Rating of
3/4
Rocky Balboa review
Daniel Corleone - wrote on 02/22/12
Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) owns a restaurant in which he uses his wife’s name. Adrian passes away from cancer and Rocky gains a new friend in "Little" Marie (Geraldine Hughes). His son Robert (Milo Ventimiglia) still lives in a shadow and is mad at his father for his fame. Paulie (Burt Young) accompanies Rocky around Philadelphia remembering the past. The management of Mason "The Line" Dixon (Antonio Tarver) invites Rocky for an exhibition fight for charity. A few reservations this reviewer had was removing Adrian’s character, the conclusions outcome of a split decision (which in reality, should have been lopsided with a current swift champion) and getting involved with Maria.
One of the best screenplays written from the series with quotes from Rocky - “The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place, and I don't care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward; how much you can take and keep moving forward.” “You're the best thing in my life. But until you start believing in yourself, you ain't gonna have a life.” and “You know, the older I get the more things I gotta leave behind, that's life.” Stallone is an underrated writer and a wonderful director. The direction and acting was definitely better than the other Rocky films. Rocky Balboa is a fitting conclusion to the franchise which had positives themes of aging gracefully, acknowledging change, love, believing in one’s self, acceptance and values.
