Southpaw

Southpaw is currently streaming in Australia on Stan and Lionsgate+ Amazon Channels, and in the US on Amazon Prime Video and Paramount Plus Essential, and it earns its set pieces rather than just delivering them. The runtime earns every minute, with nothing here that feels like padding. With 5,859 viewer ratings on TMDB, this is not a title flying under the radar. No filler scenes, no spinning wheels between the action. Put it on tonight on Stan and see for yourself.

Whatever else is competing for your attention this week, Southpaw is worth clearing space for. Southpaw understands that stakes only matter if you care who is at risk. Billy "The Great" Hope, the reigning junior middleweight boxing champion, has an impressive career, a loving wife and daughter, and a lavish lifestyle. However, when tragedy strikes, Billy hits rock bottom, losing his family, his house and his manager. He soon finds an unlikely savior in Tick Willis, a former fighter who trains the city's toughest amateur boxers. Jake Gyllenhaal and Rachel McAdams lead a cast that keeps the chaos grounded in who's actually at stake. It was released in 2015. The action sequences are expensive-looking without drawing attention to their own budget — they serve the story rather than interrupting it. It knows exactly what it is, and does not try to be anything else.

Action fans who want craft and story alongside the spectacle will find exactly that in Southpaw. It does not lean on comparisons to make its case. It is a manageable watch, easy to fit into a single evening. Jake Gyllenhaal brings a physicality to the role that elevates every set piece. Action that earns its sequences rather than just delivering them.