Crowd-pleasing, by-the-numbers boxer flick that is buoyed by a physically transformative and fire-in-the-belly transfixing turn by Gyllenhaal

Rating: 8/10 (8 August 2015)

SOUTHPAW (2015) *** Jake Gyllenhaal, Rachel McAdams, Forest Whitaker, Oona Laurence, Curtis Jackson, Skylan Brooks, Naomie Harris, Victor Ortiz. By-the-numbers boxer flick that is buoyed by a physically transformative and fire-in-the-belly transfixing turn by Gyllenhaal as a prize-fighter on the ropes who goes from riches to rags after a personal tragedy shatters his family, leading to a far-too-good-to-believe downward spiral resulting in losing everything, with only the potential to gain full custody of his only child (Laurence a very good young actress; the heart of the film) in spite of the odds. While the pedestrian script by Kurt Sutter echoes everything from both versions of THE CHAMP to ROCKY to THE FIGHTER it is the well-produced direction by Antoine Fuqua and his star's mojo that matters and puts up instead of shuts up for a crowd-pleaser none-the-less.