Christy (2025) Film Review: Solid, if somewhat unremarkable boxing bio-drama

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Christy (2025) is a biographical sports drama written and directed by David Michôd (The King, 2019; The Rover, 2014), with contributions by his wife, Mirrah Foulkes and former child actress, turned writer, Katherine Fugate.

The film stars Sydney Sweeney, whose credits include Euphoria (2019 - 2026), The Handmaid's Tale (2018) and The White Lotus (2021), in the title role as Christy Martin, the most successful professional female boxer of the 1990s.

The movie chronicles the rise of Christy's boxing career to becoming America's most well-known icon in the ring at the time, and later her coach-turned-husband's 2010 attempted murder of her.

Sydney Sweeney stars as Christy Martin, whose fiery persona and natural boxing talent made her one of the most recognised female sporting champs of the 1990s

At the time of writing, the film has unfortunately been deemed a box-office bomb, having failed to garner audience interest and receiving generally mixed reviews from critics.

Although the movie ultimately falls victim to familiar biopic tropes and stumbles a bit in the pacing of its narrative events, Christy is an overall solid period drama, whose underdog/feminist lens will undoubtedly resonate with many viewers.

Michôd crafts a traditional biographical cinematic experience by introducing audiences to the prime subject of Christy, a young woman in her early 20s with small-town roots in West Virginia, who has no clear prospects for the direction she wants to take in her life. However, she has a firm knack for punching people, which quickly catches the attention of local boxing coach James Martin (Ben Foster), who guides her to becoming a sensational sports celebrity.

This personal narrative of one woman's rise to fame and subsequent domestic problems centering around her abusive marriage to Jim, the grapples with her sexual identity and the stigma surrounding the LGBT community at the time, and her complicated family life all make for engrossing entertainment.

There is a horrifying element to Christy's relationship with Martin, who builds her confidence and skill to fight in the ring, but harbours a creepy dark side as he becomes possessive and controlling of every aspect of her life.

Primetime Emmy Nomination Ben Foster (left) co-stars as Christy's trainer-turned-husband James Martin, whose increasingly controlling and possessive nature takes a dangerous turn later down the line

Tense moments of the couple arguing are particularly gripping as viewers wait in suspense for Jim to snap at any moment, which eventually leads to the shocking moment where he attempts to murder Christy after making numerous threats previously.

Christy's raw grit, charismatic persona and determination in the face of many obstacles make for an empowering watch to inspire many. Most of these positives largely come down to Sydney Sweeney's powerhouse performance, with the film definitely posing as a star vehicle for her to really demonstrate her acting chops. She is clearly giving it her all in every scene and is fully committed to the physical demands of the role, easily excelling in a starring role.

Ben Foster as Jim Martin also turns in a praiseworthy performance, playing one of the worst people one would hope to never come across. Even from his introductory scene, the warning signs are presented immediately, dismissing Christy as a no-go until he witnesses her natural talent with the fist. As time passes, he becomes more sadistic and menacing, culminating in his brutal attempt on her life.

The performances are largely the main hook of the film and really carry the somewhat formulaic, generic presentation and narrative structure. Despite some impactful moments, the movie does play out pretty much by the numbers and does not offer anything new or fresh regarding its filmmaking techniques or plotting.

Slow-motion fight sequences, motivational contemporary music drops, etc., are all present here and may be a turn-off for some.

Christy faces more than just injuries in the boxing ring, as her life outside of her career is turbulent with family and marriage problems

The movie is also overlong, clocking in at almost two and a half hours and not really giving any solid reason to justify its length. The pacing does suffer as a result, meandering between different key events in Christy's life and sometimes resulting in a bit of a slog during narrative downtime. This does amount to a slightly underwhelming experience overall, but it is certainly not completely unwatchable.

All in all, Christy may not be breaking any genre conventions with its safe, predictable filmmaking and seen-before plot beats; however, the film is boosted immensely by a powerful leading performance by Sydney Sweeney and a strong supporting cast.

It may not be anything mind-blowing, but it does succeed as an inspirational underdog story (especially for women to get a kick out of!).

Check out the trailer for Christy (2025) below, and please let me know your thoughts in the comments!