Born into a tight-knit wrestling family, Paige and her brother Zak are ecstatic when they get the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to try out for the WWE. But when only Paige earns a spot in the competitive training program, she must leave her loved ones behind and face this new cutthroat world alone. Paige's journey pushes her to dig deep and ultimately prove to the world that what makes her different is the very thing that can make her a star.
Fighting with my family revolves completely around wrestling and the themes that surround it, but what's especially interesting is the way in which this appealed and was communicated to us non wrestling fans. At first glance this may seem like a waste of time watching a film like this, especially as someone who only knows John Cena and literally knows nothing about WWE. However when the film delves into the story and the plot it becomes really apparent that this isn't the case, but instead of wrestling this film can be seen as the rise of a nobody to a somebody, regardless of what their profession is. This film definitely was unique though, not only in the way it stood out with a different plot but also in the way the actors and characters were portrayed. All of this was put into a blender and this is what came out, however is this a champion film or is it a tap out? Here are my thoughts.
First of all, for a film that seemed to depict only wrestling themes I thought the way in which characters and their feelings were represented right from the very beginning of this film was amazing. Not only did they feel genuine but they were also really powerful too, seeing Zak turn to alcohol and fighting and how his life turned for the worst after losing out on his dream was a bitter pill to swallow for us. But despite this, it felt really powerful and strong, when the characters had an emotion, whether this was excitement from getting offered a place in Florida, to sadness or even anger from the characters, this was relayed very well to us and really helped to make the characters somewhat relatable but mainly genuine and really solid. Right from the very beginning, this film made it clear that it wasn't just a wrestling film. It's more of a strong family themed movie and a heroic from nowhere to star sports flick. The actors were key to helping to achieve this feeling to the film though. They really gave amazing emotional performances that come off as believable and sincere, again, really helping to re-enforce their relationships with each other and what makes them all individual and powerful characters for us as an audience. They set out to tell this amazing story of Paige's journey to the WWE and how her family becomes a big part of her growth despite many dysfunctional issues. The variety of powerful sub stories also really helped to keep us engaged with the film, sure they weren't all million $ fights with sell out arenas but that's what made this film great, it showed the average person with a dream to make it. Florence Pugh kills it as Paige with her believable and intense performance from the way she cries to the way she slams in the ring! The Rock adds the fuel to an bonfire with his energy and authenticity, with him in scenes with Paige and her brother Zak, it certainly makes this story feel real and believable. The cast certainly does the job of bringing the tale to life with Florence Pugh and Jack Lowden crushing their performances with characters that drive much of the movie, the former in particular being the central pillar to base everything around. Yet secondary characters played by Nick Frost, Lena Headey and Vince Vaughn are utilized so well that they not only avoid overshadowing, but really mesh well with the main performers. Even the tertiary characters have some good involvement in the film, showing that you can utilize the cast well and tell a very good story, even with a super celebrity in the mix.
Enough about the characters though, the plot and the way in which the story was told was really enjoyable and positive too. Not only was the film told in more of a story way which helped to keep us engaged, but seeing how developments happened and how it changed and affected characters was really powerful and easy to understand. But the plot was also really easy to follow too, so this combination ensured that not only was it really engaging for us to see how the characters faced challenges but also seeing how the various relationships changed and adapted in the film. Character development, major themes of family, friendship, dedication, and many other subplots actually work well to provide an engaging film that isn't quite the norm for this genre. In addition, it reveals the hard work that goes into becoming a wrestler, and how physically/emotionally demanding the application process can be in something that many do not even pass a look at. I think that the way in which the theme of this film was mixed in with a serious story was actually a really good combination that presented the characters well but also showed us the difficult and struggles for not only the character but the people around them when building their way to the top.
This film was not perfect though. However, I certainly struggled to find flaws in this film that really had a large impact. While the characters were done well, the extra brother that got brought in I don't think was utilized as well. Yes, he has his place, but compared to some of the other characters, his arc had some drama and potential, but then kind of fizzled out compared to what I thought they were going to do. I was also hoping that during the training scenes in Florida, there would be a little more time with tending to the flourishing relationship the various characters built whilst training, this really seemed to fluctuate well and then it suddenly stopped and dragged our attention away from it. This is primarily during the wrestling training period where things go from zero to 100% in a relatively short amount of time, and while still good I wanted more development with them in terms of that story arc. And because of trying to fit the tale in the shorter amount of time, the movie, especially near the end led to some hasty jumps that just as things were starting to develop were quickly transitioned to the next phase. Again, I would have liked a little more fleshed out conclusions and integrations, but it certainly doesn't leave you short changed as some other films have done.
Overall, I would give this film an 8.5. I thought it was really entertaining and managed to tell the story of a girl on her rise to fame really well, by depicting various characters, their lives and the character relationships in not only a serious and exciting way but also an engaging one which genuinely makes the characters and plot interesting and fun to watch. Of course there were a few issues, however if you can look over these then this is actually a really enjoyable and great film to watch and I would definitely recommend it. One of my favourite elements of this film though was that it was really good despite me not having an interest in wrestling, yes it focuses on it throughout but it is executed in such a good way that this really doesn't matter.
Thank you for reading my review, I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did watching the film and writing this. Have a lovely day :)
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