Predictable, Formulaic & Overly Melodramatic, Southpaw Fails To Deliver The Knockout Punch.

Rating: Null/10 (27 November 2015)

Predictable, formulaic & overly melodramatic at times, Southpaw is a cliché-ridden sports drama that may not have anything new to add to its genre but thanks to Jake Gyllenhaal's brawny performance, it manages to redeem itself to an extent and while the drama remains stale for the most part, it is able to derive some entertainment from its boxing matches.
The story of Southpaw follows an undefeated professional boxer whose life is turned upside down when his wife is shot & killed in a brawl that erupts between him & an up-and-coming boxer. The devastating incident leads him on the path of self-destruction but when he loses the custody of his daughter because of that, he decides to get his life back on track again.
Directed by Antoine Fuqua, Southpaw is that same tale of redemption we have seen before so many times and the drama itself is pretty weak to hold everything together. Kurt Sutter's screenplay is filled with terrible dialogues that get annoying real quick and it's only after the turning set of events that the movie is able to find some sort of soberness in both its plot & characters.
The boxing bouts are able to grab the viewers' attention, camera-work is all over the place & not every attempted technique works out, especially that point-of-view shot in the matches. Editing could've trimmed down a lot more for its 121 minutes of runtime is excessive for the story it tries to tell. And last but not the least, James Horner's score doesn't really uplift the whole experience by any means.
Coming to the acting department, Southpaw features a fine cast in Jake Gyllenhaal, Rachel McAdams, Forest Whitaker, Naomie Harris, Oona Lawrence & 50 Cent, with only Gyllenhaal & Whitaker truly committed to their roles. Gyllenhaal gives his all when he is in the ring and carries the film on his own for the most part. Whitaker supports him nicely with an assured performance while the rest are more or less forgettable.
On an overall scale, Southpaw tries to present itself as a gripping tale of redemption but it doesn't do anything different to separate its tale from the already existing crowd. Even the final fight this movie was building up throughout its runtime isn't as rewarding as expected but it nonetheless allows the story to conclude on a respectable note, if not a memorable one. A moderately entertaining flick, Southpaw fails to deliver the knockout punch.