DVD Review: Southpaw

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Sometimes you just know.

I almost went to see Southpaw in theaters a few different times, but I never did. Something always stopped me. After getting it from Netflix, I can see why. The movie itself is just "fine." Nothing more.

Billy Hope (Jake Gyllenhaal) is a boxer who in the prime of his career suffers a massive tragedy when his wife, Maureen (Rachel McAdams) is accidentally shot by someone in a rival boxers' entourage and killed. He goes off the deep end, loses his house, his friends, and worst of all, his daughter, Leila (Oona Laurence) He seeks the help of a coach, Tick Wills (Forest Whitaker) to get back on track.

There's nothing I dislike about Southpaw, but there's nothing I love either. Gyllenhaal is a great lead, and it's nice to see him in shape after that creepy  look he had in Nightcrawler, and Oona Laurence showed incredible range for an actress so young. The film itself dissolves into cliche after cliche and has a very predictable, though happy ending. It followed a simple formula and never strayed from it. The most interesting thing about this film for me was finding out Eminem was originally supposed to play Billy Hope.

Recommended: No, unless you are a big Gyllenhaal fan, then see it for him.

Grade: C

Memorable Quote: "You can't control shit." - Tick Wills (Forest Whitaker) 

Comments

  1. MyerlaDecember 27, 2015 at 12:14 PM

    You pretty much echo my thoughts, great performances from the two players but somewhat of a clichéd story

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamDecember 28, 2015 at 7:28 AM

      I think I audibly groaned when Leila yelled "It should've been you that died!" at Billy.

      Delete
  2. BirgitDecember 27, 2015 at 6:43 PM

    I have no desire to see it and Jake looks like he ate too many steroids

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamDecember 28, 2015 at 7:28 AM

      lol as opposed to Nightcrawler where it looks like he ate nothing.

      Delete
  3. s.December 28, 2015 at 2:15 AM

    I thought it was very average and dragged Gyllenhaal's performance down but the final fight and McAdams' performance were awesome

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamDecember 28, 2015 at 7:27 AM

      They were good. McAdam's was better in Spotlight and True Detective then she was here, IMO. The daughter did a really good job though.

      Delete
  4. rhysgdruryDecember 30, 2015 at 10:31 PM

    Damn, I think I liked this a little more than you did. Then again, I do really like Gyllenhaal as an actor. Great review :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamDecember 30, 2015 at 10:37 PM

      I love me some Gyllenhaal. I raged when he did not get an Oscar nom for Nightcrawler.

      Delete
  5. Kgothatjo MagolegoJanuary 8, 2016 at 9:57 PM

    Great, concise review. I felt the same way when I reviewed this film. It left me wanting more but I couldn't really fault what it had given me. It would be interesting to see Eminem acting. I liked his acting in 8 Mile.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamJanuary 9, 2016 at 6:45 AM

      I did too. 8 Mile is a very well done movie, I would've still watched this if it was him starring.

      Delete
  6. JoshFebruary 3, 2016 at 4:56 AM

    I agree it's fine, but I'd give it a weak B. Still, it's pretty forgettable in the scope of last year's films.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamFebruary 3, 2016 at 7:01 AM

      Definitely. It's funny to think people were saying Oscar buzz would follow this film.

      Delete
  7. Great data for Movers in San Antonio informationJune 6, 2016 at 4:39 AM

    This is my kind of movie... My husband complained about it when he saw what it was about saying "another boxing movie that's been done a million times." He really liked it too. We watched it twice, and enjoyed it both times.

    ReplyDelete

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