Same old

Rating: 4/10 (6 March 2018)

SOUTHPAW is another same old-same old boxing drama about a boxing champion going through personal tragedy, losing it all, and then having to train to get back to the top again. You've seen this kind of gritty tale play out loads of times before in the likes of RAGING BULL and the ROCKY franchise, and I found this was a rather inferior version of the story: full of cliches and bad language, but with little wit or heart. A near-unrecognisable Jake Gyllenhaal plays the unsympathetic lead and doesn't really do much with it, although he's in good physical shape. Rachel McAdams is my favourite part of the film and appears in a crucial role early on. Forest Whitaker shows up late on as a trainer but only gets to go through the motions which is a pity. The running time is overlong and the character drama is a bit overwrought, with a lot of flaws throughout preventing it from really zinging; the actress playing Gyllenhaal's daughter is another misstep as she's totally cold. Antoine Fuqua has directed other films very well but he's merely middling here and the boxing scenes lack dynamism.