The Fire Inside

"The Fire Inside," which tells the story of Flint, Michigan's Claressa "T. Rex" Shields, the first female American boxer to win Olympics gold, is a well-made, straight-ahead, sports biopic

The film has a spacious generosity toward all of its characters, even Shields’ parents, reflecting her commitment to her family and community, as deep as her focus on winning boxing matches.

I'm so happy that Barry Jenkins, who wrote this screenplay, understood what the movie is really about.

[Brian Tyree Henry] invigorates the film and humanizes so much of it.

Yes, "The Fire Inside" is a classic come-from-behind sports tale. But its Shields' fire that makes it burn red hot, and become not just a great sports story, but a great sports story for this particular moment in time.

Rather than using the 17-year-old Shields’ pugnacious attitude to really explore how she landed body blows on the sexist establishment, The Fire Inside just ends up shadow boxing.

The rapport between Henry’s coach and Destiny’s battling ath­lete is depicted with such empathy and realism that it doesn’t matter if you’ve seen movies like this before.

Hopefully Morrison and Jenkins got big paychecks to phone in this project.

Barry Jenkins’ screenplay provides a strong foundation, weaving Shields’s personal and professional struggles into a cohesive and deeply affecting narrative.

When you've got two strong leads and a team like that behind the camera, you can't miss.