Southpaw (2015)

Warning: Before the review begins, I would like to admit that I love boxing movies. If you feel that this will skew the review, please stop reading.

Southpaw is enjoyable to watch. While unfocused it is elevated by the actors performances.

Southpaw tells the story of Billy "The Great" Hope (Played by Jake Gyllenhaal), an undefeated prize fighter and his life post the death of his wife Maureen (Rachel McAdams). It primarily focuses on his boxing career and his relationship with his daughter Leila (Oona Laurence).

In many ways this is a by the books boxing movie. By that I mean it is about breaking someone down and then building them back up. This film manages to achieve this goal well.

The boxing is choreographed well, feeling authentic despite a couple of times when it was apparent punches were pulled. This could be thanks to Victor Ortiz, who utilised his boxing skills to aid director Antoine Fuqua with choreography.

The performances are what made this movie rise above the average boxing movie.

As this movie focuses of Gyllenhaals Billy Hope, it is great that such a talented actor took on the role. He fully embraced the role, which made following his less than articulate character very easy. I felt every emotion that Hope was feeling.

The secondary characters also fill their roles will. Rachel McAdams has a great chemistry with Jake Gyllenhaal. When Oona Laurences Leila is added to the mix, it feels like watching a loving family.

Hopes support team is more of a mixed bag. Tick Willis (Forest Whitaker) is a well played character who does a great job of shaping Hope into the fighter he is at the end of the film. He also has good support from his friend Mikey (Dominic Colon).

Weak characters were also presents, especially Jordan Mains (Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson). While I was not the biggest fan of his character, I can see how much better Jacksons performance is compared to his previous work. Another weak role was Miguel "Magic" Escobar (Miguel Gomez), however that is because he need more time to be developed on screen.

There are not plot twists in this movie, which serves it well due to a lack of overcrowding. Antoine Fuquas direction manages to hit all of the beats well, however there are some secondary stories that could have been left out to make a tighter movie.

The cinematography was good, but it wasn't special.

Southpaw is a true boxing movie, which I personally believe is a great thing.

Number of times I looked at my watch: Zero

Recommendation: This is a must watch for boxing movie fans. For the remainder of audiences, it is a movie that while enjoyable in cinemas, could just be bought on Blu-Ray.

I hope you enjoyed this review, please let me know what other movies you would like me to review.

Have a great day. Looking forward to your feedback.