit is Frankie’s life, and he divides his time between the seemingly disparate activities of training fighters and attending Mass – which he’s done almost every day for the past 23 years. Unable to forgive himself for becoming estranged from his daughter long ago.
Drama - Although there is a fair amount of boxing, this is not the feel-good
sports movie the advertising makes it out to be. This is actually a
very dark drama that takes a depressing turn in the final third that
will turn off those looking for a sports film and perhaps a number
of other viewers not expecting it.
Clint Eastwood BLOOD WORK, SPACE COWBOYS, TRUE CRIME Hilary Swank THE CORE, INSOMNIA, THE AFFAIR OF THE NECKLACE Morgan Freeman THE BIG BOUNCE, BRUCE ALMIGHTY, DREAMCATCHER Dir/Prod:Clint Eastwood MYSTIC RIVER, BLOOD WORK, SPACE COWBOYS
PROFANITY: 1 F-word, 4 S-words, 2 GD's, a number of others. SEX/NUDITY: None. VIOLENCE: Very brutal boxing action. DRUGS/ALCOHOL: Some alcohol. ACTION: Some boxing matches. COMEDY: Some comic banter and wisecracks; nothing off-color.
The above rating is an average of the critic reviews below.
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Berardinelli, Internet CriticFull Review Very Good "Million Dollar Baby" is refreshingly free of the kind of tear-wringing melodrama that has become seemingly obligatory for this kind of story. You don't have to be a boxing fan to appreciate what Eastwood has wrought. This is a movie with the ability to win over all comers.
Roger EbertFull Review Excellent Clint Eastwood's "Million Dollar Baby" is a masterpiece, pure and simple, deep and true. ...it's not a boxing movie. It is a movie about a boxer. What else it is, all it is, how deep it goes, what emotional power it contains, I cannot suggest in this review, because I will not spoil the experience of following this story into the deepest secrets of life and death. This is the best film of the year.
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OPINION OVERVIEW The following is the original "What's Worth
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Moviegoer Opinions:
We collected 212 moviegoer opinions. Great opinions! LOTS of "Fantastic" and "Excellent" opinions. Equally important is the lack of any very low opinions. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND "MILLION DOLLAR BABY."
Frankie Dunn (CLINT EASTWOOD) 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 his 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 is Scrap (MORGAN FREEMAN), an ex-boxer who looks after Frankie's gym and knows that beneath his gruff exterior is a man who has attended Mass almost every day for the past 23 years, seeking the forgiveness that somehow continues to elude him.
Then Maggie Fitzgerald (HILARY SWANK) walks into his gym.
Maggie's never had much, but there is one thing she does have that very few people in this world ever do: she knows what she wants and she's willing to do whatever it takes to get it. In a life of constant struggle, Maggie's gotten herself this far on raw talent, unshakable focus and a tremendous force of will. But more than anything, what she wants is for someone to believe in her.
The last thing Frankie needs is that kind of responsibility – let alone that kind of risk. He tells Maggie the blunt hard truth: she's too old and he doesn't train girls. But ‘no' has little meaning when you have no other choice. Unwilling or unable to give up on her life's ambition, Maggie wears herself to the bone at the gym every day, encouraged only by Scrap. Finally won over by Maggie's sheer determination, Frankie begrudgingly agrees to take her on.
In turns exasperating and inspiring each other, the two come to discover that they share a common spirit that transcends the pain and loss of their pasts, and find in each other a sense of family they lost long ago. What they don't know is that soon they will both face a battle that's going to demand more heart and courage than any they've ever known.
