Now I came into this movie with the highest of hopes mainly because Jake Gyllenhaal has been on a roll! Prisoners, Enemy and the Sadistic Nightcrawler! A rage filled depressed boxer just sounds like an extravagant roll for him, and for the most part it is.

The story is about a light-heavyweight champ Billy Hope (Jake Gyllenhaal), a brawler of sorts. he's doing well, living it up with he's beautiful wife and adorable daughter, but bam! A typical confrontation ends in a untypical gunshot

Now the story never goes into the shooter which I thought was a missed opportunity.

But after those events Billy succumbs into a dark haze of rage and alcohol, here is where I loved the film, Gyllenhaal really shines showing the dark places of a lost man, but the writing and the director never join his ranks. The writing is cliché, cheesy and melodramatic.

The story slips in and out of different places, but never stays long enough to truly build a great buildup or sense of hopelessness or even rage or loss. It’s almost as if they tried so hard to nail the tragedy,  that they overlooked the simplest execution of that, which is meaningful character centric time devoted to the main story.

Without spoiling too much, he goes into this run down, gym to find a trainer and job, and I loved the concept of it. We get to see poverty-stricken hoodlums boxing instead of doing petty crimes or slinging drugs which would’ve honestly been way more productive and profitable, but no. They're all there doing what they love, boxing. I loved that, and for a second, they bring a young kid into the story but than he inexplicably disappears and the way the characters handle his disappearance was just awkward and fell completely flat. That's when I imagined what if the story had followed that arc of a selfish man in rage helping a kid succeed and him in turn finding solace and winning his daughter back with a successful job. but nope.

The thing that bothered me most about that was that it showed how sloppy and over dramatic the script was, it spent all that time adding that side story of that kid just for it to have no impact on anything. that's storytelling 101 guys, if it doesn't affect your core or characters than what the heck is the point of having it in the film at all.

So, let’s talk acting

Jake Gyllenhaal kills it, with his chameleon eques abilities. Neat fact the role was supposed to go to Eminem but he dropped due to his focus on music. Yet, Gyllenhaal is essentially a complete Eminem copycat in his mannerisms and attitude and speech which is amazing to see.

Rachael McAdams doesn't do much but be the supporting female in your typical male redemption arc.

Forest Whitaker underperforms (Maybe over?) by never really landing any emotion or peak in his character.

Oona Laurens performs well by Gyllenhaal, providing good counter action and sense of deception.

50 cent is just a single dimension 50 cent, I mainly blame the writer since he's character kept being teased for being integral yet never actually being important.

And on too, The Director, Antoine Fuqua

Now this film didn't have anything that particular stood out visually, nor did anything look bad or unattractive, so he did a good job setting the scenes, it just all felt a little less than it could’ve been, I feel the film could’ve really shined with more intriguing compositions.

The music wasn't anything noting. I was expecting a little more Eminem songs considering he produced the films soundtrack. But nope we just get "phenomenal"

So, in ending.

6/10 "alright"

Jake Gyllenhaal performs amazingly, the writer over-writes most of the film, never showcasing the rage or the emotion that was teased. The story tries too hard and ends up being melodramatic. The director doesn't ruin the picture but also doesn't orchestrate the film into anything worthwhile. The film could’ve been amazing, but the flaws of the story and characters hold the film back. Still a good watch if you’re a fan of Gyllenhaal chameleon-like skills.