If you were
born in the 80s or later, chances are you only know the
"Rocky" franchise as clichéd, repetitive movies in which our
hero has to face an ever-growing accumulation of muscles. A
story was nowhere to be found, the only thing the screenplay
cared about was throwing in as many obstacles as possible
for Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) to win or defend his
title against and to orchestrate a preferably bloody fight
in which Rocky has to kiss the floor at least three times.
One tends to forget that the franchise started out in 1976
with a movie that set the standard for all sports movies
uptil today. The Oscar-winning "Rocky" was more a portrait
of a tumb loser who surprisingly gets a chance at fame than
a sports movie. One could even say it was more a romance
than a movie about boxing.
Thirty
years and to put it mildly, 5 unaspiring sequels later,
Sylvester Stallone suddenly remembered what made the first
"Rocky" movie so great. When the project was first
announced, it was ridiculed. A return of Rocky Balboa? What
will he fight for? The World Heavy-Age title? Luckily
60-year-old Stallone, who also wrote the screenplay and
directs the movie, is well aware of the fact that his
character is past his prime and incorporates it into the
story. From the first shot on, when we see Rocky sitting at
the grave of his wife Adrian who died of cancer a few years
ago, Stallone portrays his Alter Ego as a broken man. Though
his glory days of boxing are well behind him, he hasn't
managed to move on. He makes a living by retelling his fight
stories to customers of his restaurant and still visits the
places he used to enjoy with Adrian. On one of those visits
he meets Marie (Geraldine Hughes) and her son Steps (James
Francis Kelly III) who slowly manage to pull Rocky from the
past into the present where he tries to repair the
dysfunctional relationship with Rocky jr. (Milo Ventimiglia).
Much to the chagrin of his son, who hates living in the
shadow of his father, Rocky is thrown back into the
spotlight when an ESPN computer simulation sees Rocky take
on the current heavyweight champion Mason Dixon (real-life
boxer Antonio Tarver). When the program declares that Rocky
in his prime would have easily knocked-out the equally
undefeated and unpopular Dixon, the whole boxing community
holds its breath for a real-life match between the two
superstars of boxing.
While the
main ingredients for the "Rocky"-saga are there - we get the
usual training montage (including everyone's favorite beef
halves) and the stylized boxing match (with Sly throwing in
some "Sin City"-like black and white footage with color
accents) - the movie is a fresh start. The cocksure hero is
gone, back is the insecure loser - a role that fits Stallone
like a boxing glove. In what is his best achievement since
"Cop Land", Stallone delivers a restrained performance in
which he ironically convinces more with his eyes than his
muscular body. Obviously a fan of real-life boxing, his
screenplay is an accurate portrayal of the George Formans
and Mike Tysons (who has a cameo in the movie) of this world
who either climb back into the ring for money or because
they don't have anything else in life they're good at.
Filled with smart dialogue that sounds intelligent but
nevertheless keeps the dumb nature of Rocky intact, "Rocky
Balboa" is a return to form which no one expected.
Obviously
not everything is perfect; sometimes the movie feels to
nostalgic and sentimental and an ill-advised use of a pop
song turns stomachs, but like a real fighter the movie
recovers before the count of ten, stands up again and
delivers a knock-out.
"ROCKY
BALBOA"
By Ethan Alter :: Premiere Movie Magazine
December
18, 2006
It's been
16 years since Sylvester Stallone last donned boxing
gloves to play his signature character and a lot longer
since anyone has been able to describe a Rocky
movie as being anything more than a guilty pleasure. So,
yet again, Rocky Balboa (and by extension Stallone
himself) arrives in theaters as an underdog. But, for the
first time in 30 years, you just might find yourself
cheering him on.
Rocky
Balboa picks up with the former champ leading a modest
life in Philly. Once a year, he and his brother-in-law,
Paulie (Burt Young), take a trip through the old
neighborhood, revisiting the pet store where his late wife
Adrian used to work and the remains of the ice rink where
they had their first date. For a brief moment, they allow
Rocky to forget that he's a lonely widower with a mediocre
Italian restaurant, an estranged son (Milo Ventimiglia), and
a life in which there's nothing left to fight for.
This set-up
could have served as the basis for a great character study
about a retired prizefighter trying to carve out a place for
himself in a world that's passed him by. But Stallone has
never been that kind of filmmaker and, in the end, Rocky
isn't that kind of character. So, it's only a matter of time
until Rocky finds himself staring down current heavyweight
champion Mason "The Line" Dixon (played by real-life boxer
Antonio Tarver), when the two are brought together for a
computer simulation that shows that Balboa in his prime
would have wiped the floor with Dixon. While a
fiftysomething Rocky doesn't seem to stand a chance of
beating the younger fighter in the present day, that doesn't
stop the former champ from taking the bait when the fake
fight leads to a real exhibition match.
Sixty-year-old Stallone has said in interviews that he
intended Rocky Balboa to be a bookend to the original
film, and aside from passing references to his victories
over Apollo Creed, Clubber Lang and Ivan Drago, the events
of Rocky II-V mostly have disappeared like a boxer's
memory. However, the film is filled with numerous nods to
the 1976 picture, which generate enough goodwill to carry
viewers through the movie's dead spots, including Rocky's
awkward attempts to bond with a teenage thug-in-training
named Steps and an underwritten storyline involving Mason
Dixon's own confidence crisis. While Stallone has had three
decades to learn to inhabit his own character, he still
struggles to write convincing dialogue for anyone other than
Rocky.
Still,
we're not in the theater to watch Rocky talk—we're waiting
for Bill Conti's famous score to kick in and see this
punch-drunk pugilist in action. Good ol' Rocko doesn't
disappoint. Once again, he has a training montage where he
pounds away at frozen slabs of beef, knocks back a glass of
raw eggs and, of course, runs up the steps of the
Philadelphia Museum of Art, before heading off to Las Vegas
to fight Dixon. Though the fight's outcome is never really
in doubt, it's surprising how much genuine tension Stallone
manages to wring out of this unlikely battle. After the
widely reviled Rocky V, it was just as unlikely for
there to be a satisfying conclusion to the Rocky saga, but
Rocky Balboa fits the bill.
"ROCKY"
OFFERS SELF PARODY
By Christie
Lemire
December, 2006
"Rocky
Balboa," the sixth (and hopefully last) installment in the
underdog saga of the Italian Stallion, straddles the line
between nostalgia and self-parody and frequently teeters
toward the latter.
Returning
to his roots, Sylvester Stallone writes, directs and stars
once again as the iconic title character, who long ago
retired from boxing and now has carved out a quiet life as a
South Philly celebrity and restaurant owner. He mourns the
loss of his beloved Adrian, who died of cancer, and still
hangs out with her loudmouth brother, Paulie (Burt Young). (Talia
Shire appears in flashbacks at moments that ostensibly were
meant to be inspiring, but instead just feel clunky.)
No one
thinks he should do it — not his son, Robert Jr. (Milo
Ventimiglia), who‘s bitter about the burden of having famous
blood run through his veins, and certainly not the media,
who have a ball bashing Rocky before he even sets foot in
the ring.
And there
is a certain allure to the ritual of revisiting the
character, a comfort in the familiarity. He‘s mellowed a bit
now as he wanders about town, incapable of walking down the
street without being approached for an autograph, yet he
continues to spew those overly simplistic Rockyisms in that
rumble of a voice that sounds like he‘s gargling with
marbles. ("You know, you learn a lot talking to dogs" is
among the funniest.)
But then
when the inevitable training montage begins, to the swelling
strains of "Gonna Fly Now," it‘s all so hard to take
seriously after all this time. He does everything you expect
to see him do — he lifts hulking metal chains and kegs of
beer, jabs and hooks those giant slabs of meat, before
running triumphantly up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum
of Art — and does it all with heart.
But let‘s
be honest: Was anyone (besides Stallone) really curious to
see how Rocky might turn out at age 60? He is in massively
muscular, fabulous shape — truly a specimen to behold at any
age — and maybe that‘s the point after all.
Back in
1976, it all seemed so inspiring; the original "Rocky" was a
small gem that became the surprise best-picture Oscar
winner. In 2006, though, "Rocky Balboa" merely feels like a
shameless vanity project.
