Rocky Balboa

Rocky Balboa

Starring Sylvester Stallone, Burt Young, Milo Ventimiglia, Geraldine Hughes

Directed by Sylvester Stallone

The Story:
It's been thirty years since underdog Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) entered the ring and made history, and now he's living a retired life in his hometown of Philadelphia, where he's still hailed as a hero to most.  He runs a restaurant he founded called Adrian in honor of his wife, who passed away four years ago.  On the anniversary of her death, he travels around her old haunts with her brother Paulie (Burt Young), and he still holds close to his son Robert (Milo Ventimiglia), who now wants to make a name for himself in the business world but is still stuck in Rocky's shadow.

One night at the old bar he used to frequent, he runs into Marie (Geraldine Hughes), who, as a little girl, Rocky helped one day.  The two rekindle their friendship and Rocky continues to face the issue of being a has-been, especially when a computer simulation comes out showing him battling the current heavyweight champion, Mason "The Line" Dixon (Antonio Tarver).  Even though Rocky wins that simulation, there's naysayers who don't think Rocky's talent would hold up to Mason's, while others consider Mason the worse fighter because he never had true competition.  Mason's managers come up with an idea to save face for their boxer - a charity exhibition boxing match between the two.  Both men are hesitant, but eventually agree to meet in the ring and see if youth can beat heart.

The Synopsis:
The legend of Rocky Balboa extends far beyond his epic fights in the ring, and resounds through the annals of cinematic history.  The story of an underdog fighter rising among the ranks and becoming the world heavyweight champion (twice) has resonated with audiences for decades, and his iconic jog up the Philadelphia Art Museum steps has become the stuff of legend - people still do it to this day, kids who've never even seen the "Rocky" films know what it means.  When the franchise suffered a knockout with the abysmal "Rocky V," it looked liked the Italian Stallion was out for the count, but as it is with any national hero, Rocky rose again and brought "Rocky Balboa" - a film thirty years after the original - and the result is a sequel that lives up to the legacy and gives the beloved boxer his much-deserved swan song (until the "Creed" spinoff films, which only somehow made Rocky even better).

Rocky is now a Philadelphia icon, retired from the ring and running a successful restaurant named after his wife, who died off-screen due to cancer between the last two films.  Every year he visits their old haunts with her brother Paulie, who harbors his own demons for how he treated her, and is tired of re-visiting the past - something this film focuses on almost entirely.  Rocky's relationship with his son is strained due to his son not wanting to live in his father's shadow (to no fault of either of them, it's just how the child of a celebrity has to live sometimes), and Rocky is forming a new friendship with an old friend named Marie and her son Steps.  Meanwhile a new heavyweight champion has been crowned, but people see his rise as a fluke due to poorer fighters, and his managers offer a deal to Rocky to fight their boy in the ring for charity.  As he struggles with his own issues of retirement, Rocky agrees to fight one more time and solidify his legacy, as he also tries to reconcile with his son.

Much more than just another heartless addition to the franchise, "Rocky Balboa" is more sentimental, more dramatic, and more personal than several of the other outings, due to Stallone's wishes to finish the franchise on a strong note.  Stallone gives the best Rocky performance since the first film, and delivers the most passionate, personal speech to his son that's absolutely beautiful and heart-rendering all at the same time.  With his side-work in the "Creed" franchise, Stallone successfully completed the Rocky legacy and gave his most personal character the sendoff he needed.

The supporting cast - like most of the other "Rocky" films - do admirable with their roles, but don't get the same amount of emotion as Rocky did.  Burt Young finishes out his role as Paulie as a man struggling with the sins of his past, but doesn't really reconcile them to their fullest.  Milo Ventimiglia gives a strong performance as Rocky's son, but again it really seems like a brush-off event especially after Rocky's speech to him and his quick turn-around that seemingly comes out of nowhere.  Geraldine Hughes plays Marie, who may or may not be Rocky's new love interest - we never really find out because again the character is under-utilized and we don't really see where they come from emotionally (the worst is James Francis Kelly, who plays her son Steps, who Rocky befriends, but we probably get three words out of the character throughout the film).  Also, much like Rocky's other opponents, Antonio Tarver gives Mason "The Line" Dixon a confident swagger who's conceited and overly self-indulgent, who needs a swift knockdown to reality.  If there's a flaw that continues through the "Rocky" franchise, it's that the side characters aren't given clear motives for their actions, and it continues with this final chapter.

Still, despite this, the movie is all about Rocky and his legacy, and Sylvester Stallone managed to cement his boxer character as a cinematic icon that will live on for decades to come, serving as the ultimate underdog story.

The Summary:
Giving a fitting (almost) end to the character he created thirty years ago, Sylvester Stallone pours his heart and soul into "Rocky Balboa," giving a film much more about another boxing match, but a final chapter about the issues of legacy and what matters the most in life.

The Score: A