Although Sylvester Stallone has fallen out of the popular eye in recent years and his last few outings with the exception of “Copland” seemed to mire him in muscle man action roles, his enduring legacy as the underdog continues to inspire audiences. It took Stallone himself becoming the underdog in Hollywood to resurrect his prominence, through the medium of one of his most famous underdog characters, the boxer Rocky Balboa.
The series seemingly ended on a questionable note in 1990 with “Rocky V,” an ill-received installment to what was then described as a tired series. In a daring move, Stallone has dared to return as the Italian Stallion one last time to redeem the series with a sixth installment, much the way the Star Trek film series did with an unexpected sixth film after its fifth in the series was also a letdown.
Rocky is now without his beloved Adrian, who died some years earlier. He now runs a restaurant and often reminisces of the glory days. His son resentfully lives in his shadow and his old friend Paulie wants Rocky to forget Adrian and the past. Meanwhile, on a sports television show, a survey and debate begins as to whether the latest boxing champ would have been able to beat Rocky in the ring. The debate snowballs into an all-out actual exhibition match. Can Rocky, now 60 years old, really hold his own in the ring against a young upstart? No one expect Rocky wants to see him do it, and nothing’s over until it’s over.
Stallone is a filmmaker and actor I have respected for taking his work very seriously, despite what the end result might have been. The amount of work he put into the original “Rocky” and, my personal favorite of his, “First Blood,” the original film featuring John Rambo, really does blast away misconceptions of Stallone as a meathead performer more about sculpted pectorals than crafted presentation.
“Rocky Balboa” is a simply filmed story that hearkens back to the original “Rocky,” in which Detroit is once again a character and Rocky is a man of his community, trying to help others. Stallone does a credible job making the audience believe Rocky, though aged, can stand up to the younger, faster boxer. More than anything, this is a nostalgia piece that does not betray its roots with added complexity or pander to conventions of modern cinema.
Stallone stays true to the legacy of the original series, and the film is all the better for it, even retaining a PG rating and that’s not a bad thing. This is a movie young people should see because it teaches more about character than brute strength. Tip your hat to Sylvester Stallone. “Rocky Balboa” brings heart back to the movie theater.
