Rating: 
Summary: ANOTHER TRIUMPH FOR JIM SHERIDAN AND DANIEL DAY-LEWIS.
Review: "The Boxer" is another collaboration between director Jim Sheridan and the fantastic actor Daniel Day-Lewis, with nice results once again.After a 14 year prison sentence for IRA activities, Danny Flynn (Daniel Day-Lewis), a former boxer decides to make a return to the boxing world. Danny, now 32 years old, decides to be both a veteran boxer and an assistant coach for the kids interested in learning the sport. Danny is now struggling to return to a good shape, and in addition he sees a former girlfriend, Maggie (Emily Watson), an attractive woman that in Danny's absence, married with another militant IRA member, now in prison. Danny and Maggie still feel something about each other, but the encountering opposition from militant IRA members and political tensions will prove hard to beat. Following the line of "In The Name Of The Father", "The Boxer" is another well acted and interesting political drama, also with the Sheridan / Day-Lewis team. If you like the work of Daniel Day-Lewis, Emily Watson or Jim Sheridan, go see "The Boxer".
Rating: 
Summary: Not in the same league as Sheridan's first three features
Review: 'In The Name of the Father' played a dangerous game in changing some of the facts of the Guildford Four case for 'artistic' reasons, but it still made dramatic sense. This story of a boxer returning to republican Belfast as a ceasefire is being brokered (and simultaneously undermined) fails to make sense either politically or dramatically. The tired cliches of the released prisoner trying to go straight, and IRA godfathers struggling with young hot-heads for control of their organisation, are all in there. Surprisingly, the acting was no better than fair, with dodgy accents from Brian Cox and Emily Watson. I wanted to like the film, but I just couldn't believe in its story. For a far better working of similar material try Michael Winterbottom's BBC TV play 'Love Lies Bleeding', starring Mark Rylance. CJF
Rating:
Summary: Film and actors are totally winning
Review: A brilliant actor in chronically off-putting roles, Daniel Day-Lewis turns in his most accessible performance to date. As the title character, he's local boy, Danny Flynn, released from jail after 14 years and now coming back to his old Belfast neighborhood. It's not an easy return considering that he's no longer chummy with his IRA roots and that he's still has a yen for his former girlfriend Maggie (Emily Watson) who happens to be the local IRA chief's daughter. *** Director and co-writer Jim Sheridan has constructed a complex film running on three distinct courses: the IRA, Danny's boxing, and the love story between Danny and Maggie. Each are remarkable on their own, but intertwined together, they become even more powerful. *** Although it gets the least screen time, the love story is especially wonderful. Daniel Day-Lewis and Emily Watson reunite their characters in such a careful, intense manner that you're literally holding your breath watching them. It's absolutely exquisite.
Rating:
Summary: Film and actors are totally winning
Review: A brilliant actor in chronically off-putting roles, Daniel Day-Lewis turns in his most accessible performance to date. As the title character, he's local boy, Danny Flynn, released from jail after 14 years and now coming back to his old Belfast neighborhood. It's not an easy return considering that he's no longer chummy with his IRA roots and that he's still has a yen for his former girlfriend Maggie (Emily Watson) who happens to be the local IRA chief's daughter. *** Director and co-writer Jim Sheridan has constructed a complex film running on three distinct courses: the IRA, Danny's boxing, and the love story between Danny and Maggie. Each are remarkable on their own, but intertwined together, they become even more powerful. *** Although it gets the least screen time, the love story is especially wonderful. Daniel Day-Lewis and Emily Watson reunite their characters in such a careful, intense manner that you're literally holding your breath watching them. It's absolutely exquisite.
Rating: 
Summary: Timely story makes a nice update
Review: After seeing this film, I decided to forgive Jim Sheridan for the somewhat-pro-IRA 'Some Mother's Son'. If what a good deal of us read about Northern Ireland in newspapers is true (warring factions threatening the peace process), then 'The Boxer' is a timely update on all the films on Northern Ireland that came before it. Many of the films show the IRA as the protagonist, when, in fact, they share in the guilt that comes along with 30 years of untractable social and political conflict. It's nice to know that some of the paramilitaries have changed with the times, but it's still a concern that so many of them still feel the gun is the only answer to Northern Ireland's problems. It is also disappointing that so many people who profess the desire to have peace would rally against people like Ike Weir and Danny Flynn so quickly. It is for these reasons that I feel 'The Boxer' is Sheridan's best work of social criticism since 'In The Name Of The Father'. If real-life people like Danny Flynn ARE treated the way they are in this film, then Belfast has some soul-searching to do...if there's a soul left to search!!
Rating: 
Summary: Awesome Directing and Acting
Review: Both Daniel Day-Lewis and Emily Watson give knockout performances in one of the most compelling movies to date, and directing that is absolutely brilliant just adds to the frankness and honesty of the entire film. The stunning photography is such an asset, and the intriging story holds onto you. THE BOXER is an elite movie, in a category of its own; mesmirizing.
Rating:
Summary: A Knockout
Review: Daniel Day-Lewis is like a chamelion. Put him in a part and you'll see only the character he plays and not the actor himself. It's a truly remarkable talent, and shows best when he's being Irish. The Boxer is the tale of a man trying to put his life back together in a world where things are torn apart. Loyalties, families and the very fabric of society ripped asunder by the ongoing tragedy of Northern Ireland. A man of honour and integrity trying to escape the mire of politics. A great film that offers warm and intimate characters to balance the bleakness of the social, economic and political landscapes they traverse. END
Rating:
Summary: What a guy
Review: Daniel Day-Lewis must be the most versatile film actor in the world. He looks like a different person in almost every film he makes. I assume that's the real Day-Lewis in this flick about the rebellion in Northern Ireland, revenge and absolution. His romantic interest, Emily Watson, puts in a good performance too. Day-Lewis looks a lot different than he did in "Gangs of New York", "The Unbearable Lightness of Being", "My Left Foot" and "Last of the Mohicans" but he is just as compelling in his performance. I thought this movie degraded a bit at the end with its somewhat Hollywood finale, but otherwise I enjoyed it. If you like substantial filmmaking, good acting, great drama, unfamiliar vistas and a good story, you'll enjoy it too.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding
Review: Danny Flynn (Daniel Day-Lewis), a promising boxer who spent eighteen years in jail for refusing to give names to the police, is released from prison and, weary of the violence of Ireland's struggle, returns to his native Belfast in order to build a life seperate from the conflict. This proves to be impossible. He returns at a time when the IRA is negotiating with the British for peace, and he becomes a figurehead to members of the community who want an end to the troubles. This earns him the enmity of the more militant faction of the IRA. All of this is complicated by the mutual love between himself and Maggie (Emily Watson), who was Danny's love before he went to prison but is now married to an imprisoned IRA man, thereby making her, by IRA law, off-limits to him. The restrained love story, the nobility of Day-Lewis' character, and the moral complexity of the situation join with fine acting, writing, direction and all-around production to make this a most worthy film.
Rating:
Summary: hard hitting drama
Review: Danny Flynn (Day Lewis), released after fourteen years in prison, tries to put his life back together in the violence of contemporary Belfast. This includes reestablishing a relationship with childhood sweetheart Maggie (Watson) and resuming his boxing career - this time at the professional level. The fight scenes are the most realistic I have seen on film (Day Lewis trained for two years in preparation), the acting is excellent and the soundtrack is moody and emotive. Highly recommended.
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