57
Metascore
42 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 77TheWrapAlonso DuraldeTheWrapAlonso DuraldeSouthpaw is so simultaneously entertaining and unsurprising that it could go straight to ESPN Classic, but if these are the extremes it takes for certain people to notice that, hey, that guy from “Bubble Boy” has turned into a heck of an actor, then so be it.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterDeborah YoungThe Hollywood ReporterDeborah YoungSouthpaw sticks to tried-and-tested genre rules, yet an edgy cast — led by formidable leading man Jake Gyllenhaal — keeps the story in sharp focus.
- 60Total FilmPaul BradshawTotal FilmPaul BradshawThe script keeps its gloves on but Gyllenhaal gives his all, notching up one of his very best performances.
- 50Screen DailyTim GriersonScreen DailyTim GriersonJake Gyllenhaal brings likeability and commitment to a raw role, but despite a strong supporting cast director Antoine Fuqua never quite transcends the proceedings’ gritty, melodramatic blandness. A lot of care, heart and craft have been thrown at awfully familiar material.
- 50VarietyJustin ChangVarietyJustin ChangThe undeniable intensity of Gyllenhaal’s bulked-up, Method-mumbling performance may leave you feeling more pummeled than convinced in this heavy-handed tale of redemption, in which director Antoine Fuqua once more demonstrates his fascination with codes of masculine aggression, extreme violence and not much else.
- 50Movie NationRoger MooreMovie NationRoger MooreThe story arc is entirely too familiar to sustain the two-hours-plus length, the violence, gore and language are the only elements that lift it from the weepy melodrama that Southpaw wants to be into “Raging Bull” territory.
- 40Time OutJoshua RothkopfTime OutJoshua RothkopfLike a "Raging Bull" that’s been clocked one too many times in the head, Antoine Fuqua’s blood-simple boxing melodrama is so loaded with obviousness, it gets more pained groans from the audience than the guys in the ring.
- 38Slant MagazineJake ColeSlant MagazineJake ColeEach battle scar in the film is a testament to a vaguely but nonetheless forcefully defined notion of masculinity.