Rocky Balboa

(Back for one last round…)

When I first heard about this movie, I’ll be the first to admit that I laughed. This had to be a joke. Sly wasn’t desperate enough to make a sixth Rocky movie, was he? Turns out he was… but when it’s all said and done, there’s only one guy laughing, and that’s Stallone. After the rooting cheese that was the fifth movie, The Rocky franchise seemed to be dead in the water… and unable to recover. Low expectations can be a good thing because if you’re not expecting much, you could be surprised by something that is above average in quality. To say ‘Rocky Balboa’ is above average is a complete understatement. It’s a surprisingly good film, and re-introduces us to our favorite underdog and reminds everyone what made the first Oscar winning movie so darn great. This isn’t Oscar material, mind you… but a hell of a lot better than a lot of movies that have come out this year. If you’re a fan of the previous films, this is guarenteed to rock your world and it will eventually be a beloved part of your DVD collection.

What I loved most about this movis the fact that it was more of a character and dialogue driven piece more than it was a movie about boxing and men beating the pulp out of each other. That part was cool, but the character moments are sticking with me a lot more. Stallone not only starred in the film but directed and wrote the film as well. Like I said the stuff isn’t the end all be all of film, but it had it’s moments that just were flat out good. An example, there is a part when Rocky is talking to his kid. They’ve been distanct since Adrian passed away, and his brat blames his legacy for casting too big of a shadow for him to work around. Rock comes back with a pimp slap of a response:

“Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t how hard you hit; it’s about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. How much you can take, and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done! Now, if you know what you’re worth, then go out and get what you’re worth. But you gotta be willing to take the hit, and not pointing fingers saying you ain’t where you are because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that and that ain’t you. You’re better than that!”

Wow, that was one amazing speech. Nothing earth shattering, but coming from a father to his whiney kid… it had an impact with me. Especially with that eerie silence after the telling off. After that uncomfortable silence, Rock walked over and pat his son on the shoulder and whispered, “Don’t forget to visit your Mom.” and then walked back into the building. Bang, that was the knockout pucnh. I don’t know about you, but if I was on the receiving end of that beating, I’d feel about an inch tall and lesser than dirt. I foud scenes like this much more entertaining than the fight, but that wasn’t half bad either. I also liked how Rocky’s opponent was never made out to be a villian. He was just another kid out there trying to make his own mark and doing his own thing. Just another fighter walking the same path like many before him, just like Rock did.

I got a real kick out of watching this movie, and like I said before… die hard fans of this series will not go home disappointed. It finishes the series the way it was meant to go out. Those who enjoyed the original will like this as well cause it pays a lot of homage to the film that made the series possible. It’s doesn’t try to match it’s predesessor but instead celebrates what it was… and try to close the book on a good character. I can’t believe I enjoyed this as much as I did, but it happened. If you check it out, you might fall victim to it again. Big time thumbs up from this writer…

Peter

(Nowhere near the classic the original was,
But a good way to close the book…)