Southpaw

 

I know absolutely nothing about boxing and I have zero interest in learning but I do find sports films surprisingly entertaining and, on occasion, down right emotional.  I still haven’t recovered from the devastation of Friday Night Lights.  Southpaw could have focused on any sport and I would have gone to see the film with the same expectations.

Jake Gyllenhaal was the main draw and it is never a chore to sit through his films.  Despite rumblings of middling reviews my expectations for Southpaw were quite high as it had the potential to be the surprise hit of the summer.

PLOT:  After the death of his wife Maureen (Rachel McAdams) and his child is taken into care, former boxing superstar Billy Hope (Jake Gyllenhaal) tries to turn his life around.  Before you can say Motivational Montage Billy is given the opportunity of a lifetime to fight his former adversary in a life changing match in Vegas. END PLOT

The plot of Southpaw isn’t anything new or spectacular and follows every single beat one would expect to find in a sports movie - Billy has it all, falls from grace then rises like a Phoenix from the ashes in a tense finale.  This isn’t necessarily a complaint as the script is always engaging.  It’s just unfortunate that it isn’t capable of offering anything new to the genre.

As the plot doesn’t contain any real surprises Southpaw relies on the performances of the cast to see it through. Jake Gyllenhaal gives another strong performance and I thank him for looking good shirtless.  Gyllenhaal is an excellent actor but Southpaw merely confirms what we all know rather than being his opportunity to make it to the big league aka the best male actor categories.  His time will come.

Forest Whitaker, as Billy’s new trainer, puts in all the efforts required to earn an obviously sought after best supporting actor nod and relative newcomer Oona Laurence is excellent as Billy’s young daughter.  Child performances can be hit or miss but Laurence’s ability to act made the father/daughter moments stand out and create the films key emotional moments.  Rachel McAdams also pops up in a small but memorable role as Billy’s wife Maureen. 

I have no idea how authentic the boxing scenes were but to an untrained eye they were always entertaining.  The sweaty toned torsos added to the spectacle quite nicely.  I was appropriately stressed during the final round of the boxing match so the action can be considered a job well done.

Southpaw was a thoroughly entertaining film despite its lack of originality.  It gets 7/10.  I can’t imagine it becoming an early runner for any major awards nominations and I very much doubt that the soundtrack will be making an appearance on my ipod but in terms of a good time at the cinema it served its purpose very well.

Taken 3

 

It is an unofficial law in this era of cinema that any successful standalone film must be turned into a franchise.  Taken is one of these films and although Taken 2 was a dull, pedestrian affair, I was still interested in Taken 3.    

PLOT:  Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) is back in America but still being ignored by his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) and strung along by his ex-wife Lenore (Famke Janssen).   After being framed for the murder of said ex-wife Mills goes on the run and hunts down the killers before his daughter is taken x3.  END PLOT

 

The Taken films are not known for intricate plots and twists.  I have no issue with this and anyone who goes along to a Taken film expecting such a thing is either a fool or lying.  The plot for Taken 3 is basic although there were attempts to introduce drama with an unplanned pregnancy and never ending conversations about the temperature of bagels.  The script was never the selling point of Taken 3; it was always going to be about the action.

Unfortunately the action isn’t anything to get excited about and the big set pieces involve several car chases which appear to cause no casualties.  The hand-to-hand combat which made the original Taken so impressive is a thing of the past.  Despite the action being completely unoriginal it is fairly well executed and I admit that the Porsche vs Plane section did create a fleeting moment of tension.

 

Quite a lot of my forgiveness of the Taken franchise comes from my loyalty to Liam Neeson.  I absolutely love how Neeson’s Brian Mills captures cranky Norn Iron irritation to perfection.  It is great fun to watch if you don’t take the film too seriously.

I have quite a lot of time for Maggie Grace who deserves to be a bigger star than what she is.  Taken 3 is the first time that Grace doesn’t feel too old to play Kim and making the character grow up has worked in her favour.  Grace also rocks the permanently stressed up-do like a pro.

 

Forest Whitaker makes his debut as a local police force detective in an attempt to bring some acting gravitas to the franchise.  The attempt fails and Whitaker is reduced to rolling his eyes at the double act of his bumbling deputies “Smith and Garcia” and talking about bagels in an overly serious manner.

 

Taken 3 is exactly what I expected so realistically I can have no complaints.  The Taken films can now be considered a lazy franchise which will continue to plunder on as long as Liam Neeson is getting a nice pay cheque.  Taken 3 gets 5/10 and it kills 90mins quite nicely.   The rating hardly matters as I know I will be there come opening weekend of Taken 4 and all the others after that.