Gyllenhaal's performance makes up for a clichÃ© plot

Rating: 8/10 (27 July 2015)

"Southpaw" is new in theaters this weekend, and for the film Jake Gylenhaall transformed his body to accurately resemble a light heavyweight boxing champ. His acting chops have brought him acclaim in recent years, and he once again scores a knockout.
Based as a metaphor on the rise, fall and resurrection of rapper Eminem's career, we see Jake's boxer endure a family tragedy and have to rebuild his life and boxing stardom from scratch. The movie starts (unlike most boxing movies) at the top of Billy Hope's career. When his wife is shot and killed.Billy's world doesn't just collapses, it implodes, as in no longer exists, when he's provoked into a fight by a rival and his wife (Rachel McAdams) is killed by a stray bullet. Billy, right on schedule,loses his fortune to a crooked manager (Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson), his home and custody of his 10-year-old daughter, Leila. As you can imagine this would cause lots of pain and suffering to a person, and this is where Jake Gyllenhaal shines the brightest. Jake Gyllenhaal delivers a knockout performance, he is so convincing, that the audience can actually feel his pain while watching the film. Forest Whitaker, 50 cent, and Rachel McAdams all deliver strong performances.
"Southpaw" enters the long filmography of boxing flicks, and puts up a surprisingly good fight.