Rocky Balboa

I've been able to see this before it's release date so I'll avoid giving too much away in this review. To start with when I heard that they were going to make a sixth Rocky movie you didn't have to be a die hard fan to wonder what were they thinking about, particularly 15 years after the last horrible outing! After 30 years since the original ROCKY was released one could only wonder what else they could conjure up after such a long hiatus? Yet this movie was not bad and it's important to stress that on a number of levels. This rendition of Rocky is true to the previous ones as again he is the underdog, a former champ who is encouraged to come out of obscurity and take on the current champ despite having been retired for 20 years.

Just to recap to the earlier movies for the moment, in the original ROCKY, in some sort of bizarre publicity stunt Rocky Balboa was plucked up from a short list of "bum of the month contenders" to leap frog genuine challengers for a crack at the undisputed heavy weight title. Although he falls short, because of the effort and the show that he puts on, the public demand a rematch and consequently sequel to ROCKY is made and so on. It's important to remember that in the 1970's the American public craved for there to be white heavyweight boxing champion so when the original ROCKY was released not only was it contemporary but captured the imagination of the public at the time. Apollo Creed as the champion was obviously modeled on the brash, cocky Muhammad Ali who you either loved or hated.

Also it's worth noting that in the 1970's and 80's boxing enthusiasts often wondered who would win in a fictional fight between the 1950's champion Rocky Marciano and the 1970's champ Muhammad Ali. Therefore it was no coincidence the name 'Rocky'was used in the 70's, but now today in ROCKY BALBOA we are now asking who would win in 2006, Rocky from the 70's and 80's or Mason Dixon from the 2000's? The question in this movie is actually more like a Rocky Marciano v's Ali now than it was in the 70's!

Another point worth mentioning is that in the original the conceited Apollo Creed was a flashy, arrogant, publicity seeking showman, but more importantly he was human. By the time of Clubber Lang and Ivan Drago in ROCKY'S III and IV respectively the Italian Stallion was up against fighters that did not seem to be human. They were void of feelings had no family and their physical prowess and abilities were so advanced that they seemed more like comic book or video game characters. In this movie Mason Dixon to a large extent returns the heavyweight champion to a more believable human role, although contemporary for 2006 i.e. athletic, brash and mean! I give credit to the writers here and to a large extent this is where the movie worked!

I don't know if it was a coincidence or if it was part of the thinking but ROCKY BALBOA was fortunate enough to be released at a time when the heavyweight boxing scene itself is in a shambles and resembles a three ring circus. From blown up middleweights to an alphabet soup of nobodies in their late 30's right up to a 7 foot Neanderthal lookalike that is totally useless,--- heavyweight boxing has never been more of a joke! In a time when top athletes in their respective sports are stronger, faster or bigger and more powerful than there peers from earlier decades, heavyweight boxing is about the only sport to have regressed. The skill levels and talent are so much poorer than their counter parts in the 1970's and 80's that none of them could even carry Muhammad Ali or Larry Holmes jock strap's when they were at their best! The International powers that be have in there zeal for money have butchered the world heavy weight boxing scene so badly that its turned into a freak show. Thus the idea of a former champion 25 years past his best challenging for a world title is not as far fetched as it once might have been!

This movie will have it's critics and while it is certainly not flawless I see no reason why this movie should be lambasted as it no doubt will be. At the very least it stands out from being better than 90% of the movies that are released today, many which are simply dreadful. If old 1960's,70's and 80's TV shows are revived on the big screen for the movie industries indulgence or else the public are fed an endless list of remakes why not another Rocky movie! The dialogue and writing while not great was no worse anything else I've seen recently and the production and camera angles were good. It's slow in certain areas particularly at the beginning but over all a nostalgic effort which tried to capture the theme of the earlier rocky movies. Apparently Sylvester Stallone was never happy about ROCKY V and for years the memory of it tormented him, well I think this one will have exorcised that demon ,a much better effort overall. Check it out!

I had the opportunity to see a screening of this movie. Having been thoroughly disappointed with Rocky five, I didn't have high hopes for this movie. I am very happy to say this movie brings the Rocky series to the rightful close that the fifth left so empty. This movie isn't so much about the boxing itself, but getting back to the roots of the Rocky story...that determination and courage with the love and help of others makes Rocky a winner no matter what.

This movie is rated PG, and parents will be happy to see that the graphic nature of boxing has been toned down quite a bit in this movie compared to others in the series. If you're looking for a touching family movie with a powerful message, Rocky Balboa is definitely a movie to see. I think adults and children over the age of 10 will throughly enjoy this movie.

Rocky now retired lives from records his deceased wife(Talia Shire in archive footage). Again he deals with alcoholic Paulie(Burt Young),and his estranged son(Milo Ventiglimia, substituting to Sage Stallone), a cocky executive. He's owned a restaurant where is homaged as one of the greatest boxing champions in the history. Meanwhile he knows a single mother(Geraldine Hughes)and falls in love with her. But Rocky comes out from retirement to combat strongest, youngest and faster contender ; he's Mason 'The line'Dixon(Anthony Taver). Rocky attempts to prove himself and his son.Then he's trained by veteran boxer named Duke(Tony Burton, as Burguess Meredith had dead).

This agreeable predictable entertainment displays splendidly the 'formula Rocky'. The movie works at usual manner, fitting appropriately to franchise. Writer-director-actor Stallone new outing is surprisingly entertaining and packs good feeling. Usual and nostalgic musical score by Bill Conti and atmospheric cinematography by Clark Mathis. The motion picture is lavishly financed by the producers complete saga, Robert Chartoff and Irwin Winkler and well directed by Stallone who along with John G Avildsen made the six Rocky.

While here the opponent is an invincible young boxer,champ of the world, in former entries the contenders were the following : Rocky 1, a corpulent Carl Weathers; Rocky II again Carl Weathers through a rematch; Rocky II against Mr T from A Team; Rocky IV against a massive Russian boxer played by Dolph Lundgren; and Rock 5 against an ingrate young fighter who he trained played by Tommy Morrison.

If you are a film buff you know for example that Bogey did a number of films especially late in his career which, while not exactly Maltese Falcon, were nonetheless solid and entertaining.

So that is the key to this film. Understand that Stallone, who I think will be idolized by viewers of the future, does not know the meaning of the word quit. The oddsmakers said Rocky would stop at the second. When the 4th came out and was rock-solid (!) Hollywood was stunned.

Rocky 5 was a bit of a lemon but again Stallone never quits.

If you have seen all the Rocky films and they are still fresh in your mind, then his film will be a treat.

If you on the other hand are not a fan, or just arrived from another planet, then what you have is a well-told and well-acted drama that builds into a pretty good boxing film.

Either way you win.

((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))

Sylvester Stallone completes his Rocky Epic with a stirring conclusion. I saw a special sneak preview in Detroit at a Kronk Boxing Gym benefit. Although the first 45 minutes kind of dragged, and at times the dialog made me cringe, its at least as worthy of Rocky II or the original Rocky. A lot of flashbacks, but it definitely wraps up the series a lot better than Rocky V did. It won't win best picture, or any great acting awards, but the cinematography was better than I've seen in a lot of the previous 5. As far as the big question in the blogs, does Rocky die in this one, you'll have to wait till Christmas and see for yourself. The music was great, the final scenes were great, and Paulie was great! It was also interesting to reintroduce the characters of Little Marie and Spider Rico from the first movie.