Ever since Rocky burst onto the screen in 1976, movie fans have been obsessed with boxing movies. Sylvester Stallone returned to lead five more films in the franchise, as well as coming back as a supporting character in Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan's Creed trilogy. Creed is widely considered to be one of the best boxing movies of the 21st century. But, what if it's not? It's a phenomenal film that deserves all the praise it gets. But what if the best boxing movie of recent years was actually an underrated 2010 drama with an absolutely stacked cast, including Christian Bale, Amy Adams, and Mark Wahlberg? Don't believe us? Well, you can check it out for yourself, as just landed a new streaming home.

The Fighter is now available to stream on Paramount+. The film was directed by the multi-Oscar-nominated David O. Russell (Silver Linings Playbook), from a screenplay penned by Keith Dorrington, Paul Tamasy, and Eric Johnson. The film is based on the life story of real pro-boxer Micky Ward (Wahlberg). The story follows Micky as he tries to make a name for himself in the world of boxing, while escaping from underneath his troubled brother's (Bale) shadow. The official synopsis reads:

"For Micky Ward, boxing is a family affair. His tough-as-nails mother is his manager. His half-brother, Dicky, once a promising boxer himself, is his very unreliable trainer. Despite Micky's hard work, he is losing and, when the latest fight nearly kills him, he follows his girlfriend's advice and splits from the family. Then Micky becomes a contender for the world title and he — and his family — earns a shot at redemption."

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The Fighter won two Oscars in 2011: Best Supporting Actor and Actress for Christian Bale and Melissa Leo, respectively. Amy Adams was also nominated for her performance, and the film was tapped for Best Motion Picture of the year, which it lost to The King's Speech. The Fighter was also a hit with critics, earning a Certified Fresh 91% Rotten Tomatoes score, with an 89% audience rating.

There are two key points that make The Fighter a special boxing movie. First and foremost, it is a great film. Like Creed, Rocky, Warrior, and the other great combat sports movies, it tells a surprisingly emotional story outside of the ring. Then there are the fight scenes, or the matches, in this case. As any fan of boxing will tell you, fighting in movies never looks realistic. Even the likes of John Wick dial things up for the sake of cinema.

But, The Fighter might contain one of the most realistic depictions of the sport of boxing in cinema. This is aided by many of the film's bouts being reconstructions of Micky Ward's real fights. His final match in the film, which we won't spoil here, is one of the most grueling boxing fights in movie history, and we can't recommend it enough.