Sydney Sweeney’s ‘Oscar bait’ boxing film Christy slammed by critics

Sydney Sweeney’s latest movie, Christy, has been slammed by critics who have dubbed it ‘cliché’.

The film follows the former professional boxer Christy Martin, played by Sydney Sweeney, who famously gained 30lbs for the role.

Directed by David Michôd and written by Michôd and Mirrah Foulkes, the film follows Christy’s rise to becoming the most well-known female boxer in the 1990s.

The film also touches on the darker elements of her life, including domestic abuse, and later her husband’s attempt to murder her in 2010.

The film, starring the Euphoria alum, debuted at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival on September 5, with reviews still being released ahead of its theatrical release in November.

While some reviews have been positive about Sweeney’s performance, others have poked holes in the film, suggesting that it lacks substance and was clear ‘oscar bait’.

The film earned a 71% ranking on Rotten Tomatoes, with reviews suggesting the film was a shameless attempt to nab an Academy Award.

‘Sydney Sweeney’s Oscar Bait swing is a big miss,’ said Kristy Puchko for Mashable.

Louis Roberts argued for Loud and Clear: ‘Sydney Sweeney transforms into a boxing pioneer in David Michôd’s Christy, a real-life drama shamelessly engineered to attract Academy attention.’

Others pointed out the flaws in the filmmaking, suggesting it lacked substance.

‘A film that remains stubbornly unaffecting. While Sweeney deserves credit for her physical transformation, I wish I had found Christy a little more interesting, with more spark of her own,’ said David Rooney for The Hollywood Reporter.

‘Christy Martin’s life was filled with devastating blows but in her biopic, we barely feel the impact,’ said Benjamin Lee for The Guardian. ‘Sydney Sweeney fights a losing battle in cliched boxing biopic.’

Calum Cooper said for In Their Own League: ‘Sadly, between the tonal imbalance, the reliance on cliches, and the hit-and-miss nature of the acting, it’s a film that swings for the thematic fence but whiffs.’

The Times, however, called it a ‘proper movie’ in their review, praising Sweeney’s performance.

‘Sweeney carries all this with casual aplomb. Her Christy is a tricky creation, guileless and childlike on the outside, quick to beam with pride in the ring, yet also revealing, in sudden flashes of resentment, a subterranean torrent of repressed rage.’

Similarly, most praise for the film has been aimed at Sweeney, rather than the story of the film.

Doug Jamieson commented for The Jam Report: ‘Elevated by Sydney Sweeney’s deeply committed and often powerful performance, it’s a conventional, formulaic biopic that rarely rises to the daring of its subject.’

‘The film by David Michôd is a tough watch, but Sweeney’s acting fire burns ever brighter,’ said Peter Howell for the Toronto Star.

For the BBC, Caryn James argued: ‘Sydney Sweeney’s dramatic transformation can’t fix ‘clichéd’ boxing biopic.’

Speaking about her physical transformation for the role, Sweeney said on a panel attended by Deadline that she enjoyed gaining the weight for the role.

‘I absolutely loved it,’ Sweeney said. ‘I truly felt Christy’s power as I transformed.

‘And I really enjoyed being able to train and work with incredible boxing coaches and weight trainers and nutritionists that helped me get to the place that I was for Christy.’

Christy is out in cinemas on November 7.

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