Jake Gyllenhaal stars as troubled boxer Billy Hope in this high-stakes drama from director Antoine Fuqua and Sons of Anarachy creator Kurt Sutter. At the height of his fame and success, Hope is convinced by his loving wife Maureen (Rachel McAdams) to retire from the sport in order to spend more time with the couple's daughter Leila (Oona Laurence). On the night of his retirement announcement, a rival boxer calls out Hope and an altercation breaks out, killing Maureen. Hope's self-destructive behavior worsens, and Leila is taken away by child services. In order to redeem his life and get his daughter back, Hope must return to boxing under the tutelage of hardened trainer Titus "Tick" Willis (Forest Whitaker). ~ Daniel Gelb, Rovi
Director: Antoine Fuqua
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Forest
Whitaker, Rachel McAdams, Curtis Jackson, Rita Ora
Release Date: Jul
24, 2015
Rated: R for some Violence and Language Throughout
Runtime: 2 hr. 3 min.
Genres: Action/Adventure, Drama, Suspense/Thriller
Review:
Southpaw can best be described as reverse Rocky. Billy Hopes riches to rags to riches never
really feels fresh just predictable.
Antoine Fuqua’s film mines better boxing films for material so the films
plot feels inevitable instead of engaging.
Thankfully Jake Gyllenhaal delivers an engaging performance that carries
the film on multiple levels. His body is
transformed into a believable junior middle weight boxer and the boxing
sequences are some of the most realistic ever put on screen. His intensity is ever present and makes the
entire thing watch able. Forest Whitaker
joins the film about halfway through its runtime and it’s all the better for
it. Gyllenhaal and Whitaker make for an interesting
pair even as the film rolls towards a predictable finale. Southpaw isn’t the worse or best boxing film
I’ve ever seen but it’s a solid mid range melodrama.
B-
hmmm fair enough. will definitely rent
ReplyDeleteA worthwhile film, Gyllenhaal alone is worth your time.
DeleteGlad to hear that the boxing was realistic, I was wondering what you would make of it!
ReplyDeleteAgree with you across the board on this one, the cast was excellent but everything else was a bit generic.
A very good cinema watch though
K :-)
Yeah I enjoyed it even thought it's about as predictable as can be.
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ReplyDeleteI enjoyed that it wasn't just another fight movie. I enjoyed watching the fights that were in the movie. I didn't enjoy 50 Cent though he was perfectly type cast in the role he was playing. It was very clear he was not up to par with the rest of the actors in this movie though. But thankfully he's in and out.
ReplyDeleteAgreed about 50 Cent, kind of takes you out of the movie.
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