Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Burt Young, Milo Ventimiglia, Tony Burton, Antonio Tarver, Geraldine Hughes, James Francis Kelly, Bert Sugar, Max Kellerman, Larry Merchant, Jim Lampley

Director: Sylvester Stallone

Summary:

Thirty years after Sylvester Stallone first introduced the underdog backroom brawler from Philadelphia in the Oscar-winning ROCKY, Rocky Balboa returns for one last dance. Speculation as to whether Balboa, in his prime, would have been able to defeat lacklustre champ Mason ‘The Line’ Dixon spurs Dixon’s management to set up an exhibition fight between the two. That Balboa is in his 50s and wouldn’t be sanctioned to fight anyone, let alone a man 30 years his junior and in the prime of life, must be left up to the viewer’s ability to suspend disbelief. To its credit, however, the movie addresses at every turn the insanity of a man approaching 60 getting back into a boxing ring, and Balboa’s impassioned explanation of his motivations is just believable enough to give all other improbabilities a free pass. The film is very much a love letter to Philadelphia, and Stallone, who wrote and directed the movie, shoots everything with an unflinching eye that humanises the mean streets of the City of Brotherly Love and evokes the gritty dignity of the original film. While Burt Young’s cantankerous Paulie and Tony Burton’s Duke both return, Talia Shire, sadly, does not reprise her role as the beloved Adrian. It’s revealed early in the film that Adrian has died of cancer, and it’s the pain of that tragedy that ultimately fuels Rocky. Boxing as a metaphor for life is certainly nothing new, but Stallone makes a legitimate contribution to the tradition with ROCKY BALBOA. Life hits harder than any man can, and one’s ability to keep getting up until the final bell rings is the true measure of self.

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The sixth installment of the Rocky series picks up the story of the Italian Stallion 16 years after the morose Rocky V. And sure, at his advanced age, Sylvester Stallone now looks like one of those sides of beef his character used to pound on. No matter. Somehow you buy the premise after all these years, even if it takes forever for Rocky Balboa to stop wallowing in self-pity (Adrian is dead, his old haunts are demolished) and get down to the business of drinking raw eggs and running up staircases. The business at hand is an unlikely exhibition fight with champeen Mason Dixon (Antonio Tarver), which the near-sexagenarian Mr. Balboa has no business accepting. Of course, just as sure as the horns of Bill Conti's theme music are even now trumpeting through your head, the ol' Rock might have a punch or two left in him. Stallone wrote and directed, and there isn't much to say except that the movie steps in its pre-determined paces with a canny sense of what has come before (it's practically an homage to all the previous Rocky pictures, complete with fleeting flashbacks). Burt Young is around again, and Geraldine Hughes makes an appealing, rather chaste female companion for Rocky. Stallone's Rocky has gotten suspiciously articulate over the years, but he still knows how to slouch. If Stallone never forgets that, he can probably keep the franchise rolling. --Robert Horton

Aspect Ratio:	16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Audio commentary with Sylvester Stallone, The making of Rocky Balboa, Rocky's final fight featurette, Boxing bloopers, Seven deleted scenes, Alternate ending
Year:	2006
Release Date:	May 21, 2007
Runtime:	98 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	3539901000
Keywords:	Action, English, Balboa, Rocky, Adventure
Genre:	Action/Adventure