Christy (2025) review - Sydney Sweeney beats the average biopic by unanimous decision

We first see Christy Martin as a teenager standing sheepishly in the corner of the boxing ring, facing her opponent. The woman she is fighting is raring to go and much bigger than the West Virginian boxer.

What follows ended up being a constant in the life of Christy, her fist meeting the face of a poor opponent who, usually, ends up on the floor unconscious.

She is often cited as one of the pioneers of female boxing. Her credentials speak for themselves. She was the Lightweight Champion of the world, she was the first female boxer on the cover of Sports Illustrated and was even signed to Don King.

As someone who is tapped into the sporting world, I am amazed I had never heard of her. She is a true great.

Her boxing career in itself is worthy of being transformed into a film. If only her life had been that simple. Unfortunately for Christy, her life wasn’t all just triumph. It was one of heartbreak, being suppressed and unbelievable determination and defiance in the face of it all. As true fighters do.

Her bouts didn’t just come in the ring. Her hardest battles were against her trainer and husband of 19 years, Jim (A dastardly Ben Foster). In the interest of not spoiling the film, I won’t get into the nitty-gritty details, so let’s just say the marriage was not one full of love, and the relationship was not pleasant. Not in the slightest.

A life full of such ups and downs is the perfect opportunity to make a true, gritty biopic, and David Michôd is more than up to the task. He retells her life with such delicacy. One minute, you’re on the edge of victory with her, and the next, it feels like you have been punched in the gut by Christy herself.

There are moments in which you feel like you are watching a Rocky movie. Nothing can wipe the smile off your face. However, it’s not long until it feels like you are watching a story conjured up in the mind of Stephan King. If only she had an Adrian by her side.

My biggest question going into Christy was whether Sydney Sweeney would be able to take that step up. She has always been someone I haven’t been able to put my finger on. Her career is very paradoxical. One minute she will deliver a line with such quality, and the next as if she has never acted before. She has always been impossible to place in my mind.

I am happy to report that she has stepped it up. Those questions have been put to bed. Her career is paradoxical no more.

Sweeney transforms in this role. She embodies Christy. You forget after a while it is even her, which has been one of my biggest critiques of her for a while. Naturally, her body transformation helped, but it is so much more than that. Although that was very impressive.

Near the start of the film, as we see Christy start learning her trade, she would do this smile after she won a fight. Not just a happy smile, but one full of surprise and pure joy. It’s such a minute detail, but it stood out every time. That childlike smile drew me into her character completely. It makes it all the more heartbreaking when the film takes a sour turn.

Though if I had a pound for every time I left a biopic saying ‘good lead performance, average movie’, I could probably fund an average biopic release of that money alone. Just ask Timothee Chalament and Rami Malek.

I’m happy to concede my feelings may be influenced by watching it at the London Film Festival, but I left the film feeling completely in awe. Christy really feels like a cut above the rest.

It just does everything right. Not just right, but brilliantly. There are many pitfalls they could have easily fallen into, but Michôd ducks and weaves out of each one.

She could have been painted as a victim, but instead, I left inspired by her story. Her personality remains true throughout the 135-minute run time. No matter how bad things may have gotten for her, she remains the same strong-minded and defiant woman she is.

What I appreciate the most is that we actually see her box. She was not a victim. She was a boxer. An incredible one at that. The amount of times you watch a biopic and barely see them do what they are known for is baffling. I’m talking about you, The Smashing Machine.

Instead, we get to see her succeed. We see why she was such a vicious competitor. We get a true sense of how dominant she was.

These things may seem simple, but getting the basics wrong is what usually lets all the other biopics down.

It’s a lot to take in. Very shocking at times, and will leave you speechless at others. I left the cinema having been brought to tears again. That needs to stop. It’s happening too much recently. More than anything, it is an inspirational story with all the qualities a great film needs.

Christy beats the biopic curse by unanimous decision. It brings her record to 50 wins and seven losses, adding one more impressive notch on an already illustrious career.