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‘The Fire Inside’ Review: An Effortlessly Charismatic Pairing Anchors This Real-Life Olympic Boxing Tale

‘The Fire Inside’ review: An effortlessly charismatic pairing anchors this real-life Olympic boxing tale

Based on the record-setting back-to-back Olympic victories—in 2012 and 2016—of professional boxer Claressa “T-Rex” Shields, who came from a poor background in Flint, Michigan, to win gold medals in London and Rio de Janeiro, it’s a familiar tale of success against the odds that takes some interesting turns as a depiction of a woman competing in a stereotypically male sport. Ultimately, though, what made great material for a 90-minute documentary (2015’s T-Rex) doesn’t organically stretch to a 109-minute feature; thankfully, director Rachel Morrison resists the urge to confect extraneous drama, relying instead on its two excellent leads to carry the story to the last round. Title: The Fire Inside Distributor: Amazon MGM Studios Director: Rachel Morrison Screenwriter: Barry Jenkins Cast: Ryan Destiny, Brian Tyree Henry, Oluniké Adeliyi, De’Adre Aziza Running time: 1 hr 49 mins Release date: 25 December 2024

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