Rocky Balboa

Rocky Balboa is the sixth and presumably last entry in the Rocky franchise. After the debacle that was Rocky 5 Stallone wanted to send America’s favorite underdog out with a tribute befitting his cinematic legacy. Sylvester Stallone has succeeded. He has written and directed one big love fest for all things Rocky. As a native Philadelphian perhaps my judgment is clouded, but Rocky Balboa is one big hug for a city which has had its share of disappointment and has not fielded a national champion professional sports team in 23 years. Sylvester Stallone gets one last chance to show his acting as the often beaten but never defeated hero. He overdoes it in a few scenes emoting to the point of laughability but in general the film keeps things firmly under control. Rocky Balboa is a short film coming in under two hours, but it moves along at a smart pace.

Rocky Balboa finds the iron headed lug reflecting on his life as he approaches 60. Now numerically if it has been 30 years since the original and Rocky was near 30 when he first took on the champ he is in his late 50s. Rocky is retired from boxing, he is no longer the destitute from Rocky 5 but he isn’t really living in a palace. He owns a small house in Philly and an Italian restaurant named Adrian’s. Adrian has passed away several years ago and this is Rocky’s major milestone and great motivator as Rocky mourns her loss. The audience mourns her too as the film misses Talia Shire’s calming and stabilizing force but she does appear to slow the film down through a series of ghostly flashbacks to the events of the first film.

As with the first film Rocky Balboa is a love story that happens to have a boxing match in it. But this time the love story is between Rocky and his beloved city. Stallone allows the camera to gaze longingly at the city skyline and of course follows Rocky past numerous landmarks during the requisite training montage culminating in the final joyous jog up the art museum steps. Stay around for the credits to see numerous visitors performing the same ritual running up the steps and gazing down at the city arms raised triumphantly. It is also an homage to a city that always sees itself as a rough and tumble underdog though to be honest the demographics of the city have shifted dramatically since the original Rocky film of 1976.

The supporting cast brings back some long ago familiar faces. Spider Rico is back from the first film here mooching off of an overly hospitable Rocky. Also back is the incomparable Burt Young as Paulie who regularly blows up about his tenuous grip on what little life he has and about ruing the mistakes he has made in the past. Between Paulie and Rocky there is a friendship that transcends even the major character differences between a good hearted warm boxer and the rummy and often cruel warehouse worker. There are few duos in film that have developed more rapport that very little needs to be said between the two to bring up the most painful history they share. Plus how many duos get 6 films to work together?

New additions to the cast are Geraldine Hughes as Lil’ Marie a girl from the neighborhood who becomes a somewhat reluctant recipient of Rocky’s boundless charity. It is a sweet and innocent friendship that is well developed in the story and avoids conventional film traps. The other new addition is Milo Ventimiglia as Rocky’s son. It is a refreshing change from Stallone’s own offspring who played the part in the fifth film to poor result. One can only imagine that Rocky Balboa’s popularity is helped by the success of Ventimiglia’s current project NBC’s Heroes. Alas, had the show become a success earlier on, presumably Ventimiglia’s part in the film would have been bigger. It seems like quite a bit of the character was left on the cutting room floor and the story between Rocky and his son is somewhat underdeveloped. That is somewhat unfortunate since Rocky Balboa is a very short film and there was plenty of time to add another few meaningful scenes between father and son. Perhaps there is more to be found in a director’s cut probably bound for DVD.

As the somewhat improbable storyline goes, George Foreman not withstanding, Rocky gets another shot at eternal glory with an exhibition bout against the defending heavyweight champion. Of course this is not until Rocky decides that he can’t spend all of his time living in the past mourning his dead wife and retelling stories of his long ago fights, applies before a council for a boxing license, and prepares for the fight with his close family and friends around him. Queue the music and the training montage at the appropriate point.

The one true failing point is in Rocky’s opponent Mason ‘The Line’ Dixon played by retired boxer Antonio Tarver. Dixon is another victim of the confines of the feature film and his part is less that substantial as the inner city kid living the glamorous hip hop life while seeking a worthy opponent and the respect and adoration of the mob. Tarver lacks the charisma of Carl Weather’s Apollo Creed or Mr. T’s Clubber Lang but at least he is less irritating than either Drago or Tommy Gunn. The character comes across both as petulant and easily led and it is hard to tell from the mishmash of scenes where his motivation lies and if Dixon is truly his own man or a product of corporate sponsorship. Again there was certainly time available to flesh out Dixon in the film but he is second or third fiddle in a film about the mythical Rocky. There is little effort expended on Rocky’s final adversary in the ring perhaps because Rocky’s travails in the ring are finally an afterthought to those he suffers while outside it.

Rocky Balboa is a well done final film in the Rocky saga. At its core it is about discovering, as Rocky mumbles ‘it ain’t about how hard you hit: it’s about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward.’ Over the years and through the films Stallone’s benevolent big lug takes licking after licking inside and outside the ring and yet he keeps going and maintains his optimistic outlook on humanity. Rocky Balboa has its share of thin characters and plot points but overall its heart is in the right place. And as everyone knows with Rocky the most important things are a thick skull and a big heart.