Plot: After a devastating tragedy, celebrity boxer Billy Hope (Jake Gyllenhaal) must reinvent his fighting style and get back in the game if he is to reconnect with his daughter (Oona Laurence).
Southpaw does everything you might expect from a fighting film and… not much else. Despite an impressive physical performance from Gyllenhaal, it’s difficult to engage with the film’s two-dimensional characters and generic plot. This is the kind of script where you can pretty much guess every major plot point from beginning to end. That’s not to say Southpaw isn’t worthy of any praise – it’s a well shot, well edited film and the fights look legit, which may be because, in a way, they are. Gyllenhaal was really taking those punches and there’s only so much a relentless training routine can prepare a guy for taking hits like that. But Billy Hope himself isn’t a particularly likeable character and when a plot follows a path this well-trodden, it’s hard not to roll your eyes and check your watch when trudging through this summer’s fighting film. JC
Verdict:
Southpaw might be visually impressive, but its plot struggles to engage and ultimately fails to land a punch.
2/5
Screened 