Review: ‘Rocky Balboa’
Posted on December 28, 2006 @ 11:07 am
Let me get this out of the way right off the bat: Sylvester Stallone got into amazing shape for Rocky Balboa. The dude is just thick. Perhaps even more impressive than Stallone’s 60-year-old physique, however, is the script he penned for what we can only assume is Rocky’s final send-off.
Rocky Balboa hearkens back to the “up from the streets” vibe that characterized the original Rocky, dispensing with the over-the-top slickness that permeated the later sequels. Here we find Rocky retired from the ring, the owner of a small Italian restaurant in Philly. Adrian has passed away, Rocky’s son has grown up and is struggling to live his life outside the champ’s shadow, and Paulie is still Paulie. When ESPN conducts a computer-simulated showdown between the Italian Stallion and the current champ, Mason “The Line” Dixon, Rocky unexpectedly wins. Realizing that maybe he still has “some stuff in the basement,” Rocky reapplies for a boxing license and laces up the gloves one last time.
Cue the training montage.
Start to finish, Rocky Balboa was a fantastic film, and much of the credit goes to Stallone for crafting a script that proves far less hackneyed than it sounds on paper. Also, his portrayal of Rocky is spot-on. You can’t help but love the big lug when he’s dispensing nuggets of punch-drunk wisdom and cracking his corny jokes. I’m not a diehard fan of the Rocky franchise, but I couldn’t help but get a little misty-eyed when Rocky visited Adrian’s grave. And I wanted to stand up and cheer in the theater when he finally went toe-to-toe with Dixon.
Yes, it’s a sports movie. Yes, it’s a little predictable at times. What did you expect? Despite these minor criticisms, Rocky Balboa is outstanding — easily the best film in the series since the original. Yo, Sly! You did it!
The verdict: A+
Posted by Jess | Filed Under Pop Culture |
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Wow. A+ is an impressive rating for a movie from you. We’ll have to go check it out.
I saw this before Christmas and to my surprise, I really enjoyed it. I thought there were a lot of good lines and I was all the more impressed to know that Stallone wrote them. Not a bad film at all!
I’m really looking forward to seeig this. My sister saw it and loved it. It’s not out here in the Netherlands yet but I’ve downloaded it and plan to watch it soon.
My hubby wants to see it. Even though I’ve seen all the others, I don’t know if I really want to. Seeing as how I changed your mind about seeing Blood Diamond, maybe I’ll change mine about seeing this one.
I’m not really planning on seeing it but for some strange reason I do like that the movie is good. I had no idea I had a soft spot for Stallone.
I’m not a huge fan of the actor they chose to play his song, Milo Venti-something, mainly bc he shows up in everything. Yet even I gotta admit, it was a good choice, though I havent seen the film to say for sure.
Happy New Year!:)
Randy: I almost considered downgrading it to an “A” after I wrote the review. Since it’s the holiday season, though, I decided to be generous.
Pea: I had no idea how much emotional investment I had in the Rocky character until I saw this flick. It really sneaks up on you.
Janet: The actor playing his son actually did a surprisingly good job. I find him a bit “hit or miss” on Heroes, but he got the job done here.
I clicked over from Jestertunes. Nice blog.
I had no interest in seeing this, but I think your review has changed my mind.
Rocky’s ownership of an Italian restaurant got me thinking: Was Stallone inspired by Weird Al’s “Theme From Rocky XIII”?