To one degree or another we've seen this movie before. What's different in the approach for me were the parallel stories of Billy Hope (Jake Gyllenhall) and Tick Wills (Forest Whittaker), each lamenting a course of action they took that led to terrible unintended consequences. Both outcomes resulted in the death of loved ones, for Billy his wife, and for trainer Wills, young Hoppy (Skylan Brooks) who Wills felt responsible for and didn't do enough to protect from a troubled family life. Both men seek some semblance of redemption by gutting out their despair and challenging themselves to take up the good fight once again.
There's some resonance here for anyone dealing with family issues in which Child Protective Services is a factor. For all the discomfort one might experience watching those scenes of Billy trying to connect with his daughter, the flip side is that he put her in danger and responsible parties stepped in at the appropriate time. The family court judge acted accordingly upon the recommendation of the supervising case worker. The scenario represented here was intelligently handled.
Jake Gyllenhaal is exceptional here, though as others on this board have commented, the way he transforms his ring style under the tutelage of 'Dream Crusher' Wills is somewhat unfathomable. Using the shoulder technique to protect his face in the showdown match against 'The Magic' looked just plain awkward. The split decision ending would precede the one in "Creed" by a few short months, suggesting that everything old is new again when you put a different spin on it.
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