I should blame the power of marketing for the disproportionate buzz this movie has created. I gave my friends a hard time, and continued relentlessly in my pursuit to convince them that this was the movie we had to watch. Being stubborn bordering pain in the backside, my friends decided to accompany me to watch SouthPaw. There we were, a mixed group of girls and guys in their thirties happily watching this movie together on a big screen.

But how bad did I feel about my friends throughout the movie? I had pushed them to spend two hours watching one of the most overrated and boring movies of the year. Furthermore, on a Saturday night when the streets of Madrid are hustling and buzzing and people are in terraces enjoying the sun and sipping cocktails.

I honestly find it hard to come up with positives about this film. It follows the typical recipe to make a sports movie: A guy is the champ; he then loses everything or gets injured; he hits rock bottom; he starts training again; he regains his title. That's it. There's nothing unpredictable in Southpaw. It follows the same pattern that you may have seen a million times.

To finish, I'll say that I consider Gyllenhaall one of my favorite actors, and I pointed in another review how I enjoyed all his movies. Well, I guess this is the exception that confirms the rule, because Southpaw is clearly not a movie that I wish to recommend. Mediocre at best!