​FILMS

southpaw

2015 review number 105:

Southpaw: (Drama/Action): 78 out of 100: If you are a fan of boxing movies that are filled with clichés, you're going to appreciate this one highlighted by a superb performance by Jake Gyllenhaal. You'll know how everything will turn out in the end but in a way, it's like comfort food. It's something you know you can turn to, and you won't be left disappointed.

 

Gyllenhaal (Billy Hope) is reigning light heavyweight champ in four different boxing organisations. He has a 43-0 record. He is married to childhood sweetheart, Maureen (Rachel McAdams) and they have a young daughter, Leila (Oona Laurence). After another win, this time at the Madison Square Garden in New York, Maureen pleads with her husband to quit. She is wary of people like Billy's boxing promoter Jordan Mains (Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson) who she feels will neglect him once he is not the superior fighter he is now. Tragedy strikes not long after, leaving Billy in a downward spiral where he must seek redemption to save himself and his family. 

 

Gyllenhaal owns this movie. He looks and acts like a fighter who comes from the wrong side of the tracks. His physique is incredible and it's obvious that he has put a lot of work into developing his appearance and perfecting his fighting skills. He has become a dependable character actor and it won't be long before his work is recognised by the Academy. Everyone else, although efficient in their roles, pales in comparison to Gyllenhaal. Whitaker plays Billy's trainer, Tick Wills, and he demonstrates his acting prowess without being brilliant. McAdams shares some tender scenes with Gyllenhaal while Laurence is another one of those child stars who seems to roll off the Hollywood assembly line. Hope's main fighting competitor is Miguel 'Magic' Escobar (Miguel Gomez) and he's your typical enemy that has been featured in countless boxing movies from Rocky to The Fighter.

 

Some of the dramatic scenes are overwrought with melodrama and they are not as interesting as the action scenes. You do have to question why some characters' motives and opinions change so quickly. The best sequences involve the bouts in Madison Square Garden and Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, for the atmosphere generated is electric. The editing during these fighting exchanges is expertly handled.

 

Antoine Fuqua, the director also known for Training Day and The Equalizer, seems more adept at filming the action scenes for the dramatic scenes feature a few too many close-ups to highlight the melodrama. Looking at his filmography, his expertise lies in the action genre.

 

It must be noted that James Horner has scored this movie. This is one of the last movies he wrote the music for before his untimely death in a plane crash last month. It's not one of his most memorable efforts though. Serviceable is the word to describe the score and you could even say that it's also a cliche to how the music sounds during the melodramatic and action scenes.

 

Southpaw is predictable though highly entertaining. Sometimes the plots that you are familiar with bring the satisfaction and enjoyment you crave when seeing a movie. A dynamic central performance, in this case by Gyllenhaal, helps elevate a movie to greater status.

 

Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Forest Whitaker, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, Naomie Harris and Rachel McAdams

(123 minutes)

Parental advice: Coarse language, violence and adult themes

Additional scene during or after credits: No

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mh2ebPxhoLs (Movie trailer)

(Reviewed on Thursday 23rd July, 2015)

 

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