Gyllenhaal is Wonderful, the Script not so much...

Rating: 8/10 (17 December 2018)

I really can't say enough about Gyllenhaal in this film. His Billy is possibly his career performance and he gives a deeply committed layered performance. Gyllenhaal is raw, emotional, and trans-formative. The film is very much worth seeing just to see him. Billy manages to feel like the archetypal boxer while coming off as a three dimensional person in the process. Gyllenhaal also manages to do the boxer mumble while be understandable. I just loved Gyllenhaal in this.
Sadly, much of the rest of the film doesn't stand up nearly as well. The script is good but highly predictable. (I was able to say lines before they happened). The story is overcooked and goes too dark in places. Hops' fate was hugely overwrought. Too much of the time this story feels depressing for the sake of depression. It is engaging but a shadow of what could have been.
The fights are good but not as engaging as lot of other boxing movies. There was too much subjective POV camera work in the fights and the editing rhythm doesn't seem to build right.
This is a good film but it is no Creed.