Just watched SOUTHPAW & CREED back to back...
Posted: 14 Mar 2016, 23:31
...and, as I'm sure most everyone agrees, CREED was a much better film.
I enjoyed SOUTHPAW for the most part, but it was just too heavy on the melodrama & cliches.
Jake Gyllenhaal was alright as Billy Hope, but I didn't think he was very convincing as a fighter. He tried hard, but his performance & his scenes in the ring just didn't work for me. And his physique didn't look like a real fighter's either. It was a bit too bulky muscle-wise & he was cut too lean. ve nothing to burn once he got into the ring. Just didn't work for me.
On the other hand, his on screen opponent played by Miguel Gomez, he was very convincing as a fighter IMO.
CREED was a hell of a good movie & IMO, went a long way toward redeeming the ROCKY series.
Sure, it also had more than it's fair share of melodrama as well ( Rocky's battle with cancer was fine, but I thought Donnie's gf having progressive hearing loss was entirely unnecessary for her character & really lent nothing to the plot ) & some cliches as well, but MUCH less so than the majority of the rest of the series.
Jordan was a revelation as Adonis Johnson/Creed & he made me totally suspend my disbelief & see him as a real fighter.
And I loved the film's use of actual world class pro fighters in key roles. It really worked to the film's benefit both in & out of the ring IMO.
Andre Ward, Victor Ortiz & Gabriel Rosado were all exceptional in their limited roles. While Tony Bellew was fantastic as Creed's nemesis. It was inspired casting & Bellew displayed that he's likely got a future as a thespian once his days in the ring are over.
Now that I've finally seen both films, I can see why SOUTHPAW was pretty much a failure at the box office. It wasn't awful by any means & I'll watch it a second time when it comes on HBO, but it's not going to be remembered as being anything even remotely special.
As for CREED, I can see why it was such a hit & I'm sure I'll be watching it again many times over. And now, I'm sad that Stallone didn't win an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. I think he deserved to.
I enjoyed SOUTHPAW for the most part, but it was just too heavy on the melodrama & cliches.
Jake Gyllenhaal was alright as Billy Hope, but I didn't think he was very convincing as a fighter. He tried hard, but his performance & his scenes in the ring just didn't work for me. And his physique didn't look like a real fighter's either. It was a bit too bulky muscle-wise & he was cut too lean. ve nothing to burn once he got into the ring. Just didn't work for me.
On the other hand, his on screen opponent played by Miguel Gomez, he was very convincing as a fighter IMO.
CREED was a hell of a good movie & IMO, went a long way toward redeeming the ROCKY series.
Sure, it also had more than it's fair share of melodrama as well ( Rocky's battle with cancer was fine, but I thought Donnie's gf having progressive hearing loss was entirely unnecessary for her character & really lent nothing to the plot ) & some cliches as well, but MUCH less so than the majority of the rest of the series.
Jordan was a revelation as Adonis Johnson/Creed & he made me totally suspend my disbelief & see him as a real fighter.
And I loved the film's use of actual world class pro fighters in key roles. It really worked to the film's benefit both in & out of the ring IMO.
Andre Ward, Victor Ortiz & Gabriel Rosado were all exceptional in their limited roles. While Tony Bellew was fantastic as Creed's nemesis. It was inspired casting & Bellew displayed that he's likely got a future as a thespian once his days in the ring are over.
Now that I've finally seen both films, I can see why SOUTHPAW was pretty much a failure at the box office. It wasn't awful by any means & I'll watch it a second time when it comes on HBO, but it's not going to be remembered as being anything even remotely special.
As for CREED, I can see why it was such a hit & I'm sure I'll be watching it again many times over. And now, I'm sad that Stallone didn't win an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. I think he deserved to.
