Paramount Pictures has unveiled the new trailer for David O. Russell’s The Fighter starring Mark Whalberg, Christian Bale and Amy Adams. The trailer debuted on AMC last night during the season finale of Mad Men, a mere month after the teaser trailer first pounded its way online back in September. This new trailer, however, contains a certain edge that I felt was lacking in the teaser, which more or less did little to differentiate Russell’s film from other “inspiring” boxer epics such as Ron Howard’s Cinderella Man. What’s more, both Bale’s and Adams’ roles are played up significantly more here than they were in the teaser, giving the film a more ensemble-ish quality.

The Fighter tells the true life tale of boxer Micky Ward, his rise to fame and the troubling relationship he carried with his half-brother Dickie Eklund, a boxer himself until an addiction to drugs halted his career. After a stint in prison, Eklund emerged as Ward’s boxing coach and together the two of them made a run at the boxing crown.  Hit the jump to see the trailer.

I’ve been looking forward to this one way back when Darren Aronofsky was attached to direct and was thrilled when Russell jumped on board (no disrespect to Aronofsky of course) having been a huge fan of Three Kings and the tragically underrated I Heart Huckabees. To tell you the truth, I thought the first trailer was okay, but a little hokey – the film looked more like a sequel to Whalberg’s Invincible and less like the “Irish” boxing drama I was looking forward to.

However, this new trailer displays a grittier look and feel, not to mention what looks like a terrific supporting turn from Bale, giving me reason to believe The Fighter will be an enormously successful venture come Oscar time. What do you think? Does this trailer measure up to your expectations?