Rocky Balboa

Amazing film! Not everyone’s gonna agree but I loved it from start to finish. Certain scenes brought tears to my eyes, it reminded me of the days me and my old man watched the other films! He would of loved this one. It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.... alright Rocco!!!!

Beautiful line - "It ain't about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward." - Rocky Balboa

Rocky Balboa is a wonderful conclusion to one of the greatest film sagas in American cinema. Writer/director Sylvester Stallone takes the series back to its roots, crafting a great story about the triumph of the human spirit. Experiencing difficulties with accepting retirement and the passing of his wife, Adrian, Rocky returns to the ring for an exhibition match against the current world heavyweight champion in an attempt to go the distance one last time. This final chapter returns the series to a character drama that focuses on Rocky’s struggles and his personal journey. Rocky Balboa is a lovely epilogue to the Rocky saga, and gives the character a fitting and uplifting sent off that’s truly inspirational.

As a wrap up to the Rocky series, this is just fantastic. No character in cinema history has been taken to audience's hearts as Rocky Balboa. He's an institution.

Stallone does a rare and wonderful thing here. He ages Rocky like a fine wine. He has developed great wisdom, a sense of his own mortality, seen his loved ones start to pass away and wears the scars of those losses - yet still moves forward each day. He is kind, humble and good-natured despite the world around him being - on the whole - putrid.

As a character study, this is a tour de force.

The cast around him are all excellent. Paulie is an absolutely delightful character for Rocky to bounce off. The history of Burt Young and Stallone gives so much depth to this heart-rending relationship.

It's not perfect. I think Tarver is a bad choice. The fight at the end lacks realism in many spots. There's a little hokey CGI at the beginning.

Overall though, it's a perfect close to the anthology. It makes up for the mis-step of Rocky V and is - as a film not entertainment - bettered only by the original Rocky.


8.25/10

I am very happy this film exists. It is the real "retired" Rocky film that gives a good ending over the lackluster V. The film production, boxing, villain, plot, and acting are all as good as they have ever been in the series to date. While it may not trump the original Rocky to many, for me this is my favorite movie of the original six.

Rating: 4/5 - 8.5/10 - Would Recommend

A surprisingly good sequel to the franchise. Old Rocky proves that he still can do it. A story that finds several parallels in the real world. The movie is though also not as pathetic as some other movies of the franchise. It takes the whole story with a bit of humour, which is important for the story to work. Great entertainment.

"It ain't about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward."

Rocky is really inspirational in this. The whole monologue is just fantastic. The boxing scenes are the best in the series. This would of been a great conclusion for his character but Creed is really good so I'm ok with more.

A worthy cap to the franchise that’s probably the most true to the original, but the absence of Apollo’s charisma is still keenly felt.

This is how you retire an iconic character: by remembering the beginnings and bringing nostalgia back to life. "Rocky Balboa" is actually one of my favorite films in the series, partly because it deviates from the spectacle of the sequels and tells a quieter story. Sylvester Stallone obviously had more energy here than in the previous film, and he was also in great shape for his age. In addition, the classic "Rocky" elements are back in their old glory, especially the training montage and the solid final fight. There are some minor shortcomings. Antonio Tarver as the antagonist is a bit underutilized. The whole subplot around Marie could also have been told better. All in all, however, the film is a worthy conclusion to the main "Rocky" series.