It's a tale as old as Wallace Berry's The Champ, the story of a prizefighter who falls from grace and seeks a shot at redemption. Jake Gyllenhaal is the latest in a long line of actors to step into the ring for a boxing movie, and his turn in Southpaw is a forceful, though at times sluggish, two hours of drama. Director Antoine Fuqua (Training Day) has clearly put a lot of care into the fictional story of Junior Middleweight Champion Billy "The Great" Hope, even if Kurt Sutter (Sons of Anarchy) and Richard Wenk's (The Mechanic) script rarely deviates from the comeback formula.
As the film begins, Billy Hope (Gyllenhaal) demolishes another boxing opponent, thus maintaining his record-breaking title. But his headstrong wife Maureen (Rachel McAdams) worries that if Billy keeps fighting the way he does he'll sustain severe, irreparable brain damage. Very quickly, we see that Billy's greatest weakness is his defiance and reckless behavior, which he'll need to overcome both in and out of the ring.
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As the film begins, Billy Hope (Gyllenhaal) demolishes another boxing opponent, thus maintaining his record-breaking title. But his headstrong wife Maureen (Rachel McAdams) worries that if Billy keeps fighting the way he does he'll sustain severe, irreparable brain damage. Very quickly, we see that Billy's greatest weakness is his defiance and reckless behavior, which he'll need to overcome both in and out of the ring.
Continue reading…
Continue reading...