Antoine Fuqua's Southpaw is really well made, has a great cast, rugged in - the - ring action, but a storyline that is too formulaic for its own good.

Jake Gyllenhaal gives a compellingly real performance as Billy "The Great" Hope, who begins the movie as the undisputed light-heavyweight boxing champion of the world, before his personal world, slides out from underneath him. Good as he undoubtedly is, Gyllenhaal still can't stop himself channelling Sylvester Stallone's Rocky persona, especially in the way he moves and delivers much of his dialogue in mumbles. During one particularly emotional moment, I wouldn't have been surprised to hear a wailed A-d-r-i-a-n shouted skywards, except here Hope's wife is Maureen, played by a strong Rachel McAdams, in what really could never be honestly described as a lead role.

The Rocky parallels continue further with Forest Whitaker playing a larger, black version of Mickey, Rocky's trainer. Where Southpaw does differ from the earlier franchise is that the narrative is almost relentlessly downbeat, remembering that this is 2+ hour film. Things do get pretty bleak for a large portion of the movie, though the underlying theme of the movie is one man's personal redemption (as if that hasn't been done before too ... and in boxing films).

Southpaw's derivative conventions preclude it from achieving any real pretence to greatness, though undoubtedly many fans of the genre will happily go the distance, barracking supportively for The Great Hope.