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It is perhaps unfair to label Million Dollar Baby as a female version of Rocky, but for a majority of the film's first half, the focus upon the trainer and fighter brings notable similarities to Sylvester Stallone's once developing onscreen relationship with Burgess Meredith.

Being the avid Rocky fan that I am, I can only commend this film for igniting such nostalgia. That said, the film offers so much more than a female reboot of this boxing classic: Million Dollar baby is emotionally challenging, thought provoking; on the whole, ultimately engaging.

Based on a collection of short stories titled Rope Burns by fight manager and "cutman" Jerry Boyd (pen name F.X.Toole), the film tracks the life of trailer-park waitress Maggie Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank), who has aspirations of becoming a boxer. She pursues veteran Frankie Dunn (Clint Eastwood) to train and manage her; though reluctant at first, Frankie is given slight encouragement by his gym manager Eddie (Morgan Freeman) to notice Maggie's day and night commitment to the gym, and he eventually decides to take her on.

Frankie is a complex character: He has his own issues with family and people in general. He writes to his daughter every week with no reply; he feels inner guilt for Eddie, after he allowed him to continue fighting in a brutal match that left him blind in one eye; and he goes to church regularly, primarily to provoke an argument with the local priest (Brian F. O'Byrne).

Maggie, also estranged from her family, soon establishes a strong bond with Frankie as she progresses up the ranks. It's very touching to witness such a close friendship develop and Maggie being rewarded for her determination as adoring fans begin to chant her name.

The stage is set for a classic rags-to-riches tale, but Eastwood (also credited as the director here) handles the story with such care that Million Dollar Baby never feels so far above our level that it becomes completely unrealistic. In fact, it seems very real.

There is strong sense of human injustice from how with story contrasts the hard graft of Maggie with her family's laziness. When she buys her sister and mother a house with her first notable paycheck, they immediately appear ungrateful, as it will disrupt their ploy to fob the government of its welfare cheques -- it is with such an instance that we begin to despise the family and root for Maggie even more.

We want her to realise how heartless the family are and fight back angrily; however, this is not part of her character's nature so she never does. We become frustrated, but realise how much heart Maggie has; the film touches us, emotionally, that we develop a personal connection with the story and yearn for Maggie to succeed like she truly deserves to do so.

Narrated by Morgan Freeman's character, the themes of raw talent and human emotion become the driving force of the entire film. Million Dollar Baby's boxing choreography and stage presence of its actors are brilliant, but it is the narration that paints an even more touching portrait of triumph and tragedy, the latter of which is unravelled via a devastating plot twist.

"A great movie" is simply not enough to describe how much of a film Million Dollar Baby is. It'll bring a smile to your face, as well as tears to your eyes; and its impact lingers with you for quite some time after viewing that you'll want to watch it again right away. The theme of boxing is only a metaphor for the fight some of the less-fortunate ones have to endure on a daily basis; with that considered, I'd recommend this film to practically everyone.

(C) Andy Carrington, 2012.