Written & directed by Sylvester Stallone
Starring Sylvester Stallone, Burt Young, Milo Ventimiglia, Tony Burton, James Francis Kelly III, Antonio Tarver
A sixth Rocky movie? The idea was a joke when it was first mentioned. People laughed it off, saying that Sylvester Stallone was too old to box, to old to act, and too old to get back in the game. The trouble Stallone had with the studios is now infamous. His quest to find funding and a production house for his final stint as Rocky will someday be the stuff of legends. Much like the character Rocky, the scrappy underdog who gets back up after every fall, Stallone took every punch the producers threw at him and got back up again, fighting for his movie.
If the movie was a joke when Stallone started, it is no longer so. How does this incarnation of Rocky stack up to the previous versions? Remembering that the original Rocky (1976) was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, winning 3, including the coveted Best Picture award, how does Rocky Balboa compare? Simply put, it’s far and away the best of all the Rocky films.
What makes it so powerful and moving revolves around the simple truth that the movie has very little to do with boxing itself. The boxing aspect is merely the framework for the story that Stallone wants to tell. It’s a tool for his redemption and his return to life. The movie opens with Rocky at the grave of his beloved Adrian, sadly taken away by cancer some years earlier. His trusted friend Paulie (Burt Young) can’t watch Rocky pine for his lost love anymore. It’s too much for him to take. His mostly estranged son (Milo Ventimiglia) hates the shadow his dad throws whenever they are together. And Rocky’s simple life running his restaurant is all he needs now to get through the day.
All of this is upset when an ESPN broadcast simulates a fight between the Rocky of 1976 and the current Heavyweight Champion, Mason “The Line” Dixon (Antonio Tarver). In the simulation, Rocky takes down the current champ. And it sets into motion, very slowly, a sequence of emotions for Rocky that help him discover that the itch isn’t gone, that the desire to fight is still very much alive, hanging by a thread to his still-open connection to Adrian. From there, the exhibition is set up between Dixon and Rocky in Vegas - the 60 year old against the current Heavyweight Champion of the World.
The spectacular training montage sequence for both Dixon and Rocky preluding the actual match between the two only fills the last 20 minutes of the movie. For the other 102 minutes, we’re treated to a slower-paced movie, detailing the life of Rocky and his emotional journey to fight again. He reconnects with the young girl from the first Rocky movie, Marie (Geraldine Hughes), and befriends her, offering her a job at the restaurant. Her son, Steps (James Francis Kelly III), becomes the substitute son that Rocky doesn’t see anymore except for brief strained visits.
All this to fill the void that Adrian’s absence has left in his life. In some aspects Rocky Balboa is much like a slow-paced, carefully constructed Clint Eastwood movie. There are moments reminiscent of Mystic River. The deliberately slow pace, the subtle lighting and the gritty, realist tone all serve as enhancement for the larger-than-life Rocky character. He manages the restaurant, but leaves himself open to tell stories of fights to customers who want to hear them. This is a character trapped between the lost glory of yesteryear and the grim darkness of a future without his one true love. As such, we’re treated to a character drama more than anything else.
And this is where Rocky Balboa sets itself apart from all the other Rocky movies. His motivation isn’t glory or redemption or revenge. He’s motivated to finally relieve himself of all the left over clutter in his basement. He needs to get the fight out of himself once and for all. In a stirring scene that recalls every great courtroom drama, Rocky applies for his boxing license, passes his tests and is still turned down by the committee because of his age. His speech to them is the very telling window into his motivations for why he wants to fight again.
Is this the best movie of the year? Probably not. The humor is just right and the dramatic elements are worked perfectly, but the long running joke about Stallone being too old is simple too pervasive to overcome. Is this Stallone’s best movie? Without a doubt, yes. There’s more heart and more real characters in this film than any other he’s made. Even Tarver’s Mason “The Line” Dixon is grounded. And Tarver should be congratulated for his very successful portrayal of a boxer who’s so good that there’s no competition for him anymore. Together, the whole package, taken piece by piece and put together like the city of Philadelphia itself, represents a seminal work by Stallone, one everyone should see.
- A. Chlebowski is a graduate of Marquette University and holds a Bachelor's in Theatrical Production and an Associates in English and History. He's lived and worked in Milwaukee (WI), Chicago (IL), Burlington (VT), Los Angeles (CA) and now resides in St. Louis (MO), where he was born. He likes reading, writing and drinking. Go Cardinals!!!