Rocky Balboa

When I first learned that Sylvester Stallone was contemplating yet another installment into the Rocky series, I joined wholeheartedly in the collective groaning (the same went for news of a Rambo IV, which is apparently scheduled for a 2008 release). Like so many franchises that have completely sucked their mother's drink dry, my standpoint for a potential Rocky VI was, "Let it go, Sly. Save yourself the embarrassment and just let it go. After Rocky V, your career will only go further into the tank if you even try this."

After seeing the first trailers for Rocky Balboa, though, I was surprised to find my cynicism replaced by intrigue . . . and after seeing Rocky Balboa, I think I can honestly say that the film exceeded my expectations and delivered a final chapter to the Rocky franchise that is fully worthy of praise. For it provides closure in a way that still inspires you, much like the first film did, because while life often teaches us that we may not always come out on top, we can still find meaning and fulfillment if we try hard enough and believe in ourselves enough.

The story of Rocky Balboa opens at Rocky's home in south Philly—only this is a different Rocky than the one we left behind 17 years ago. He's probably in his late 50s or early 60s by now, his son has grown up and left home, he hasn't boxed in years, and Adrian has been dead now for 5 years. (We can barely see it, but the death date on her tombstone looks like January 11, 2002, apparently from cancer.) He lives a rather lonely life, but still finds fulfillment in managing a restaurant that he and Adrian created, suitably named Adrian's. He also spends his days with Paulie, who still works at the meat factory . . . but as the story opens, it would have been Rocky and Adrian's anniversary, and Paulie's job for the night is to drive Rocky around Philly so he can visit their old haunts: like Adrian's old pet store, or the stoop in front of Rocky's old apartment from the first movie where he convinces Adrian to come in, or the ice rink where they had their first date in the first movie (which has since been torn down). Rocky's opening line in the film, spoken as he walks away from Adrian's grave, is right on the money (especially when you consider the Rocky series as a whole): "Time goes by too fast." After so much time together and so many roads travelled, Rocky misses Adrian terribly, and Paulie feels the guilt of an older brother who never loved his sister properly. Rocky feels a slight drifting with his son, too (not played by Sage Stallone in this installment), who's trying to make a name for himself in the wake of his father's shadow . . . and subtly resenting the shadow his father casts because he can't escape from it.

Rocky is still a recognizable figure in the community, though, for he won the hearts and minds of his fans long ago, and apparently never lost them. On the flip side, however, a young fighter by the name of Mason "The Line" Dixon is getting a lot of flack from the boxing community because he keeps winning fights against far lesser opponents, and thus he doesn't have any respect from the crowd. And one night on ESPN, a computer simulation takes place to see how two boxers from different eras (i.e., Rocky and Mason Dixon) would fare against each other in the ring. The computer has Rocky win by a knockout, and that slowly starts to prompt the inevitable question—can this also be true in real life?

I don't know if the boxing press is this vicious in real life, but the sportscasters don't hesitate to show their contempt for such a matchup, or for the respective fighters. In any case, the pressure is now on as to whether or not such a match will happen in real life. If so, it would benefit Mason Dixon far more than it would Rocky, for Mason Dixon is in bad need of a worthy opponent so he can gain some professional relevance. Rocky, though, has nothing left to prove, to himself or anybody. What he does have, though, is the "stuff in the basement"—all the leftover baggage that he never managed to get rid of, possibly stemming from his losing Adrian, possibly stemming from the slow drifting between himself and Robert, possibly from waking up one morning and wondering how his life passed by so fast. But it's emotional baggage that he can feed off of, and in an unexpected scene where he starts to break down in front of Paulie, he confesses that he feels a lot of disappointment, and wants to rid himself of his baggage, of his stuff in the basement.

Baggage notwithstanding, Rocky does slowly find some paths toward redemption irrespective of boxing, particularly when he meets a bartender that he recognizes from when she was much younger, Little Marie. A friendship begins to blossom (though despite one kiss, it never fully progresses into a romance), and Rocky slowly earns the trust of her European Jamaican-born son Steps; he even buys a dog. I don't know if Marie's character is supposed to fill the void left by Adrian (i.e., be the requisite love interest for our hometown hero), but she is there when Rocky needs the support of a friend—especially at ringside. And like Adrian's hellfire beach speech in Rocky III, Marie gives Rocky the inspiration he needs to find heart again in the ring . . . and thus begins Rocky's training.

The training sequence to the strains of "Gonna Fly Now" has become standard fare for all the Rocky movies (save for V), and this is the only spot where I thought Rocky Balboa fell short, because Rocky's training recycled so many of the classic elements from the first movie: drinking the eggs in the morning, punching the slabs of meat, running up the steps of the Philadelphia Library (only more noticeably out of breath this time), Paulie having a sentimental moment where he admits his admiration for Rocky and gives him a peck on the cheek (actually, I think that was from III). While so many of these elements are classic in and of themselves, here they just seemed shameless and cheesy, because by now they're old hat and don't bring the magic they did the first time around. (Plus, even in middle age, there's no way Stallone can regain his buff from Rocky IV.) But the one thing that is apparent from his training is his motivation—not because he feels he has to prove himself anymore, but simply because he wants to fight this one last time.

The fight Rocky has with Mason Dixon isn't a formal title match, but rather an exhibition match in Vegas. And the cameos here were hilarious: Mike Tyson ringside, trash-talking Mason Dixon; and Michael Buffer uttering his famous, "Let's get ready to rumble!" The buildup to the fight was filmed in the style of a pay-per-view, too, which I thought was a clever and imaginative touch! The match itself starts out slow, with Rocky's age showing and so many people wondering if he really is past his prime . . . but then his stuff from the basement begins to surface, and the fight starts to take on steam. Let it be said that Mason Dixon is a different type of opponent than those Rocky faced in previous installments (i.e., the fighter you love to hate). He doesn't have the unbridled arrogance of Apollo Creed, nor the destructive ego of Clubber Lang, nor the vastly superior strength of Ivan Drago. What Mason Dixon is, though, is a figther trying to make a true name for himself—and it just so happens that fighting a legend like Rocky may prove to be the opportunity of a lifetime for him.

I won't give away the ending to the fight, but let's just say that you won't walk away disappointed. With Rocky's sense of fulfillment after the final bell rings, his proclamation that all his stuff in the basement is gone, you can't help but feel his fulfillment, too. And as a Penn Stater who's witnessed his own living legend on the playing field, I was fully able to feel the crowd's love for Rocky at the end—their living legend.

I give this an 8 out of 10, with kudos to Stallone for bringing a satisfying close to his trademark series. He overcame the stigma of Rocky V, which made many of us want to forget the Rocky series. With Rocky Balboa, though, we can remember and admire the characters who inspired us so long ago.