Official Trailer
Our Review
- Brian Tyree Henry, Ryan Destiny, De'Adre Aziza
- February 7th 2025
- 109
- Rachel Morrison
Ryan Destiny plays Claressa ‘T-Rex’ Shields, one of the greatest female boxers of all time, in this sports biopic.
The Fire Inside seems like it’s going to be a conventional sports biopic at first – but then it takes you to a place you wouldn’t expect.
Rachel Morrison’s directorial debut stars Ryan Destiny as Claressa ‘T-Rex’ Shields, one of the greatest female boxers of all time.
The film charts her origin story, from her humble beginnings as a teenager in Flint, Michigan to her history-making wins at the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympics.
Sports biopics typically end with the climactic win, but Shields’s success at the first Olympics happens in the middle of the film. This is a refreshing change as the story felt rather average and formulaic up until that point.
However, the post-win story is really surprising and interesting. Being the first American woman to win gold in boxing, you’d expect Shields to be showered in sponsorships and endorsements and raking in the cash. But nothing changes and she’s in...
