“Rocky Balboa” would work better if seen after “Rocky.” This man at the top of his game earns the love of his life, to which we turn to “Rocky Balboa” where this man is now a wash out, with no family, and the love of his life dead. It would make much more of an impact. What occurs is Rocky not trying to reclaim his fame, but prove he can have one last go around before he properly fades away into the darkness to live out the rest of his life and die. What Stallone also tackles is the rampant ageism in America. Can a man in his late fifties still do what he did in his early thirties? Can a man be robbed of what he wants because of his age?
In “Rocky Balboa,” Rocky is now a memory. He’s worn down, a relic, and he now owns a restaurant named “Adrians” that revolves around his old boxing stories he tells to customers again and again to the point of their boredom. He lives in the past day in and day out, and “Rocky Balboa” is the human tragedy of a ghost who pretends to live. He, his neighborhood, and his life are mere shells of their former selves, with much of Rocky’s life void of any sense of motion or progression. His son is disconnected from him (played by Milo Ventimiglia) and attempts anxiously to step away from his father’s shadow.
Old friend Pauly, meanwhile, is a crusty minimum wage worker who suffers through Rocky’s time traveling, while Adrian’s spirit is one he just can’t let go of. One night, reviled boxing champ Mason “The Line” Dixon watches himself get beaten by a computer simulated Rocky on a sports show, and suddenly he’s interested to play this scenario out in reality. Rocky is dramatic, wrenching, and as he should be: Inspirational and utterly fucking entertaining. I loved everything about this film, and most of all I loved Sylvester Stallone’s performance. He provides a truly good return to form as Rocky Balboa, and he’s awfully likable without being pathetic.
Most of all the writing and direction, all by Stallone, are tight, and truly good with Stallone suddenly delving back to what made the original such a masterpiece in the first place. His character is human again, and his character returns to show that being a certain age doesn’t prevent you from being a champion again. Stallone paints Philadelphia as a desolate breeding ground for minimal progress in life, and a barely changed landscape to which Rocky used to roam, and with this last fight with a champion, he shows he may be down, but he’s far from out. “Rocky Balboa” is one of the best of 2006, and a wonderful last hurrah for a character that deserved a proper send-off with a wonderful performance by the man who brought him to life.