Rocky Balboa

Despite all the positive reviews on Sylvester Stallone’s latest Rocky movie, I still had a few reservations going into the theater. I am not a big Rocky fan. When I saw the first one, I was not particularly impressed and thought it was a joke that Rocky could beat Taxi Driver and All the President’s Men to win that year’s Best Picture Oscar. I also had a hard time understanding Stallone’s slurred speech.

Fast forward thirty years. Stallone still has a thick tongue, but my listening comprehension has improved dramatically. Rocky Balboa is not a classic in my eyes, but I have grown to love this character. When I came out of the theater, I was relieved that the movie is much better than I had expected. It may not say much, but as a fifth sequel to one of best known movie franchises, I consider it a good compliment. Rocky Balboa has Rocky come out of retirement and re-enter the ring. The movie may be a bit slow and too nostalgic for young people, but for anyone who has contemplated issues such as aging and mortality, Rocky has quite a few life lessons to offer.

I am also glad to find that Stallone recognizes a core part in his first Rocky movie is the love story between Rocky and Adrian. I may be the only person who views Rocky and 1984’s The Terminator as romance movies instead of a sports film and an action thriller. What moves me in those two movies is the love between the main characters and I keep hoping that things will work out between them. In Rocky Balboa, Adrian passed away a few years back and Rocky misses her terribly. In his effort to add some emotional impact, I think Stallone may have overdone a little and made his reminiscence a tad too sentimental and sugar coated. The storyline revolving Rocky, Lil’ Marie (a girl that Rocky warned about in the first movie) and her son is also too obvious as a plot device for us to see how he wishes to reconnect with his own son and goes back to his old time with Adrian.

Stallone clearly has a genuine affection for this character that had made him famous years ago. He is not much of an actor, but Rocky is right up his alley and he plays it with all the ease and charm. When the Rocky theme starts again in the middle of the movie and Rocky starts climbing up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, I can’t help rooting for this underdog one more time. In the final fight scenes, Stallone’s Rocky moves considerably more slowly and each punch looks labored, but I have to admire his fighting spirit. Burt Young reprises his role as Paulie and offers most of the comedic relief in the movie.

Besides Rocky Balboa, I have not seen any other Rocky sequels. It may be time for Stallone to finally retire this character and Rocky Balboa seems like a good place to finally let this champ rest.