Directed by: Sylvester Stallone
Premise: The sixth Rocky film finds the
boxer (Sylvester Stallone) back on the streets of Philadelphia managing an
Italian restaurant and mourning the death of his wife (Talia Shire). When a
sports show runs a computer simulation of a fight between Rocky and current
heavy weight champion Mason “The Line” Dixon (Antonio Tarver), Rocky is
lured out of retirement for an exhibition bout.
What Works: Rocky Balboa is a successful
return to the winning qualities of the
original, something that was attempted in Rocky
V with mixed results. This film gives Rocky some distance between the
legend he became in the sequels and makes him much more human. Rather than focus
on the action right off the bat, Rocky Balboa stays on the man, creating
a pathetic portrait of a man living in his past glories. While motivational
speeches and remarks have been a trademark of the Rocky series, in this
film they are charged with a much more palatable drama and urgency as Rocky
fights not only for glory, but for his own dignity. There are some nice
sequences between Rocky and his bother-in-law Paulie (Burt Young) and his son
(Milo Ventimiglia) and the two react to Rocky’s choices in ways that challenge
him but also help shape the character’s journey. Mason Dixon, Rocky’s
opponent, has also been humanized for this picture and is one of the most
interesting antagonists in the series. Dixon is portrayed as a decidedly
contemporary athlete, one whose reputation has become more important than his
actual athletic ability, and lives a life trapped by a bad boy image created by
sports agents who are more interested in dollar signs than integrity. Like its
title character, Rocky Balboa gives the antagonist a chance to grow and
reclaim his life and his reputation.
What Doesn’t: The only elements that seem
curiously out of place in Rocky Balboa are some of the traditional
sequences, namely the training montage. Also, those who are sticklers for
continuity will notice that some of the damage Rocky had incurred in previous
films, namely the partial loss of sight in Rocky
II and the brain damage in Rocky V, seemed to have healed.
Bottom Line: Rocky Balboa is easily the best of the Rocky sequels. It jettisons the cartoonish qualities of some of the later sequels and returns the character to the more human dimensions in which he was originally created. Rather than just recapitulate the formula, Rocky Balboa is, in part, a commentary on original film and successful picture in itself.