Why Max Baer was portrayed this way

The scene in the restaurant where he insults Braddocks wife was good, but the comments during the fight itself were overkill. And didn't they say he killed 2 men, not one? If that isn't so, that was totally unnecessary. If it happened once, then it was enough to know that he had that much strength in his punch. Boxers don't kill people on purpose do they? Isn't it just a result of throwing a hard punch to KO the guy? How do you measure how hard to hit? I can't remember, but if he told Mae he was going to "kill" her husband, that was totally unnecessary-she already had reason to be freaked out. And the actor that portrayed Max was awesome, totally intimidating-more dramatic tension. Jimmy was older and the underdog in the big leagues-even more tension. And we've been rooting for Jimmy all through the movie, we didn't need for Max to be a Jerk in order to want Jimmy to win. I read that he actually held up Jimmy's hand when he was announced the winner-that would have been awesome (a great moment in The Karate Kid.) And there is the family to consider after all, they could have toned it down as I pointed out (alas Howard didn't consult with me. :))

The way Max Baer was written was great. He didn't want to kill somebody, he wanted an opponent who could fight back.

The acting was outstanding work by Craig Bierko. Max Baer was always human and credible. He was a guy who liked the high life and was fighting to keep it.

i lke th way max baer was portrayed. no i do not know how he acted in real life nor do i care. i loved the movie and people will bitch bout anything.

People have made way too much about this issue, in my opinion.

Yes, Baer was portrayed as much more a heartless, cold beast in the film than he was in real life... and I can understand why his family takes issue with it. But I don't understand why the moviegoing public would care.

Was it right for the filmmakers to do this? Maybe not. But consider these factors:

1) This movie is about James Braddock, not Max Baer. The filmmakers found ways to make Braddock's story more compelling because the entire success of the movie depended on it. Every movie needs an antagonist and a protagonist. Max needed to be the antagonist, plain and simple.

2) It's important to remember that Cinderella Man is "based on a true story." But what people sometimes forget is that never means the film is 100% accurate. Based on a true story means it's based in reality, but takes dramatic license. Anything more would be a documentary, not a dramatic film.

3) Of course, the filmmakers may be guilty of neglecting a man's reputation for the sake of entertainment... and that can be called unethical... but that's the way Hollywood operates. Nobody's ever charged Hollywood with taking good care of real people's reputations, and we all know they don't. This is one example.

4) Although Max Baer was negatively portrayed (to a degree) in Cinderella Man, his life and accomplishments did receive a large boost as a result of this film. Before this film, a lot of people (me included) had no idea who Max Baer was... and would never known if not for this movie. Now, we are aware of him... who he was and what he accomplished. And that's positive. We also know that the real Max Baer was not as heartless as he was portrayed in the movie. Thus, the net result projects Max Baer's legacy in the positive.

I'm not bashing people who take issue with the difference of Baer's on-screen representation. I'm just trying to put it in perspective, as how I see it, as to why too many people have pushed this issue way beyond where it should be.

As a boxing fan the inaccurate portrayal of Baer was just a massive distraction in the film.

Making him out to be some kind of simple boogeyman monster type character I felt was cheap. A very Hollywood thing to do, everything's black and white, good and evil.

I feel that rather than adding anything to the film it just served to simplify it. He could have had the whole killer thing playing on Mae's mind without making Max out to be some kind of c`unt.


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Anyone who feels Max Baer was portrayed unfairly should be glad that the movie didn't show the real way Baer killed Frankie Campbell in the ring.


"I told you it was off." The Jackal

This is not a James Bond movie, where villain has to be cruel and undefeatable. Cinderella Man is about a man who became world champion during difficult times and against all odds, not about someone who went into the ring hoping not to be killed.




Yeah, well, that's just, like, your opinion, man..."

Baer was portrayed in this manner because Ron Howard was lazy in his research and showed a lack of integrity in seeing that Baer was accurately represented. The Braddock story was a great one and no one needed to fudge things to make it seem so. Artificial villainy need not have been invented.

If Howard's story telling skills are that fragile then he should get another profession. If he is that lazy or wants to play games with history than at least give the characters phony names. Sure Hollywood often fools around with the truth, but that should not result in an actual person being smeared and maligned.

Baer was a fine fighter with perhaps the greatest right hand punch in history. He might have had an historic career as the heavyweight champ, but Max was more playboy that fighter and certainly no bully. Max's great fault as a fighter, and the basic reason he lost this bout, was his lack of dedication to training, and an ambition more toward acting than boxing.

In the recently released movie about Jackie Robinson, we again see this lack of integrity being displayed, as pertains to a pitcher being accused of deliberately trying to hit Jackie with a pitch. To be accused of racism, particularly in today's climate, is a powerful thing, and especially repugnant, when it does not happen to be true.

Fortunately the daughter of the man in question has come forward to dispute it with documentation and support of historians. But imagine if such a charge was not disputed. And even so, which do you think will gain the most notice, a successful movie, or a few newspaper articles depicting the truth.