Rocky Balboa
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Movie Reviews of Rocky Balboa
Movie Review: The Last Thing To Age Is The Heart
Summary: 5 Stars
After 16 years, Sylvester Stallone has accomplished what many figured would never happen. He came back with a new Rocky movie, and he came back with a really GOOD Rocky movie. Not only does Rocky still have punches in him, but so does Stallone. As a fan of the series, I can safely say that this is the best entry since the original. Quickly, the plot sees Rock running his own restaraunt, Adrian's, named after his deceased wife(Talia Shire is missed, but it works, and Shire herself says she trusts and believes in Sly with this twist in the story), and he doesn't have a strong relationship with his son(Milo Ventamiglia). A virtual reality boxing match on TV pitting him against Mason "The Line" Dixon(Antonio Carver)has Rocky defeating him, and setting up a real life match with Rocky coming out of retirement for one last match. It's an interesting premise, really, and it works. Some may think it takes too long to get going or to get to the action, but that's why it works. It's not just about action and boxing, but about the people and the character of Rocky. That's why I like it. I am just as interested, if not more, in the non-boxing aspects of the movie. The best thing about the Rocky films is that each one finds the Italian Stallion in a new part of his life and takes it from there. He's older now, and the film doesn't overlook it just for Rocky and Sly to have another shot at glory. It's about age. It's a big part of the film. That's one of the great things about the film. They are not overlooking reality and age just to make another film. I hear the same thing is being done for Indy 4. The flashback scenes are scarce(although others say otherwise), and the "tour" of the old haunts is nostalgic, affective, and well placed. This film feels like a Rocky film, and has a sense of the original film. Little Marie(Geraldine Hughes) is back, as well as Spider, and this leads to the film's closer touch to the classic original. Burt Young's Paulie is still Paulie, and it would seem out of place to have a Rocky movie without him. The movie is surprisingly real, emotional, and heartfelt. You can't help but get caught up in the situation and cheer Rock on one last time. The end match is great, and feels like the real deal. It's exceptionally planned out and set up, and makes the tension feel real as you watch it. Bill Conti's theme is back, and it still raises goosebumps when it starts up. Sly isn't the greatest actor, but he is Rocky, and he knows Rocky, and he is really good in the film, as well as behind the camera as a director. Rocky V had it's moments, but it was not the film to end on. This one is. It fits wonderfully, and it wraps it up perfectly. To see the love and respect Rocky gets from people, especially in the end, is heartwarming. It doesn't fail to bring a lump to your throat. To matter how old you get, or where your life takes you, Rocky Balboa tells you to never give up. Thanks for coming back with Rocky one more time Sly. You made a truly wonderful film for this iconic character and series to go out on.Movie Review: The Perfect Way to Finish the Series!
Summary: 5 Stars
When I first saw "Rocky Balboa" it was mainly because my wife wanted to see it, and I had no idea what to expect. I loved it so much I rented the first five films and then watched the sixth installment again just so I could appreciate it even more!
What's nice about this film is that Rocky finally seems mortal...now a widower, he lives alone in the same Philadelphia neighborhood where he started, and he owns a successful restaurent called "Adrians". Although he is still popular, it is more subdued and respectful now; we no longer have enthusiastic crowds following him around, but rather individual people paying their respects. His son Robert is living and working on his own, and although he loves his father he can't help but feel resentful of the fact that most people see him only as Rocky's son and not as his own man. Rocky also develops a friendship with a woman named Marie, the same "little Marie" that he walked home in the first film. What's nice about their relationship is that it's not romantic in nature; rather, each one has a void in their lives that they help each other to fill. What's also touching is that Rocky still cares for Adrian even though she's gone, as he regularly visits her grave and also makes an annual visit to all the places that remind him of her, such as his old apartment, the pet shop where she used to work and the ice skating rink (now torn down) where they went on their first date. It is during this moments, which are combined with black-and-white flashback scenes, that we really get a sense of Rocky's mortality, as he sadly looks at the old sign of Mickey's gym and says to Paulie "The sign's falling apart" to which Paulie replies "Everything's falling apart!" (Paulie, by the way, has hardly changed a bit).
What's especially refreshing in this film is that we get to see the other side of a Rocky opponent. In this case it is Mason Dixon, excellently played by Antonio Tarver. Dixon is struggling with the fact that even though he is the champ, people hate him because he wins his fights too easily. Like Rocky, he also takes a step back into his past when he ditches his high-priced training team for his old trainer Martin, with the obvious reference here to Mickey.
The training sequence for this film pays homage to the first three films, complete with "Gonna Fly Now" and Rocky running up the steps of the Philadelphia art musuem. The fight at the end is another classic, as we see Rocky trying to do the same thing he did in the first film; go the distance with the champ. Stallone and Tarver put on an excellent bout, complete with the HBO pay-per-view broadcast team that makes you feel that this really is a heavyweight fight.
Overall, this is just a great film, one that truly pays tribute to Rocky's past and ends this series on a high note. Every fan who felt that "Rocky V" was a sloppy and unfitting way for Rocky to go out should be more than pleased with this one.
Movie Review: A Fitting End To The Rocky Balboa Saga!
Summary: 5 Stars
When it was revealed that there was going to be a Rocky VI, many naysayers groaned and complained that enough was enough and that Sly was too over the hill and couldn't pull it off. But the TRUE FANS out there knew differently. Even the critics, who initially made skeptical/negative comments about the sixth installment, started turning their stories around after viewing the film in its entirety. Rocky Balboa is a real winner of a movie, that fully realizes the essence of the original classic and brings the saga full circle to a thrilling, emotional, and very memorable conclusion.
Many years have gone by since last we saw Rocky, who is now a widower, estranged from his son and still mourning the loss of his beloved wife, Adrian. There are some truly touching moments of Rocky at the cemetery, sitting by her grave (when I saw the film in theaters, no one in the audience made a sound - even the rowdy ones - during these scenes, out of pure respect for the characters) as well as Rocky's journey, with Paulie, to all the places he took Adrian on their classic first date. So touching.
Now Rocky has his own restaurant, where he greets his customers and regales them with past stories of glory. But deep inside of him is a rage that he must get out of himself and conquer in order to move on with his life. The only way to do that is to go back in the ring. But when a computer simulated match between Rocky and the current reigning heavyweight champion of the world, Mason Dixon, is shown on TV, showing Rocky as the victor, word spreads like wildfire for the real thing.
No Rocky film is complete without a training montage, and this film's got it in spades. Stallone has the character of Rocky so integrated within himself, and gives nothing short of one of his finest performances on screen. Many memorable scenes, including Rocky's long and emotional talk with his son, as well as his new relationship with Marie (the young woman Rocky walked home back in the first installment) make for truly compelling drama. And the climactic fight at the finale is the icing on the cake. It's inspirational and never disappoints for a second.
Rocky Balboa belongs in the collection of every fan (and non-fan alike for that matter) and the DVD is loaded with wonderful bonus features, including Audio Commentary with Stallone, Deleted Scenes, Featurettes, Alternate Ending, and more. Pick this film up and watch it again and again. You'll be happy you did.
Rocky Balboa - a fitting end to the Rocky Saga!
"But it ain't about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward." - Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa
Movie Review: A positively uplifting and heartfelt winner!
Summary: 5 Stars
What exactly is age, aside from a number?
For far too long, I have read so many endless attacks against Harrison Ford and Sylvester Stallone simply because they both dared to revisit characters they immortalized in the 1980s. I will never again lend a second's credence to such shameless nitpicking. Sylvester Stallone may very well be a sixty year old man, but he pulled off "Rocky Balboa" in a profoundly moving and realistic manner and subsequently transformed this prior skeptic into a BIG-TIME believer. This, far and beyond any reasonable contention, is the true and respectful swan song the "Rocky" saga has long deserved.
Wisely ignoring the unsightly plot points that were introduced in "Rocky V," this more recent story unfolds with a highly publicized "virtual boxing" match that pits the long-retired Rocky against current heavyweight titleholder Mason Dixon. When Rocky scores the duke in this particular fantasy bout, Dixon retaliates by challenging Balboa to a one-on-one publicly televised 10-round exhibition. Everybody, including Rocky's own son, steadfastly dismisses the idea. But Rocky, who has always ever worked best when the odds were stacked against him, agrees to face Dixon. What ensues, amidst the rudimentary training regimen we've all seen Rocky endure throughout the five previous films, is a staggeringly heartfelt and engaging character study that very nearly rivals that which was introduced in John Avildsen's groundbreaking 1976 original.
Among the most notable are some admittedly touching moments with Rocky and Paulie as they revisit the Italian Stallion's love for Adrian who, as many prior reviewers here have already noted, is no longer part of the narrative fold. These scenes, along with a certain pep-talk Rocky gives his defiantly selfish son at the film's halfway mark, really helped sell the story's realism. Stallone made me genuinely feel for these people, a feat that I and many others had previously doubted he was capable of achieving. His screenplay very literally came out of left field and opened my eyes to the plain and simple fact that he still has what it takes. There was not a single point throughout the entire film where I was deliberately thinking about his age. A person's age, as I've already alluded to, should never be a consideration. You're as young as you feel and, if you happen to be in the phenomenal shape Stallone is in for a man of his years, I say more power to ya'!
There really isn't anything more to be said. "Rocky Balboa" is a more than worthy addition to this extraordinary series of motion pictures. You would be hard pressed to find another film more deserving of a purchase. Make no mistake when I say, it delivers a definitive knockout!
Movie Review: Mr. Balboa - What a REAL Man
Summary: 5 Stars
In this day and age of "equal rights" for all orientations, it is highly refreshing to see such an old-fashioned macho man like Rocky Balboa. I am quite a fan of Mr. Stallone and his Rocky series, and found Adrian (his wife) to be a strong feminist-type presence. It is no secret that she is no longer with us, and I worried my well-fed rear off that her absence would hurt the movie. Not so, as Mr. Stallone handles her passing with great sensitivity - never letting the audience forget how much that tigress meant to him.
As a confirmed neo-feminist, I find it perfectly acceptable to desire a strong ol' guy while also maintaining my own identity. The reason, I think, that so many people ended up wanting to see this movie is because in these overly sensitive "politically correct" times, there is a strong appeal in seeing such a straight-ahead tough guy who knows what he wants and how he plans to get it without ever compromising who he is nor conceding to the societal pressures that force so many to sell out their own personal integrity.
I was a little iffy regarding the character of Marie. While I applaud Stallone for resisting temptations to fire up a romance between he and Marie, I also felt he was a little too fatherly in his attempts to control her life. Bravo to her for telling him that he was offering too much, but boo to her for ending up accepting such help. Not really a part of the neo-femme credo. Her son Steps was also a little ineffective and wasn't seen learning many lessons in masculinity from Rocky.
Back to the subject of grieving a lost spouse, while I have never experienced that harsh reality - I have relatively recently split with a male companion (shouldn't the term 'boyfriend' end with the onset of middle age?). I was heartbroken and remain very depressed as I feel lonely (not to mention that my biological clock is about to stop ticking, and no amount of winding is likely to restart it). Watching this movie, I was reminded of the type of love I have been close to many times yet somehow have managed to miss. Why are some of us so unlucky? Don't I deserve my own Rocky Balboa??
Thank you for indulging me in such a personal take on this movie. I dare not spoil anything about the big fight, but for me it was not all that important. Stallone crafted an excellent character study and by the time the training sequence begins it is almost beside the point. Not a criticism mind you, it is in fact a huge compliment to the first 70 or so minutes of the movie. Did I cry? Yes. Did I wet myself? Only a little because of the gargantuan soda I drank throughout the movie. Kudos to Mr. Stallone, God bless him.