Just perfect...

How wonderful it is to see this fine actress carry a film and carry it so beautifully.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

A champion boxer fights to get his daughter back from child protective services as well as revive his professional career, after a fatal incident sends him on a rampant path of destruction. Southpaw benefits from Jake Gyllenhaal's perfomance which was suprisingly very good and he was trained both for the part but also for the boxer role pretty damn well, Forest Whitaker was also very good but Rachel McAdams role was disappointing. The film has some very good boxing fights but it's very melodramatic to the point where it hurts the movie as a whole i mean Rocky has pretty much lost everyone and he doesn't act like that right? Southpaw is watchable but it's no Creed guys. (7.0/10)

Lets be honest, there are a number of boxing movies preceeding this one. The entire Rocky series for instance. Because of that, I see that alot of the reviews are touting that this movie feels formulaic. I would agree insofar as there are some cool montage scenes meant to get the viewer fired up. However, the difference here is that the music is much more modern as opposed to 'Eye of the Tiger'. Outside of that, I was thoroughly impressed by the directing and action scenes.Speaking about the movie as a whole, I was completely floored. McAdams' death was so traumatic that I literally had to stop watching for a few minutes. It is impossible not to feel heartbroken at the grief and anguish Gyllenhaal carries afterwards. As his life is turned upside down, the viewer is left to contemplate how they themselves would cope with the emotional turmoil of having their loved ones violently taken from them. His subsequent self destruction is a fear at the core of every human that has suffered the loss of a bond as strong as love.Whether you're a boxing fan or not, you will enjoy this movie. Its message reminds us all that no matter what happens, we need to keep fighting for ourselves and our loved ones. For me, Billy Hope has become a new icon of perseverance. Don't be surprised if you find yourself yelling at the TV or physically reacting to certain scenes.That all having been said. the reason that this movie gets an 8 and not higher is very simple.. McAdams' death was unnecessary. Dont get me wrong, the whole movie is centrifugal around this particular plot development. However, if you review the movie chronologically, you will see that Escobar wanted to fight Hope and the feeling was mutual prior to the ensuing tragedy. 50 Cent (Curtis Jackson) turns down the fight which eventually leads to an altercation wherein Escobar is taunting Hope. All of this makes sense, however the part where Billy's wife gets shot in the altercation does not. Was it intentional? Was it an accident? Was 50 cent in on it? We never even really find out what happens to the shooter. As twisted as it sounds, the movie would be even more compelling if the death was targeted. Given the impact it has on the movie, more details surrounding the reason and aftermath of McAdams' death would have provided more closure.

I like boxing movies. I'm almost a sucker for them. Cinderella Man, Rocky 3, Creed, and on and on. I do like the hardworking underdog/redemption story theme, and a well-choreographed match.And these fight sequences are okay, plus Gyllenhaal clearly got in shape for them.BUT he SO overacts, and the character is SO obnoxious, that it just isn't that fun to watch.Whether scripted or not, you feel like Gyllenhaal is ad-libbing a constant patter of nonsense babble in many scenes. We're supposed to care a lot that he loses his great wife, and his daughter is taken away from him. But BOTH happen because HE DOES NOT LISTEN, and he never really confronts that killing flaw.Even in the courtroom scene, when the judge is informing him what's going to happen, Gyllenhaal (I can't feel it's the character) is mugging and clowning and yapping at his daughter across the room, clearly not taking the trial or the judge seriously -- and so, predictably, when the sentence is finished, he says "What?" Yeah, Enstein: what she said while you were acting like a dimwitted toddler.What arc there is feels jerky and lacks credibility. He's an idiot, he's an idiot, he's an idiot...oh, okay, now he's really going to train for this fight. Well, great, so I guess everything's all fixed now. And if he can beat that other fighter, he'll be a fit father. Great.It left me more irritated than entertained, and not in any good way.I gave it a 5 because the fight sequences are decent, and the little girl who plays the daughter (Oona Laurence) is one of the more consistent, empathy-provoking characters.

The movie is good, actors performance is excellent, but we have already watched excellent and even better similar movies in the past. I think that Raging bull, Million dollar baby, Cinderella man, Rocky ...etc. are much better !! I also recommend the wrestler or warrior if we want to extend the genre. If you haven't watched previous movies you will enjoy this movie, otherwise you will just find a remake or recompilation of some of the scenes of the previous mentioned movies.