Rocky Balboa (2006)
Directed by Sylvester Stallone
Written by Sylvester Stallone
Starring Sylvester Stallone, Burt Young, Antonio Tarver, Milo Ventimiglia
Release Date December 20th, 2006
Published December 20th, 2006
When I first heard Sylvester Stallone was reviving the Rocky series I rolled my eyes and dismissed the idea as a desperate attempt by an aging star to save his flagging career. That, indeed, was the case. Stallone's career has been flagging for years with one disappointing film leading to another to eventually Stallone being unable to open his movies in theaters.
I wasn't the only dismissive skeptic. MGM, the company that holds the rights to the Rocky character, had no interest in another Rocky. It wasn't until Stallone raised the production capitol on his own that MGM agreed to release the film and now that film has been made and to the shock and amazement of many Rocky Balboa is more than just a star's desperate attempt to reclaim the spotlight.
Pretending that the last installment of the Rocky movies, one that found a brain damaged Rocky brawling in the streets with a younger, dumber fighter (played by real life boxer Tommy Morrison), this Rocky picks up the story with the champ running a successful restaurant in his old neighborhood in Philly. A Lot has changed but most devastatingly, Rocky's beloved wife Adrian has passed away.
Spending countless days visiting Adrian's grave and his nights commiserating with his pal Pauly (Burt Young), Rocky somehow gets it in his head that he's got something left in the tank for another fight. His decision to fight again happens to coincide with an ESPN video game stunt that pitted a virtual Rocky in his prime against the current world champion Mason 'The Line' Dixon (Antonio Tarver). Virtual Rocky wins the fight and this sparks interest in seeing Rocky get back in the ring.
Much of Rocky Balboa plays like Rocky's greatest hits. The training scenes have their usual grit and grunts. Bill Conti's score is soaring and inspirational and yes, Rocky is back on the steps running all the way to the top. This sounds like a negative criticism but I must say, as greatest hits go, these are pretty good ones. Think of it like this, you wouldn't turn up your nose at your favorite rock bands greatest hits, so why turn your nose up at Rocky's.
Sylvester Stallone stars in, wrote the screenplay, produced and directed Rocky Balboa and this one man movie company does quite an impressive job. Shooting on handheld digital, Stallone takes Rocky back to his low budget days and it's terrific how the handheld digital is so visually reminiscent of the original film. The big budget slickness of Rocky's 3,4 and 5 were part and parcel of the disgusting excess that took the once beloved character and made him a joke.
Of course,Rocky Balboa culminates with a big time boxing match and as in Rocky 1 and 2 this one doesn't disappoint. The fight between Rocky and real life boxing champ Antonio Tarver never resembles anything remotely like a real boxing match, but as a Rocky version of boxing; it's as rousing and invigorating as the two bouts with Apollo Creed that provided the crescendo of the first two Rocky movies.
The death of Talia Shire's Adrian provides the film with a powerful emotional punch. Adrian is arguably as iconic a character as Rocky, though Talia Shire was never properly honored for her work. This film is a beautiful love letter to Rocky's anchor, the one character who managed to maintain her dignity through the ever more ludicrous sequelizations of Rocky.
Is Rocky Balboa a cynical, last gasp at stardom by an aging action hero desperate for the spotlight? Yeah, maybe a little. But, surprisingly, Rocky Balboa is also a well told story that takes advantage of our nostalgia for a beloved character to tell a pretty engaging and dramatic story. Most of all the film is a reminder of why we fell in love with this character and it leaves us with the memory of Rocky that was taken from us by the goofiness of the other sequels. For that reason alone Rocky Balboa is worth the price of a ticket.
