Rocky finally jumped the shark for me when he draped himself in the flag after pulverizing Dolf Lungren in Rocky IV.
All the stored up good will generated by the memorable original had been drained away by a series of ever less effective sequels.
The last film, Rocky V, was released in 1990 and nobody cared.
In the new ‘Rocky Balboa,’ Sylvester Stallone crawls back into the ring once more and darned if the agin’ ragin’ Italian Stallion doesn’t have one more great fight in him.
Stallone who wrote, directed and produced this final episode of the Rocky saga has not only returned to the original setting in Philadelphia but to the original heart that made the first film so touching.
This Rocky is a considerably older version of the small time pug-ugly who suddenly found himself in the big time. His puffy face battered by a lifetime of beatings in the ring, lined and weary, Stallone (now 60) makes no effort to prettify his creation. He has also returned to the character that endeared him to us – once again Rocky is the muscle-bound idiot savant whose pure spirit uplifts everyone around him and whose ability to absorb sustained beatings and keep punching carries him in the ring.
Graceful this brawler ain’t.
Rocky has settled down to an uneventful life as the owner of a small restaurant named after his beloved wife Adrian. He is restive and vaguely unhappy. He pines for his deceased wife and longs to build a bridge to his alienated son, Robert (Milo Ventimiglia). The kid is trying to find a life of his own but can’t cope with his father’s celebrity.
The fighter yearns for a return to the glory years. He wants to get back in the ring. Maybe do a few local fights.
You may remember the teen “Little Marie” in the first film. She was the one who observed, “Screw you creep,” after Rocky tried to save her from a life of delinquency. She’s now all grown up and the single mother of Steps (James Patrick Kelly) her difficult son. No romance here though. Rocky is still in love with his wife and although a strong relationship grows between them, Stallone wisely keeps it chaste.
When a TV sports program puts a digital Rocky at his peak into the ring with the current champ, Mason, “the line” Dixon, (played by real life champion Antonio Tarver), and the virtual Rocky wins, it causes much comment. The champ’s managers sensing a real crowd pleaser suggest a real exhibition match to Rocky. At first he’s unsure not wanting to be “pounded and embarrassed” in the ring but eventually says yes.
The writer-director knows how to tap into the iconography of his character. He writes well constructed scenes that inevitably end with Rocky making some pronouncement of being true to yourself or, as he says to his son, “You ain't never gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard you hit...”
He gives us just enough flashbacks to tap into our memories. There are lots of jokes about his age, some visits to the old nabe (the pet shop and the rink), happy memories of Adrian and jostling with his pragmatic friend Paulie (Burt Young).
The whole film is so well shot that it leaves you wishing Stallone had directed more during his long career. Or perhaps, it’s because Stallone sure knows how to effectively showcase himself.
When Rocky finally takes off his shirt in the ring, you marvel at how buff and fit the old guy is.
The bout was shot in Vegas in front of 14,000 fight fans (actually there for another real fight for HBO). When they all start chanting, “Rocky Rocky” you want to be there to join them.
Stallone has brilliantly choreographed and shot the fight between the supple young champion and the old punching bag and his bittersweet ending is so right for the rest of the film.
With Rocky Balboa, Stallone has created a telling character study while saying a fitting and dignified goodbye to a character who has been part of our lives for a long time.
Movie opens wide USA December 20. MPAA: Rated PG for boxing violence and some language
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