Rocky Balboa

by John C.

I don't like where the film industry is heading, plain and simple. I'm scared that one day, every single movie will be a remake or a sequel. That being said, you can probably guess what my reaction was when I heard that Sly was going to be making Rocky 6 (later to receive its real title Rocky Balboa). Wasn't there some other story that this man wanted to tell? He really didn't have anything left in him besides a rehash of his biggest hit? Well, you see…that's where I was wrong. Sylvester Stallone has plenty still in him and a whole lot that he still wants to say.

Rocky Balboa is a story about a man who has lost everything. It is the tale of what happens when the world is given to you and then suddenly taken away. It isn't a spoiler to tell you that the film begins with Rocky at Adrienne's gravestone. In true Rocky fashion we later find out that she has passed away from "that woman cancer". This isn't all that Rocky has lost, however. He also has to deal with the fact that his son has grown up and moved on; moved on into the stage of his life where having a washed up ex-boxer for a father is embarrassing. Combine this with a job that pretty much only thrives because people like to here Roc talk about his glory days, and what Mr. Stallone has set you up for is the last thing you want to see. Rocky Balboa has sunk to a level you never would have expected. The people's champ, the Italian Stallion, is a sad old man.

This is why this film works. The way that Stallone has written it, the film just drives into your heart repeatedly. Whether they are the little Rocky quips that you can barely understand, or the little nuances and throwbacks to the other Rocky films - you really get a good "then & now" type of perspective. The movie has very little to do with boxing, and much more to do with what happens when you've reached a certain point in your life when you don't know what you have anymore or what you want to do.

The acting isn't anything Oscar worthy, but everyone does very well in their roles; even Antonio Tarver as World Heavyweight Champ Mason "The Line" Dixon. Stallone remembers how to play Roc like he was the only character Sly has ever played. Burt Young is fantastic as Paulie, keeping the link alive to the last films as their only returning star other than the Stallion. Newcomer Milo Ventimiglia (who you might know from his new hit show Heroes) shines as Rocky's now grown up son, while Geraldine Hughes warms our hearts in the absence of Miss Talia Shire.

What really makes this film is the writing. Yes, I said it…Stallone has written a really good film here. While many lines may sound cheesy, they bring back the feeling and sentiment of the first film, where you had a good balance of tacky humor and touching drama. Throughout Rocky Balboa, you may find yourself cringing at the cheesiness of some lines, but soon after, someone will hit you with a line that just drives into your heart. In a scene which I consider probably the best written in the whole film, Rocky tells his son, "You or nobody ain't ever gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard you hit…it's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward." This line is so poignant to the film. Obviously, the boxing metaphor can be seen, but when delivered by Stallone on screen, you can honestly see that he isn't talking about boxing, he's talking about life. While boxing may have been Roc's whole life, he wants to see his son get the opportunities to try different things and experience the world.

Is Rocky Balboa the best film of 2006? Not even close. But is it a film worth seeing? Yes. If you have ever felt that moment in a theatre, where you put everything aside and invest some small hope in a character, this film brings you back to that feeling. It reminds me of the feeling I had earlier this summer watching Clerks II. I remember wondering why Kevin Smith had gone back to the well to do something he had already done when he could do pretty much anything he wanted. The answer was that he still had something he wanted to say; and because of his love for those characters and that story, the film turned out to be a real class act. The story is the same with Stallone. He obviously felt there was more he wanted to say about these characters and this story, and his passion for it really shines through at the end. When that bell sounds, no matter how much you may have cringed when you heard they were making a sixth Rocky film, you can't help but move to the edge of your seat, clench your fist and say to yourself, "Go get him Roc. For one last time, you go get him."