A Triumph against the Odds!

Rating: 9/10 (26 July 2015)

The portrayal of a modern day tragic hero who rises from the ashes in almost Herculean fashion could not have been better enacted than by Jake Gylenhaal. Jake remains one of the most remarkable actors of our time, the contrast could not have been bigger between his last performance in 'Nightcrawler',where he portrays a smart and cunning freelance reporter to now being 'Billy Hope', an enigmatic and obnoxious boxing champion who falls from grace, only to discover the true meaning of life. This ability to adapt so well and become the epitome of the character places Jake Gylenhaal in a league of the elite great actors. This movie 'Southpaw' depicts a favourite Hollywood theme, the fall and rise of a sporting great, this movie is 'Rocky' and 'Raging Bull' rolled into one and a few others. However it works, everything is bang on and hits the right buttons even though we know what is going to happen, we still anticipate and cheer on the fallen hero to redeem himself. Antoine Fuqua tries nothing new and doesn't even pretend to be original but he delivers an old fashioned movie about triumph which is so highly rated despite it being so unoriginal, that this is the real 'triumph' for all involved. This film is to fans of the great sporting movies what 'John Wick' was to action movie lovers, and that is being a throwback, a no nonsense tribute to what classic cinema is made of and why we loved movies in the first place. @zulfmanauthor