I love this movie.

It's a great movie in so many ways. First of all, it's great TECHNICALLY. The editing & the cinematography & the music & the acting & the sound production are all groundbreaking. Secondly, the BALLS it took to make this movie. The fact that they were willing to make the protagonist so unlikable is unprecedented. Which brings up Thirdly. You have to get over Jake being so unlikable (I know it's hard because that's what we've all been spoonfed by Hollywood since Day One). But if you can get to a point where you can see Jake as a product of his environment instead of just some a-hole then you'll feel sorry for him & maybe even identify with him. And you'll be rewarded in a way that you've never been rewarded from a movie. The same force that made him a champion (and made him beloved) is the same force that destroyed him & those around him (and made him hated).