To start off, I loved the style of this film. It was so gritty and super real. Like it had that quality to where you never thought you were watching a film. Just like a behind the scene documentary on this boxer and his life. The film was really well shot with having a lot of dark and muted colors having that greyscale look to it which I personally love. Fuqua also handled the whole film very well. The tone was constant at keeping that gritty feeling. Also, the pace was very well done. It was a two-hour film and felt like two hours of content, but was never boring. Gyllenhaal is the main selling point of this film for a lot of people. Everyone wants to see this film for his performance. Was it good? It's Gyllenhaal so of course he was good. Better than good I would say great. He really truly becomes the character and loses himself the role mentally and physically. It really is an impressive performance and he is likable all the way through the film. Also, James Horner had a very good score and it's sad that we had to lose a great composer.
There are few problems with this film. It really comes down to the script. The plot you can see coming from a mile away. It follows all the boxing stories that you have seen before. The one good thing about that is that it does those things so well that you don't seem to mind that much, but still nothing new there if you were looking to see something with a smart twist or something of that nature. The characters are held up by good performances but aren't written the best. Like I think the actors added a lot to the characters. Which is a good think it's just something I noticed. So in the end the film that I knew was going to have an amazing lead performance and very well styled direction had those in spades but loses a lot for being nothing new.
RATING
3 out of 4 Ticket Stubs.
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