If you thought the original Rocky was boring, well then you must have ADD or something similar. Southpaw was drastically boring compared to Rocky I'd say. Practically everything in Southpaw's story was ultra generic, ultra predictable, there was nothing new there at all. In fact to me it seemed like a Rocky sequel darn near. I mean really, the story is nearly the exact same as Rocky 3, but with a touch of I Am Sam in it. The original Rocky is a unique film in multiple ways. It's about 1000x more original than Southpaw.
I would agree that Gyllenhaal is a far better actor than Stallone, however Stallone was a perfect fit for Rocky. That part Stallone can play well. Could he do End of Watch or Donnie Darko or Jarhead as well as Gyllenhaal did? Definitely not, but a boxing role fits Stallone just fine. Since you like Gyllenhaal so much, maybe you should learn to spell his name. You're just a kid aren't you? I bet you'll agree the original Rocky story is far better when you grow up. I'm not saying that you still can't like this film too, but seriously, Southpaw was one of the most standard stories I've seen in a recent film. Watch Rocky 3, it's the same damn story pretty much. Neither Southpaw or Rocky 3 are all that good in my view, but it's hard to dispute that they are very much alike if you watch them both. kirk2121 has it right, almost all of Southpaw was so obviously taken from the Rocky films, in fact the joke about teaching him "Something called defense", was a direct rip-off from the Rocky series, as well as most of the plot itself. Nonetheless, the original Rocky is much better than any of it's sequels and much better than Southpaw as well; At least that's what I contend and it seems most of the public and critics so far would agree.
I just had to see this thread, because seriously, calling Southpaw better than the original Rocky is one of the funniest things I've heard all year.
My body's a cage, it's been used and abused...and I...LIKE IT!! [Evil2]
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LukeLovesFilm28
9 years ago
Hell, Gyllenhaal's character isn't even as sympathetic and endearing as Rocky. This character is fcking dark. He's a mindless brute. Rocky was punch drunk, he may have been a half-assed leg-breaker / collector for 5 seconds, but he was never a psychotic drunk. And this a$$hole wins. Rocky, the far more heroic character didn't even win in the beginning... or the end for that matter.
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