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Directed by :
Sylvester Stallone
Writing credits (WGA) : Sylvester
Stallone (written by) & Sylvester
Stallone (characters)
Tagline : It ain't over 'til it's
over
Cast : Sylvester Stallone as
Rocky Balboa , Burt Young as Paulie ,
Antonio Tarver as Mason 'The Line' Dixon
, Geraldine Hughes as Marie
Runtime: 102 min
Trivia : Sylvester Stallone,
Talia Shire, Burt Young and Tony Burton
are the only actors to star in all six
'Rocky' films.
 Review
: Looking back at the Sylvester Stallone
pugilist franchise from the end of the
line, one thing becomes clear: there
were really only two Rocky movies.
Everything else was filler, founded on
formula and driven by testosterone and
adrenaline. The two real films - those
that used boxing as a metaphor rather
than a means to an end and that focused
on human drama - were the 1977 Oscar
winner that started things off and,
perhaps surprisingly, Rocky Balboa, the
seeming afterthought that brings the
saga to a fitting conclusion. These two
features are solid bookends around a
mess of a series that started going
wrong when Rocky beat Apollo Creed in a
re-match and got worse from there.
When I heard Stallone was going to make
a sixth Rocky film, I was as skeptical
as the next person. After Rocky 4 and 5,
hadn't movie-goers undergone enough
indignities? Why resurrect Rocky now
when no one under the age of 35 could
possibly care about him? It seemed like
a bad idea from the beginning - a lame
attempt by an aging action star to
reclaim past glory. This turns out to
have been an unfair characterization of
Stallone and his movie. Rocky Balboa has
something to say. It's about flawed
human beings and how they relate to each
other. It's about reclaiming
self-respect and dignity. Before taking
center stage during the final half-hour,
boxing rarely encroaches upon the
storyline.
 It's
2006 and Rocky's career is long behind
him. His beloved Adrian has died, yet he
feels closer to her than to any of the
living people around him. He and his
son, Rocky Jr. (Milo Ventimiglia), are
in a "Cat's in the Cradle" situation,
with the son too busy for the father. So
Rocky does the meet-and-greet at his
restaurant and lets one meaningless day
pass after another. When he re-connects
with Marie (Geraldine Hughes), a girl he
met during the first film, he finds
another individual let down by life -
someone he can bond with. His is a sad,
lonely, unfulfilled life. Without
Adrian, he has no anchor and he is
seeking meaning.
Meanwhile, the current heavyweight
champion, Mason "The Line" Dixon
(Antonio Tarver) is struggling for
respect. After defeating one chump after
another, he has become reviled. (Dixon's
unwillingness to fight a legitimate
challenger allows Stallone to take a
none-to-subtle jab at the state of real
boxing these days.) His manager comes up
with the ultimate publicity stunt: stage
an exhibition between Dixon, in the
prime of his career, against old Rocky,
who is something of a folk hero. Rocky
is installed as a prohibitive underdog,
but as viewers of the series know, he's
never better than when he's not expected
to win. However, Rocky Balboa, like the
original Rocky, isn't about winning.
It's about giving everything and facing
one's fears.
 Over
the years, the Rocky series has lost the
majority of its cast members. With Talia
Shire now gone, the only returnee (other
than Stallone) is Burt Young, once again
reprising his role as the irascible
Paulie. Milo Ventimiglia and Geraldine
Hughes are the only newcomers with
significant screen time and, while both
fill functions, neither impresses.
Antonio Tarver's Mason Dixon isn't much
of a character, although it is nice that
the movie takes pains to make sure the
audience doesn't view him as a villain.
At heart, he's not a bad guy, although
he has issues.
Rocky Balboa is not an action movie.
During the first 70 minutes, the movie
is primarily dialogue and reminiscences.
It contains some of the best acting
Stallone has ever done. This is the same
Rocky we have gotten to know over the
years, but here we see his
vulnerability. He's not very smart, but
he's generous, and he's not good at
hiding his emotional pain. For him, it
was always Adrian. She was the reason
that losing the first fight was still a
victory - because he got her. Now, she
lies beneath a simple headstone. There
are times when the drama threatens to
become heavy-handed and the relationship
with Marie never gels in a meaningful
way. It feels unfinished. But Stallone,
functioning as writer, director, and
star, puts all his energy into peeling
back 30 years. Rocky Balboa is not as
good as Rocky, but it allows us to
forget the other four sequels, none of
which was memorable.
Admittedly, the moment the strains of "Gonna
Fly" begin blaring from the theater
speakers as Rocky starts his latest
round of training, there is an urge to
stand up and cheer. And the fight at the
end still stirs the soul. Even the worst
Rocky movies possessed a visceral power
when it came to the in-ring sequences.
The ending of Rocky Balboa echoes the
ending of Rocky in more ways than one.
Stallone has said this is it for Rocky -
even if the film is major box office
hit, there will be no seventh outing. If
that's the case, it's hard to think of a
better sendoff.
MEDIA PARTNER
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